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How often do you clean your bunnies' hutch/cage/living area and what do you use?

ImoT

Mama Doe
I am a very clean person, bordering on obsessive, I can handle dirt as long as I know where it has come from, so I can handle bunny poo and wee because I know it's come from my bunny. I empty and disinfect his litter tray once a day, sweep up various bits of hay/dirt once a day depending how much of a mess Winston makes, and I disinfect his cage tray/food bowl/various bits and pieces anywhere between one and three times a week. The rest of the kitchen (where he lives) gets a sweep a few times a week and the floor is disinfected once a week. I am interested to hear other people's routines? It would be good to know whether my routine is fairly normal or if I need to do less or more of something!

I am moving Winston to the living room after he has been neutered and his litter training is re-established, so I would be interested to hear how others clean carpets? Do you steam clean it? I think I will need to invest in a dust buster/mini hoover when he is relocated to the living room and i've always wanted an excuse to buy a steam cleaner :p

I know some of you might be thinking 'why did you get a rabbit if you can't handle mess/dirt' but I used to have a horse so I know I can deal with it, and the pros of animal ownership far outweigh the cons of testing my ability to handle dirt!
 
None of mine use a litter tray any more, it's infuriating as they all used to be so clean :lol: I have to clean and disinfect their pens every day because they poo and pee everywhere. They're out in a shed though so it's not so bad :)
 
None of mine use a litter tray any more, it's infuriating as they all used to be so clean :lol: I have to clean and disinfect their pens every day because they poo and pee everywhere. They're out in a shed though so it's not so bad :)

Ahh that is frustrating, do you know what instigated them to stop using the litter tray? We've been quite lucky with Winston, although he randomly decided to pee against the baseboard protector (ie. a big piece of wood from b&q) under the washing machine yesterday, no idea why! I don't know why he would territory mark there as he doesn't ever really sit there!
 
I empty litter trays do a quick sweep up 3-4 times a week. I don't disinfect their trays, they get wiped out with tissue every time, wet wipes if a lot of pee has got through to the plastic and maybe once every few months I might take it out and give it a scrub with soap and water.

I do a proper clean once a week, sometimes just with a dustpan but very thoroughly and sometimes with the Hoover. I wash their mats when they have pee or other mess on but very rarely as they are very clean. I steam clean occasionally which I suppose is disinfecting the area but only since a steam mop is sooo easy to use :lol:

Bowls get washed in soapy water and rinsed well every now and then (maybe once a week ish) I don't really have a routine but just do it when i think to!

I own pet safe disinfectant for the hamster (bought for new hammy before he got anything old hammies had) and I do use it as it is the easiest way to keep his huge unwieldy cage clean.

I see no reason to disinfect for the buns though. I don't disinfect the stuff the humans eat off, let alone the rabbits! Soap and water is cheap, has less chemicals and works perfectly well! I do have an antibacterial spray for the kitchen surfaces but it think that's the only antibacterial cleaning thing I use!
 
I actually only clean out my litter trays fully about twice maybe three times a week. The megazorb underneath the hay in the litter tray catches a lot of the wee and soaks it up brilliantly so the tray isn't actually wet until maybe two or three days after I've changed it. I'm constantly topping up the hay inside of it and in the hay rack above it.

Mine usually get a full enclosure clean once a week sometimes once a fortnight if they are being good, I sweep up poops and hay twice a day morning and night. x
 
Lopsy's very clean and uses his litter tray to the exclusion of all else for wee (he'll even hold it for a while!), and not many stray poos either. Any stray poos in his bedding area I hand-pick (did you know they're slightly sticky straight-out-of-bun?! :lol:) and his litter tray gets changed daily. I use pelleted recycled paper: indoors I didn't use very much as it got kicked out if there was a lot, so I had to wash the tray out more often as wee made it to the bottom and soaked the pelleted paper right through, but outside I just tap it out once (not 5 times!) and refill it, and wash it once a week. When I wash I usually just scrub it with water and rinse well. I clean out his bedding area once a week, although I'm trialling once a fortnight at the moment as it's not been too wet and the bedding has remained well intact and warm, and I want to see if I need to do it when I'm pootling around the country Easter-time. It's newspaper and woodshavings (I know, I know!) topped with hay, so it's easy to whip out but takes longer to refill: the newspaper has to be put in my special cover-all way as the metal tray is a weird size :evil:

I've deep-cleaned a few times: if the inside gets wet (rain ingress, that time Lopsy decided his litter tray was in the wrong place) I run a brush around it with pet-safe disinfectant and wipe the tray down. I sometimes soak-disinfect his litter tray too. Water bowl gets a once-weekly wipe with a sponge. Water bottle gets a once-weekly shake with water, or a detergent scrub PRN if it goes green :mrgreen:
 
I empty litter trays do a quick sweep up 3-4 times a week. I don't disinfect their trays, they get wiped out with tissue every time, wet wipes if a lot of pee has got through to the plastic and maybe once every few months I might take it out and give it a scrub with soap and water.

