Sawdust or not ...?

Hi all, now that my 2 are happily bonded in their new indoor pen, we've other things to consider.

When they were in smaller cages, we always gave them sawdust for bedding and hay in racks for eating. The pen has a much larger floor area with a waterproof covering for easy cleaning. I'm still putting sawdust down but have realised that the bunns are clearing areas on the floor for laying down, so is it worth putting it down anymore? They are both litter trained and always seem to pee in the tray too, not found any other damp patches. hay is still in a rack but as there is more space, there are a couple of piles of hay in the pen too.

Any thoughts?

Sawdust is bad for them, it's dusty even when 'dust extracted' and can cause breathing or lung problems.

To be honest, you're better leaving it 'naked' so nothing on the bottom except for the normal floor, or straw now that it's cooler to help with warmth.

Hay is as much a toy as it is a food, rabbits can be quite messy with their re-arranging of hay so let them got on with it

Thanks for that, we removed the sawdust at the weekend and initially they found the 'naked' floor a bit slippery especially when they do their daily circuit runs As an interim, I've put newspaper down which they've delighted in finding the edges off and ripping up.

However, what we've also noticed, is that they don't appear to be lying down fully stretched together as they used to. They would previously clear spaces in the sawdust and lay together on the bare floor. With the newspaper covering it, it doesn't seem so easy for them to clear. Before I go down the straw route, I was thinking of shredded newspaper that they can make into their cosy spaces again.

When Tallulah was spayed, the vet recommended soft shredded paper bedding for a few days to protect her wound and she seemed to like it but its expensive as a longer term option given the size of the run. Does anyone else use shredded newspaper?

I would say if they're clearing the space themselves to lie on the floor with no substrate, I wouldn't bother using any whether it's shredded newspaper or anything else. It's not a necessity, especially when they're indoors in a nice warm house, and all it tends to do is create more mess! If you want them to have something soft you could try some blankets? They may nibble at them and/or wee on them though, as some bunnies love to wee on anything soft :roll:! The substrate is definitely not a necessity, so if it's proving to be a pain for you then I'd just not bother Many bunnies just have lino flooring in their sheds/hutches/pens and that works well.

My Buns are shed dwelling buns and they do like to have a separate sleeping area to scrape out for themselves (even if they are just an inch apart) whilst remaining close to each other. When I spend time with them they are always together.. but, they do have separate scrapes / nests.
I also started with the sawdust / wood chip to provide their personal areas for them , but have moved onto nothing more than newspaper and hay. And they do also like to move it all to the ' naked ' surface underneath them.. newspaper is the more annoying for me, and I think for them too,
I don't use sawdust / wood chip anymore..
My Buns are happy with their separate 'scrapes' so they can be together if they wish.
Sorry can't be more help.. but I've tried all the pet beddings and my Buns like their Hay scrapes X