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Vet Bed / Fleece

Natalie

Warren Scout
Our rescue bun has only ever been used to natural products i.e. hay and grass and living outside in hutch, shelter and large run. She did have a nice bit of space. So when we too her on, we gave her a home which was similar to what she'd been used to.

But we've ordered a bunny bothy for her for the colder months as she is now 8 years old and I'd like her to be somewhere a little more solid and warm, especially for the cold nights. Soooooooooooooooooooo, I'm thinking of lining the floor of the bothy with lino, but there is also a little upstairs bit with lookout window, so I'd quite like to put vet bed, or fleece, on top of the lino for that bit.

How do I get her used to synthetic products? I keep imagining that she'll chew it and possibly swallow bits and become ill. I've just popped a couple of Hop Inn tunnels in her run yesterday, and she's fairly okay with those, she may have a very brief investigative nibble, or try to move the whole tunnel :lol:, but doesn't seem to really munch on them or anything. Plus she can't get to them overnight, so I'm able to keep an eye on how she's doing with the tunnels. Whereas with the vet bed or fleece, she'll have access to it all night and I won't be able to constantly check that she's safe.

She'll also have a litter tray and hay feeder in the lower section - and toys lol - lots of toys :) and hideaways, and things to climb on etc

At the moment, in her outside run and hutch (the hutch is inside the run), she does have hay in her bedroom, and she seems to be good at only using the litter tray for toileting (which is in the lower section of the hutch), so I think I might continue to put hay in her bedroom in the bothy. Or should I use something else?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Very excited to get the bothy, it's going to be a bit of a wait though :?
 
Our rescue bun has only ever been used to natural products i.e. hay and grass and living outside in hutch, shelter and large run. She did have a nice bit of space. So when we too her on, we gave her a home which was similar to what she'd been used to.

But we've ordered a bunny bothy for her for the colder months as she is now 8 years old and I'd like her to be somewhere a little more solid and warm, especially for the cold nights. Soooooooooooooooooooo, I'm thinking of lining the floor of the bothy with lino, but there is also a little upstairs bit with lookout window, so I'd quite like to put vet bed, or fleece, on top of the lino for that bit.

How do I get her used to synthetic products? I keep imagining that she'll chew it and possibly swallow bits and become ill. I've just popped a couple of Hop Inn tunnels in her run yesterday, and she's fairly okay with those, she may have a very brief investigative nibble, or try to move the whole tunnel :lol:, but doesn't seem to really munch on them or anything. Plus she can't get to them overnight, so I'm able to keep an eye on how she's doing with the tunnels. Whereas with the vet bed or fleece, she'll have access to it all night and I won't be able to constantly check that she's safe.

She'll also have a litter tray and hay feeder in the lower section - and toys lol - lots of toys :) and hideaways, and things to climb on etc

At the moment, in her outside run and hutch (the hutch is inside the run), she does have hay in her bedroom, and she seems to be good at only using the litter tray for toileting (which is in the lower section of the hutch), so I think I might continue to put hay in her bedroom in the bothy. Or should I use something else?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Very excited to get the bothy, it's going to be a bit of a wait though :?

Aww that sounds like an amazing new house for your lovely bunny!!
Using fleece is so good for your bunny's feet as it mimics grass and prevents sore hocks! You should wash new blankets in the washing machine without using detergent or softener as the smell might intice her to munch on it plus the chemicals are not good for buns.
Small amounts of fleece will pass through the digestive system, but you should inspect for holes regularly as that would be a sign to remove it, you don't want her actually eating it, but if she bites, licks or digs it that will be fine. The only way you can get her used to it is to put it in with her try putting it somewhere she likes to sit or sleep but doesn't eat, put it in for an hour then extend the time over a week or so until she has one in full time.
You can buy or make cage liners that fit the space you want them in exactly, they have an absorbent layer in the middle and come in a variety of colours (you could try neutral shades like brown or tan) and they are also machine washable :D
You can get them on eBay or esty for around £8.00 depending on size.

