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*Solved*What is a good cage bottom/bedding replacement for a sore hocks-prone rabbit?

~ILoveMyBunny~

Alpha Buck
Hey everyone,
I've been trying to find an alternative bedding for my girls lately. I finally managed to get away from woodshavings entirely (something I wanted to do for years for Willow but couldn't afford the few alternatives I found :(). I'm currently using megazorb at the bottom of their cages, but for several reasons it isn't working out so well. I noticed that a lot of others on here don't actually use a litter/shavings-type bedding in their cages and use things such as lino. Both of my girls are indoor. They both have good size cages, but my plan is to build a sort of out-of-cage run area at a later date (we're about to move house, so can't do it just yet :|) that they can come out in during the day as they want and just close them in their cages at night/if everyone's out. Of course since they hate each other, it'll have to be sectioned off :roll:
But at the moment my concern is the cages themselves. They both have untextured slippery floors (wasnt' expecting that when I ordered them as Willow's had a texture which helped with grip) and they tend to push the bedding all over the place and slide about. Both are heading towards getting sore hocks, but I'm particularly worried for Maple as she is a rex and has thin fur under her back paws. I know rex breeds are prone to sore hocks, and I'd rather she didn't get that far!
I need some advice with what to line the cage floor with. If I get away from the litter/shaving type bedding and go for something like lino, will that be okay for them? Is lino the best choice? It looks like it will be slippery to me :? I have beds coming for them in a couple of days so they will have somewhere soft to sit (and of course, according to them, there's always their litter trays to sleep in :roll:). I will admit I wasn't keen on the idea of not having a litter type bedding at first as it seemed a little unfair not to give them soft bedding, but as I said they will have somewhere soft to sleep and if it's what the rest of you use it must be safe. One bonus on a personal level is that it would be cheaper for me and much easier to keep clean as it means less vacuuming :lol:
But, as always, I want what's best for them - not me.
I did see mention of a sisal mat on another thread, but I'm not sure if that's more of am out-of-cage thing? How would you keep it clean in a cage? Both of them litter trained themselves pretty quickly and use trays, but there are always occasional accidents :p
Thank you so much for any advice you can offer. We all appreciate it :)
 
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For a rex rabbit, I would try to house her on vetbed. They should have soft floors available to sit on. I have a rex rabbit with sore hocks and she has Fitch bedding (soft paper bedding) and thick meadow hay over the floor of her enclosure.
 
I second the above. Vetbed would be first choice but Fitch is also brilliant - it just needs to be contained.
 
Thank you both so much :D
I have heard of vetbed. I saw something similar on amazon - think it was called vetfleece? Not sure if it's the same or a knock-off type of thing.
Okay, that's what I'll get for them both then :) Any idea where the cheapest place would be to get it?
Thank you both so much. Looking at pictures on google it looks like it's actually lovely and soft. I'm sure they'll both love having a nice new soft thing to dig and chew :p

Edit: I've bought them one each - thank you so much for all your help! :D

Second edit:
They arrived this morning! Hasn't even been 24hrs since I ordered them! :D
I've cut Maple's to her cage and put it in already. She gave it a good dig at first and tried to chew it, but since then she seems to have taken to it very well and is currently flopped on her side on it :p It's lovely and soft and I think will do her paws a lot of good. She seems to enjoy walking on it.
Thank you both so much for suggesting it. I think it's absolutely perfect for them! Can't wait to put it down in Jazzie's cage too :D
 
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