Cleaning indoor rabbit cage

It's my first time with one of these (a giant 'hamster' cage type). And bear in mind he's mostly litter trained so not much weeing outside the litter tray any more.

Daily - scoop out dirty litter (he uses the same corner) and top-up with fresh. (And any same with any soiled sawdust in main cage that needs removing.)

Weekly - completely empty and wash litter tray. Top up sawdust in main cage with fresh sawdust.

Fortnightly - empty all sawdust out, brush down cage and replace with fresh sawdust.

Monthly - empty all sawdust out, wash cage with hot water and splish of biological washing up liquid, dry properly, wipe down with cage cleaner, dry properly, put everything back.

Is this the right balance of clean/not too clean for comfort? Maybe I should have washed the cage sooner but it didnt seem that dirty or smell (as far as I can tell...)

When I used one I washed it weekly but she wasn't spayed and her wee did smell. Have you tried a corner litter tray in the corner he goes in? It might make cleaning it out a bit easier

Oh yeah - he has a corner litter tray and he wees in the same corner of THAT every time. (With the occasional miss! It's a bit small I think, even tho he's only small himself.)

That's why I dont think the cage itself needs cleaning all that much but then I'm new to rabbit hygiene so I'm checking.

(He's not yet neutered. Am getting the vaccinations out of the way first (second one on Weds) and neutering is next on the list for about a fortnight's time. But dont tell him :wink: )

I can't actually smell, so maybe I'm a bit paranoid...

I wash my bunnies litter trays everyday. And once a week I give their entire homes a complete scrub down and disinfect and give them new cardboard boxes to play with.

Mylo is in one of those giant hamster cage things indoors at the mo and I clean it every couple of days - clean his corner little tray every day and put clean towel/fleece in every couple of days and wash the cage down.

I remove the dirty litter daily, but I only dump the whole litterbox every once in a while and then wipe it out with white vinegar. I don't have bedding on the floor except for a grass mat, the rest is bare. They like it that way. I sweep daily and use vinegar to clean up any messy spots.

And that's it! I've been told that you can only tell I have bunnies because you can smell hay and wood. BTW, I use a wood pellet litter, like the kind used for horse stalls. It's the best I've ever found for absorption and smell reduction.

I cheated, I stood the corner litter tray inside a smallish normal one to give a bit of extra room. The corner ones have nice high sides but as you say they can be a bit small.

If he's inside and litter trainned you only really need to put litter in the tray. You can leave the rest of the cage empty or put a bit of vet bed in.

Tam

Deej has 2 large litter trays that we change every 2 days, We put a couple of sheets of newspaper under them just in case there are any mishaps, but he's very good.

Personally I wouldn't use sawdust (or shavings) for an indoor bunny as they are just messy and get everywhere. If you are using them because of mishaps, how about trying newspaper (sheets and shredded) instead, or if you are concerned about warmth plenty of hay or straw.

Ive only ever had those type of indoor cages. I found using vet bed was much tidier than shavings or hay I am a bit too house proud for having sawdust all over the place!! And Harvey is in and out so much through the day that he'd spread it all over the house!!! We are lucky that he is such a well behaved house bun!

I have a large litter tray at one end with biocatolet in. He also has his food bowl and a pile of hay for munching on the loo.
then theres his vetbed on a layer of newspaper. At the other end he has a large hammock I got Jules from Acrorats to make for me.

I full clean every week and replace with fresh litter every other day. Theres not much else to do apart from topping up the hay manger and clothesbrushing the hammock!!

heres a pic of Harvey enjoying his cage





and when not enjoying his cage...


Im sure most of you have seen this before....

Thanks everyone - yes, I think the sawdust will go soon cos it's quite annoying!! (And he's not that untidy with it.) Will replace with vet bed, just P@H didnt have any the day I rabbit-shopped and I've not been back since.

Sarah, your pics were lovely. Love the hammock! I was worried bout taking up too much space in the cage with a larger litter tray but actually it doesnt matter does it. Mind you, I suspect yours has more 'free range' time than mine does. I'd just worry about taking out the stupid little house thing Muppet's cage currently has in it - he's still nervous when other people are around and likes a dark 'cavern' to be in.

(Muppet's cage is 3ft long but he's only about 3-4lb.)

I buy pro fleece as its cheaper than vet bed. I cant remember the website I bought it from, but I do remember thinking it was a bargain in comaparison!

Pro fleece is really good :thumb: http://www.thedoginn.com/acatalog/Pupps_ProFleece_Dog_Mats.html