Flooring for indoor pen

Hello - wondered if anyone could suggest a fairly cheap way of getting something to cover the floor of our rabbits indoor pen.
Once warm weather comes we will be putting them outside so needing to minimise spending if possible.

Our home flooring is wooden laminate but we wanted to protect that. We bought large rubber/foam interlocking tiles and they were great for about a month until the rabbits tried eating them and quickly created huge holes!!!
We then tried putting towels over the top but they just found the edges & chewed them.
We bought some vinyl laminate a couple of weeks ago at quite a big expense but unfortunately it has quite a slippery surface. No chewing and water resistant but I am worried our rabbits can’t move around so freely anymore.

The area to be covered is around 2m x 2m
(When we are in the room they free roam on the wooden laminate and although it is a bit slippery they seem fine, although can’t run in the way they do when out on the grass.)

Both rabbits are big chewers.
They use litter tray majority of the time so I wondered about trying to put a large rug down. Would it matter health wise if they chewed that?

Any suggestions really appreciated - thanks.

Might not be what you are looking for, but we use expanded strawpellets in the summerhouse on top of the laminate that was there. It's about £6 a bag but one bag would cover your area with a good couple of inches once expanded. We've found if you put in it dry and then water in position (warm water works best) then it expands into a really good soild but cushioning base for them that is safe, non-slip, warm, and easy to gently sweep to clean. It takes a couple of days to try out but doesn't feel damp if you are careful when expanding it and don't over do the watering! Ours is topped up every so often but mostly because Freja pees everywhere so we end up with holes we've had to dig out, without that it lasts months. And composts quickly and easily.

dollyanna said:

Might not be what you are looking for, but we use expanded strawpellets in the summerhouse on top of the laminate that was there. It's about £6 a bag but one bag would cover your area with a good couple of inches once expanded. We've found if you put in it dry and then water in position (warm water works best) then it expands into a really good soild but cushioning base for them that is safe, non-slip, warm, and easy to gently sweep to clean. It takes a couple of days to try out but doesn't feel damp if you are careful when expanding it and don't over do the watering! Ours is topped up every so often but mostly because Freja pees everywhere so we end up with holes we've had to dig out, without that it lasts months. And composts quickly and easily.

Click to expand...

I have never heard of this but I will have a look into it. Not sure it will work for us indoors as the pen is in our main living space but sounds great for when we can move the rabbits outside.
Thank you

PS where do you buy it from?

Ah sorry, I misread, thought you were looking for flooring for when they went outside, my mistake!! What about grass matting/sisal type stuff?

I get the pellets from local equine supplies/agricultural stores, it's called Strawmax.

I have laminate in my bunny room and it’s withstood plenty of bunnies, although touch wood, no bun has tried to eat the floor! If they use the litter tray mostly, maybe you could leave the laminate as it is?

You can buy rubber stable matting type stuff, I have rubber conveyer belt matting in my goat shed, which is similar but very cheap, if you have any places near you selling that kind of thing, back when I had outdoor bunnies it stood up to chewers fine. But it’s perhaps not what you want for inside!

I’m so jealous you have a straw max supplier @dollyanna!
I believe it’s only sold in a certain area at the moment.
Wood pellets would do a similar job, they can be sourced easier, Pets at home sell them as cat litter for example. You can water them down just the same.
I buy in bulk for horses, some local feed merchants may stock Sun-e-bed, that’s a more widely stocked brand.

Bigbunnybella said:

I’m so jealous you have a straw max supplier @dollyanna!
I believe it’s only sold in a certain area at the moment.
Wood pellets would do a similar job, they can be sourced easier, Pets at home sell them as cat litter for example. You can water them down just the same.
I buy in bulk for horses, some local feed merchants may stock Sun-e-bed, that’s a more widely stocked brand.

Click to expand...

Oh really? I was really glad to find them as Odin has an allergy to wood but expanded pellets make the perfect floor for my guys and setup.

Mine aren't really chewers but I've used old cotton quilt covers (blankets & fleeces too)as temporary flooring on top of laminate - many of my rabbits have not been at all happy moving of laminate flooring so I get what you're saying. Of my three Joey is the biggest nibbler & I find more holes in fleece / blankets than the duvet covers

I think a rug would work too but not so cheap

Thank you all for your replies & suggestions.

My husband not at all happy we have ended up with indoor bunnies so I daren’t risk having them on our wooden laminate!
I will try using some fleece type blankets - if I can find a way to stop those slipping. And now have some super suggestions for the outside home once Spring arrives!

If our rabbits do end up chewing fleece blankets do I need to remove it if i find they are chewing it? A few holes aren’t a problem but I wouldn't want them to get poorly.
Similarly, if I find a rug big enough but not crazy money would that be dangerous for them?

Apologies for so many questions. We’ve never had pets before and unfortunately don’t know anyone with experience of rabbits either.