I do a proper clean once a week, sometimes just with a dustpan but very thoroughly and sometimes with the Hoover. I wash their mats when they have pee or other mess on but very rarely as they are very clean. I steam clean occasionally which I suppose is disinfecting the area but only since a steam mop is sooo easy to use :lol:

Bowls get washed in soapy water and rinsed well every now and then (maybe once a week ish) I don't really have a routine but just do it when i think to!

I own pet safe disinfectant for the hamster (bought for new hammy before he got anything old hammies had) and I do use it as it is the easiest way to keep his huge unwieldy cage clean.

I see no reason to disinfect for the buns though. I don't disinfect the stuff the humans eat off, let alone the rabbits! Soap and water is cheap, has less chemicals and works perfectly well! I do have an antibacterial spray for the kitchen surfaces but it think that's the only antibacterial cleaning thing I use!

I actually only clean out my litter trays fully about twice maybe three times a week. The megazorb underneath the hay in the litter tray catches a lot of the wee and soaks it up brilliantly so the tray isn't actually wet until maybe two or three days after I've changed it. I'm constantly topping up the hay inside of it and in the hay rack above it.

Mine usually get a full enclosure clean once a week sometimes once a fortnight if they are being good, I sweep up poops and hay twice a day morning and night. x

It's really interesting hearing about others routines. Winston currently uses a corner litter tray that is designed for guinea pigs because I had to put it inside the rectangle litter tray because his wee was going over the edge….he likes to wee right in the corner! But I may switch things around and use the rabbit sized corner litter tray so I don't have to clean it out so much and he doesn't have to deal with me interfering with his space every day. The disinfectant I use is animal safe, and in my brain things aren't clean unless they are disinfected. I think I have the worlds fullest cleaning cupboard, I have every ecover/method product under the sun and an endless supply of bleach!

Sarah I hadn't heard of megazorb before…just looked it up and it's so cheap! I use p@h wood pellets, 60litres for either £17 or £19 I can't remember, but I may have to try out megazorb next time!
 
Ahh that is frustrating, do you know what instigated them to stop using the litter tray? We've been quite lucky with Winston, although he randomly decided to pee against the baseboard protector (ie. a big piece of wood from b&q) under the washing machine yesterday, no idea why! I don't know why he would territory mark there as he doesn't ever really sit there!

Unfortunately I have no idea why they've stopped using the trays!
 
Lopsy's very clean and uses his litter tray to the exclusion of all else for wee (he'll even hold it for a while!), and not many stray poos either. Any stray poos in his bedding area I hand-pick (did you know they're slightly sticky straight-out-of-bun?! :lol:) and his litter tray gets changed daily. I use pelleted recycled paper: indoors I didn't use very much as it got kicked out if there was a lot, so I had to wash the tray out more often as wee made it to the bottom and soaked the pelleted paper right through, but outside I just tap it out once (not 5 times!) and refill it, and wash it once a week. When I wash I usually just scrub it with water and rinse well. I clean out his bedding area once a week, although I'm trialling once a fortnight at the moment as it's not been too wet and the bedding has remained well intact and warm, and I want to see if I need to do it when I'm pootling around the country Easter-time. It's newspaper and woodshavings (I know, I know!) topped with hay, so it's easy to whip out but takes longer to refill: the newspaper has to be put in my special cover-all way as the metal tray is a weird size :evil:

I've deep-cleaned a few times: if the inside gets wet (rain ingress, that time Lopsy decided his litter tray was in the wrong place) I run a brush around it with pet-safe disinfectant and wipe the tray down. I sometimes soak-disinfect his litter tray too. Water bowl gets a once-weekly wipe with a sponge. Water bottle gets a once-weekly shake with water, or a detergent scrub PRN if it goes green :mrgreen:

I hand pick Winston's poos out of his hay when he decides to poo in his hay and not in his litter part of the tray!! I do it as soon as I see them and yes sometimes they have been slightly fresher (ie. warm and sticky) :lol:
 
It's really interesting hearing about others routines. Winston currently uses a corner litter tray that is designed for guinea pigs because I had to put it inside the rectangle litter tray because his wee was going over the edge….he likes to wee right in the corner! But I may switch things around and use the rabbit sized corner litter tray so I don't have to clean it out so much and he doesn't have to deal with me interfering with his space every day. The disinfectant I use is animal safe, and in my brain things aren't clean unless they are disinfected. I think I have the worlds fullest cleaning cupboard, I have every ecover/method product under the sun and an endless supply of bleach!

