Best/Safest Matting for Rabbits?

[DavidJatt]

Hi Folks!

New member here! I found the forum searching on Google, but didn't quite find what I was after so thought I'd join and ask a question.

I'm new to rabbit owning, have kept budgies in an aviary for ages but as their numbers sadly decline, we're about to house a couple of bunnies in there and extend the living area for them. There are slabs on the floor at the moment (with wood chippings while we have the birds), so I'm thinking a rubber matting might be better and easier to keep clean when we pick up the bunnies.

So my question really is, can anyone recommend some suitable matting for around 5 square metres?
I've found this fine ribbed rubber matting (https://www.firstmats.co.uk/products/finerib-non-slip-rubber-matting) which seems cheap enough for a roll, but then I thought, is natural rubber safe for them? Will it hurt the rabbits if they chew it? Should the matting be smooth on the surface instead?

I've also found a few mats on Amazon, but they seem more like fabric.

Sorry for the newbie question, but would love to hear your experiences.

David

 

[Shimmer]

Some people use stable matting or interlocking play mats. I've got some of that rubber matting for a van but it could be difficult to keep clean with rabbit debris on it unless you can hose it down.

I would get some non-slip (bathroom / commercial) lino. Run it up the sides a couple of inches and use battens to fasten all the edges so they can't be chewed. Some rabbits really like to chew rubber and others will chew lino if they can get to an edge. You can always put eg the odd carpet squares down on top to provide a bit of extra grip for runnig around.

 

[joey&boo]

Welcome to RU. I agree with shimmer, the ridges are going to make the rubber stuff hard to clean. I like the look of the hemp stuff but it depends how clean your buns are when it comes to toileting. If they are ingesting any non natural material its not so good, bunnies are really variable when it comes to chewing (I've a big chewer but he doesn't eat the stuff he shouldn't fortunately). Will the bunnies be protected from bird poop as I understand they shoudn't be housed together as some diseases are can be transmitted to bunnies

 

[tulsi]

Mine all chew and wee on fabric so I line the sheds with lino.

 

[DavidJatt]

Welcome to RU. I agree with shimmer, the ridges are going to make the rubber stuff hard to clean. I like the look of the hemp stuff but it depends how clean your buns are when it comes to toileting. If they are ingesting any non natural material its not so good, bunnies are really variable when it comes to chewing (I've a big chewer but he doesn't eat the stuff he shouldn't fortunately). Will the bunnies be protected from bird poop as I understand they shoudn't be housed together as some diseases are can be transmitted to bunnies

Thanks for all the replies everyone, some great ideas!

RE the bird poop, yes we did wonder about that and decided that the best thing to do is to not house them together. There are only a few birds left in the Aviary now, so they will most likely move to a large cage in the house where they can still come out and have a fly around, or rehomed to another aviary. We've found some rabbits we'd like to rehome from a local animal sanctuary so will pick those up in a few weeks, if still not rehomed, when we've sorted the budgies out. Then when we move house next year, we'll give them a proper home rather than the current aviary.

 

[Shimmer]

Aviaries make good rabbit runs and have a lot of advantages over some stuff that's sold for rabbits. They just need somewhere to nest - so maybe a hutch with a door permanently open, or a wendy house.

 

[tulsi]

Dont know where you live but I have a huge indoor bird cage that I dont need any more. I am in Petersfield in Hampshire.