Good luck! I hope she takes to them :D
 
Aww that sounds like an amazing new house for your lovely bunny!!
Using fleece is so good for your bunny's feet as it mimics grass and prevents sore hocks! You should wash new blankets in the washing machine without using detergent or softener as the smell might intice her to munch on it plus the chemicals are not good for buns.
Small amounts of fleece will pass through the digestive system, but you should inspect for holes regularly as that would be a sign to remove it, you don't want her actually eating it, but if she bites, licks or digs it that will be fine. The only way you can get her used to it is to put it in with her try putting it somewhere she likes to sit or sleep but doesn't eat, put it in for an hour then extend the time over a week or so until she has one in full time.
You can buy or make cage liners that fit the space you want them in exactly, they have an absorbent layer in the middle and come in a variety of colours (you could try neutral shades like brown or tan) and they are also machine washable :D
You can get them on eBay or esty for around £8.00 depending on size.

Good luck! I hope she takes to them :D

Thank you! I'll try and get a small piece soon then and pop it in the spot in her hutch where she most seems to like and sit and/or nod off. Will see how it goes. Thank you so much for you advice :)
 
I've never found fleece to really be chewed.
Giving her some now is a good way to test it.

Vet bed is great,but I've found most buns are tempted to urinate on it and it can be quite expensive to find out if you're bun is one of those ;)

If she's prone to sore hocks, monitor closely... if you start to see signs then cover vet bed and fleeces and lino with some plain cotton sheets. Or cover the area with a deep layer of hay.

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I've never found fleece to really be chewed.
Giving her some now is a good way to test it.

Vet bed is great,but I've found most buns are tempted to urinate on it and it can be quite expensive to find out if you're bun is one of those ;)

If she's prone to sore hocks, monitor closely... if you start to see signs then cover vet bed and fleeces and lino with some plain cotton sheets. Or cover the area with a deep layer of hay.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

This :thumb: a lot of my previous rabbits would wee on anything soft but not chew it, even my rabbits that have been chewers haven't eaten fleece.
 
Thanks for all the advice everyone, I might get some vet bed for her carrier and fleece for the bothy. Are there any fleeces which are better than others? Maybe thicker, warmer, wash better or anything like that? If I haven't managed to bond her with another bunny before the winter sets in, I really would like to get the warmest possible option for her. (Although we're also considering organising some sort of heat for the bothy, just something that could click on if temps go really low).

She is such an amazing little bunny. I love her so much and we haven't even had her with us for three weeks yet! Can you believe, she already comes down from the upper part of her hutch when I approach excitedly saying "wosis wosis" - pet speak for "what's this, what's this" :oops: :lol: to see what I've got for her, how adorable is that! Then she totally ignores me whilst she stuffs her face :lol:

She was so quick to investigate the Hop Inn tunnels I put in her run the other day, and seems to really enjoy them. I think I could sit all day and just watch her and stroke her, but our rescue dogs wouldn't be best pleased about that. They're already put out that I spend so much time in 'that bit of the garden they can't get to'. They wouldn't be able to get to Caramel even if they did go into her bit of the garden, but I just don't want them running around her run, barking and frightening her. Although, before we adopted her, she was living with our neighbours - we only just recently moved in - so she had already got used to our dogs barking, plus the neighbours also have two barking dogs. So the barking doesn't seem to phase her too much.

Here's a little video of her when she was just starting to get used to the new play tunnels :D Isn't she LOVELY! :)

[video]http://www.nataliekinnearphotography.co.uk/p360626250/h95FD3036#h95fd3036[/video]

I'm beginning to wonder whether having bunnies as part of the family is addictive! I'm definitely feeling it might be addictive :lol:
 
I've never found fleece to really be chewed.
Giving her some now is a good way to test it.