Sarah I hadn't heard of megazorb before…just looked it up and it's so cheap! I use p@h wood pellets, 60litres for either £17 or £19 I can't remember, but I may have to try out megazorb next time!

I have to admit I love Megazorb, its got a but of a strange smell but its not overpowering and you can't smell it in the trays. Its really absorbent and unless its completely sodden doesn't smell at all. I buy the huge 80 litre bags from The Hay experts at the minute and it lasts me ages! x
 
Pens get swept out 2 to 3 times a week...and completely washed down with white vinegar and hot water once a month.
I use Megazorb covered with hay for their litter trays..hay gets changed every 2 days and wet Megazorb taken out with a full change and tray scrub weekly.
 
I use fitch which I prefer to megazorb. I sweep up daily and change litter trays and bedding every three days, more often if in summer or as needed. Bowls and bottles get washed every couple of days and trays get disinfected once a week at this time of year but twice in summer.
 
I have to admit I love Megazorb, its got a but of a strange smell but its not overpowering and you can't smell it in the trays. Its really absorbent and unless its completely sodden doesn't smell at all. I buy the huge 80 litre bags from The Hay experts at the minute and it lasts me ages! x

Woww from The Hay Experts it's only £9.79…mind = blown!!! I might get some and mix it with his wood pellets to see if he is happy using it.
 
Most of my litter trays are indoor cage bases (without the cage bit). I clean the bits they like to wee in daily & then sweep the floor once or twice a week. I did a full wall/floor scrub disinfect a couple of weeks ago. That's usually once every 6-8 weeks now really. I use newspaper & hay in litter trays.
 
Most of my litter trays are indoor cage bases (without the cage bit). I clean the bits they like to wee in daily & then sweep the floor once or twice a week. I did a full wall/floor scrub disinfect a couple of weeks ago. That's usually once every 6-8 weeks now really. I use newspaper & hay in litter trays.

I'm considering doing this as well, turning his cage tray base into one big litter tray with litter and hay. How often do you take out all the remaining litter and hay and clean the whole tray?
 
The outside girls - Elphie and Galinda - get a full clean once a week and litter trays/poo corner clean ups 3/4 times a week. Every spring, I like to do a really deep clean overhaul prior to "fly season". Multiple layers of disinfectant and all that. Generally, they use wood shavings (large flakes, designed for horses), straw and hay.

Athena, we haven't got into a routine yet. At the moment she has used a cardboard box filled with hay (which has just been fully emptied and partially destroyed as I await getting her home from the vets), a huge litter tray which I think was an old "guinea pig" indoor cage and is filled with cat wood-bases pellets.. And she has also decided to use an actual cat litter tray. Oh bunnies...
 
I think I'm a bit OCD with Scrappy :oops: Her hutch (open 24/7) gets a full clean once a week (swept, hoovered and steam cleaned), plus daily spot clean. Food tray and water bottle and bowls (she gets a choice :lol:) cleaned with boiling water twice a day and litter tray usually cleaned three times a day (again with boiling water).
 
I think I'm a bit OCD with Scrappy :oops: Her hutch (open 24/7) gets a full clean once a week (swept, hoovered and steam cleaned), plus daily spot clean. Food tray and water bottle and bowls (she gets a choice :lol:) cleaned with boiling water twice a day and litter tray usually cleaned three times a day (again with boiling water).

You make me seem laid back about cleanliness! :p Is Scrappy an indoor bun?
 
Wow! I feel like a bad mum after reading this!
My two are in a big two storey hutch outside, the sleeping bit is always full of hay & paper & a layer of shavings in the winter which gets emptied weekly, Its only a sweep and blow out of any fur caught then the new stuff goes in, the rest of it, the corner litter tray gets the worst wet bits done every other day and a full empty with a spritz of vinegar every 3-4 days. The floor mess old hay and a fee shavings only comes out once a week too! Its only a sweep and blow out of any fur caught then the new stuff goes in.
 
Woww from The Hay Experts it's only £9.79…mind = blown!!! I might get some and mix it with his wood pellets to see if he is happy using it.

I get my Megazorb from a local pet store and it costs £9.20. So it is a good price but The Hay Experts will charge delivery - it is £4.99 for my area.

Amazon has it for £15.99 with free delivery, GJW Titmuss has it for £7.92 plus a £6.95 per bulk item delivery charge.
 
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