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Digging Box

twobunnies&apony

Alpha Buck
I am thinking about making a digging box/pit for my two dwarf does. I was going to get a children's sand pit but decided this was a bit big so I am going to use a large plastic storage box. I don't know how deep it needs to be. I can't decide on one of the large flattish ones that are designed for under bed storage or something much deeper. The first option would be nice and big so that they could also both flop in it if they wanted but I am concerned it may not be deep enough. Any thoughts on depth? I was going to use play sand as the digging medium as I thought it might work well and did find a rescue site which said it was OK for buns. Has anyone used sand? Do buns like it? I want Grace and Olive to enjoy their box so would appreciate help to make sure I get the specification right!
 
I have no advice but am anxious to hear how the buns like it. Julie is always scratching and digging the tile floor.
 
oh my gosh, that is too funny. my poor blind bunny doesn;t play
with any toys! That is a hoot!

I guess some bunnies like toys and others do not. The one I had before Julie, Chrissy was very posessive of her toys. No one could touch them. If you messed with her toys, she would make loud grunts and move them all back to where they were. She never played with them though. Julie has a ton of toys and plays a lot while we are sleeping. I can hear her and when I wake get up toys are spread out all over the kitchen. I usually pick them up and put them into a sand pail so we don't trip. If she is not done playing she will hop run over and dump them out. Have you dried giving your bunny a toy bunny? Julie has 2. One that she grooms and drags all over the kitchen even into her litter box. The other one is a tiny one that she always sleeps with in her cage. She groomed it's ear off.:lol: Your bunny might like to snuggle with one?
 
You need something shallow like the underbed storage tray you mentioned filling it a few inches deep. Some bunnies find deeper boxes tricky to get into and it might tip over when they are hoppping in and out. The best thing for digging in is peat as it's quite like the ground they would be digging i in the wild.

If you have indoor bunnies you may want to put something undert he tray to protect the floor as it can all get a bit messy
 
I was just going to add, my buns have a large understorgae box (from tescos!) as their litter tray. Tinks however loves to dig and so digs in it all the time :evil: haha and the litter and poo, even though only veryy shallow goes everywhere, so if youe making something specifically for digging i would go for something much deeper. If you have the room I would choose one of those big rubber buckets they sell everywhere filled with peat!
 
B has an indoor cage that has the door always open but I keep it for her because she likes digging so I fill it with straw or hay so thay can have a good old dig!
 
Thanks for the replies. Grace and Olive live outside in a hutch with reasonable sized attached run. The digging box was an idea for the Summer as I am thinking of making my small garden rabbit safe so that they can have some supervised time out. I am worried about not being able to catch them or them somehow getting out but I am going to try and be brave and give it a go. Anyway in the meantime I am excited by my digging box plans so I am going to get this done now and it will go in their run. I will get the box tomorrow and then decide for definite on the digging medium over the weekend. I know they will make a terrible mess and I will be constantly sweeping up but I can't wait to see if they like it.
 
It's a success! Olive loves it and Grace has used it, though less so. It requires regular maintenance checks though as Olive seems to dig one way and then when she reaches the bottom she furiously digs the plastic box so I end up shoving it back myself so she can dig it again. I must be mad! Not much has gone over the edge but I have done some sweeping up. I wish buns could be tidy! At first she dug one way and then the other which was good as she didn't end up with the sand all at one end. She also pushes the sand with her front paws. She sometimes does this with hay and straw. Does anyone know what it means? What is she trying to do?:D
 
Glad they like it :D Definitely great to give them something to do and it sounds as if they're enjoying themselves! Personally I would replace the sand with a soil/peat type substrate, it's more 'natural' and sand is more likely to get into their eyes and cause problems - buns eyes don't have tears in the same way as ours do, so if something gets in their eye it's far more likely to scratch and ulcerate rather than get rinsed out.

Dudley does that push it around with front feet thing you described, if they've been digging a hole they seem to do that to flatten and smooth the earth out so it doesn't form a big mound; I guess it's the same instinct at work :)
 
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