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Bare Bottom Cage?

SandyBunny

Young Bun
Is it safe to have a cage bare with no sawdust etc?

Sandy currently has a medium layer of saw dust but she's awful for kicking it out and making a huge mess. I tried carpet made from hemp incase they digest it. I paid £20 for the carpet and she destroyed it in about 3 hours lol
 
Is it safe to have a cage bare with no sawdust etc?

Sandy currently has a medium layer of saw dust but she's awful for kicking it out and making a huge mess. I tried carpet made from hemp incase they digest it. I paid £20 for the carpet and she destroyed it in about 3 hours lol
Sawdust is a big no no anyway, bad for their respiratory systems? I think? Aspen is the only safe wood shavings I think.

Have you tried a paper bedding like fitch? :)

Sent via carrier pigeon
 
Sawdust is a big no no anyway, bad for their respiratory systems? I think? Aspen is the only safe wood shavings I think.

Have you tried a paper bedding like fitch? :)

Sent via carrier pigeon

She seems fine with it, she loves moving it like she's a snow plow and flops herself on the plastic which is what she seems to prefer LOL
 
shavings are often very dusty and theres a high chance of getting it in their eyes, some pieces can be very small and some I've even found splinter like. I really would steer clear of ever using shavings again. plus, many people tend to litter train their rabbits..have shavings else where just confuses the rabbit. so its just best to have one thing in the litter tray and then use lino, anti pill fleece or vet bed for the bottom. lino's probably best while you're litter training as you can just wipe up any accidents from not going in the litter tray. a lot less waste too between the daily cleanings needed.

but as for your question, no a bare bottom cage is not a good idea IMHO. it could case sore hocks due to the foot sitting incorrectly. on something hard like wood or plastic, their claws can not sink into the material. plastic is very rough and abrasive, most plastic rabbit cages also have "patterns" on the bottom which wouldn't be comfortable for the bun either. due to the claws, the pressure is then on the back of the heel causing sore hocks. the fact that she is digging it out of the way would be concerning anyhow, as if she's sitting or moving about on the plastic it could cause issues.

Luna (in her previous home) used to dig out the sawdust in her cage. mostly bc she was in an 80cm cage with no toys or anything, it was out of pure bordem for her. she spent most of the time sat on the plastic and has horrible sore hocks still to this day, even though I rescued her in october 2015. granted, she is a rex, but I wouldn't imagine it to be much different for most other breeds. sore hocks often end up being a long term thing with flareups coming back, often the fur never grows back over the feet.

much better to use something like vetbed (machine washable) which allows them to sink their toes in, or two pieces of anti pill fleece. the reason I state anti pill fleece is due to the fact it doesn't unravel if chewed, or pile. compared to that of a towel that unravels string by string. its also called polar fleece. very soft too.

if she isn't litter trained I'd start with lino and then change to something else, or stick to lino but offer a soft place for her claws to sink into. that's what I did with mine and it works pretty well :)

as for litter.. many use wood pellet cat litter (not scented and not clumping). works pretty well and can be brought for £6 from PAH for a largish bag.

if you really want something in her cage, back 2 nature, megazorb, carefresh (expensive) or fitch are all wonderful alternatives. yes they're a bit more expensive - but I wouldn't touch sawdust with a barge pole. too many risks for me at least.
 
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