Vet bed is great,but I've found most buns are tempted to urinate on it and it can be quite expensive to find out if you're bun is one of those

:thumb:
 
Here's a little video of her when she was just starting to get used to the new play tunnels :D Isn't she LOVELY! :)

[video]http://www.nataliekinnearphotography.co.uk/p360626250/h95FD3036#h95fd3036[/video]

I'm beginning to wonder whether having bunnies as part of the family is addictive! I'm definitely feeling it might be addictive :lol:


Yes she is very lovely :love:

Your video is sweet - rabbits are such curious animals.

And yes, definitely addictive :D
 
Yes she is very lovely :love:

Your video is sweet - rabbits are such curious animals.

And yes, definitely addictive :D

Do they all have SUCH attitude! She was right in front of the run door when I wanted to get out of the run, so I tried to gently encourage her to move away from the door - she wouldn't budge :lol: it was like she was saying, "I was here first, why can't you just go around me" :lol: So in an effort to let her know who was boss - I tippy toed, extremely carefully around her :love::lol: Yup, lol, she's the boss!
 
Tesco sell baby fleece blankets for £3.00 and they wash up a treat! Also Primark sell fleece blankets for £5 that you can cut to make several small ones as they are quite large :D
 
Any fleece will be fine. However in winter, cardboard boxes filled with straw tends to be warmer so that's another thing you could look into doing for her.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
Sounds like she's training you well! I use snugglesafes in winter - a flat bunny hotwater bottle really that you heat in the microwave. Of course if she's anything like my rabbits have been, she'll sit out in the run in all weather and refuse to go within 6 foot of the snugglesafe! As daphnephoebe says a cardboard box filled with hay works well to give a warm place to stay.
 
Any fleece will be fine. However in winter, cardboard boxes filled with straw tends to be warmer so that's another thing you could look into doing for her.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

I'll try her out with cardboard as well, see if it stays in one piece :) If they do chew cardboard will they actually eat it or spit it out? Is it safe for them?

If the weather gets really bad and cold before we get the bothy, I think we'll just have to make arrangements to bring her indoors over night.

The problem with that is that it will be completely new to her, being indoors, and also we have three rescue dogs. I won't let the dogs anywhere near her of course, but something tells me they will know there is someone else in the house, and she too might be aware of the dogs being in the house.

But we looked after my daughter's three pet rats for a couple of weeks recently whilst she and her partner were on holiday, and that worked out fine. We just kept the dogs and the rats well apart. So I'm sure we'll be able to do the same for Caramel.

I also have a cover for her hutch which we'll put on when the weather turns a bit, that will help a little as well I think.
 
I'll try her out with cardboard as well, see if it stays in one piece :) If they do chew cardboard will they actually eat it or spit it out? Is it safe for them?

If the weather gets really bad and cold before we get the bothy, I think we'll just have to make arrangements to bring her indoors over night.

The problem with that is that it will be completely new to her, being indoors, and also we have three rescue dogs. I won't let the dogs anywhere near her of course, but something tells me they will know there is someone else in the house, and she too might be aware of the dogs being in the house.

But we looked after my daughter's three pet rats for a couple of weeks recently whilst she and her partner were on holiday, and that worked out fine. We just kept the dogs and the rats well apart. So I'm sure we'll be able to do the same for Caramel.

I also have a cover for her hutch which we'll put on when the weather turns a bit, that will help a little as well I think.
Some eat it, some just chew it up.
If she's eating it, it's best to remove as it could potentionally case a blockage within her digestive tract or caecum.

In terms of bringing her in overnight during winter. The issue would be her going from a warm environment into the cold. This could potentionally cause snuffles.
If you decide she needs to come I overnight for winter, it's best to keep her as a house rabbit for the entire winter and put her back outside when spring arrives.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
Some eat it, some just chew it up.
If she's eating it, it's best to remove as it could potentionally case a blockage within her digestive tract or caecum.

In terms of bringing her in overnight during winter. The issue would be her going from a warm environment into the cold. This could potentionally cause snuffles.
If you decide she needs to come I overnight for winter, it's best to keep her as a house rabbit for the entire winter and put her back outside when spring arrives.

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk

Good point. Thanks.
 
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