I have a lion head bunny that we purchased and are going to slowly litter train her and introduce her to our home. I am a new rabbit owner and I have a few basic cleaning questions.
One is that she poops EVERYWHERE. On her cage and all in it. I'm talking massive quantities in a day. She doesn't seem to care where she goes. I love to play with her and let her run in our home ( while being monitored) and I want to keep her cage clean daily. How can I do this with all the pellets everywhere?
Also, she poops ON her hutch that she sleeps in. Can I use clorox to clean it then rinse it off? It is WOOD so I don't want anything toxic to be absorbed into her hutch as she'll probably gnaw on it later .
Thanks so much!!
I wouldn't use chlorox to clean anything my pets would use. You shouldn't really have to worry about disinfecting the hutch unless your rabbit urinated in area you want to be cleaned. Urine can contain ammonia , which itself is pretty toxic and it is best to rid of this before there is too much buildup. The rabbit droppings are no big deal, and an easy method to safely clean is using an ordinary plastic bottle with water mixed with some vinegar. This won't hurt you or the rabbit. As far as cleaning the urinated area, I would advise you to go to the pet store and buy a special disinfectent, and it has to be rabbit/pet friendly. DO NOT use household disinfecting products which are considered universal around the house. Even though chlorox may not contain ammonia, regular household cleaners usually do, but I wouldn't use this when cleaning pet things. Also, an inportant tip is to NEVER use the same tools you use to clean other things. Have a special bucket, towel, washcloth, or whatever else you want to use to clean with specially reserved for your rabbit's cleaning necessities. This can reduce cross contamination.
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It is good that you are training your rabbit to use the litter box. It can be a tedious process but well worth it in the end. It sure makes the cleaning process a whole lot easier for you and it is safer for the pet as well . Just make sure you're using bio-degradeable litter and not cedar or pine shavings, as these can result in liver disease and respiratory problems.
To litter box train her you need to put all her poop in the litter box. Don't use bedding for her litter. Any bedding she pees on should go in her litter box too. Reward her anytime you catch her toileting in her litter box. Say no firmly if you catch her toileting outside of her liter box. You can use vinegar to clean her hutch too. It is OK if she swallows a little. Just make sure it dries before she gnaws on it again! Also don't use clorox. But bleach is fine!
I will use disinfectant wipes in my rabbit cages, you do want to rinse when your done. Most rabbits will leave droppings lying around, the good news is you can vacuum them! In her cage, she will probably start using just one spot ... most rabbits do .. . and hopefully she will! I usually just clean the entire cage every day or every other day (depends how messy the bunny is!).
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Hope this helps! Have fun with your new bunny!
When i go to clean my rabbits cage i use lemon juice or vinager and then i rince it very well wipe it with a towel then let it finish air drying cause i agree that using any kind of harsh chemicals on their cages could be very bad for the little bunnies. if you go to your local pet store then there should be some kind of books that you can get that has alot of information, plus you can also go to your vet and s/he 'll help you too
On the litter training ... It helps if the bedding you have on the floor of the hutch and the bedding in the litter box aren't the same. So if you have wood chip bedding on the floor, try using carefresh or paper type product in the box. Also, if you want to get her trained faster, your going to have to get down and dirty. Yes, you have to move the feces and the wet bits of bedding to her litter box. Use gloves or wash your hands afterward. Plus, if your rabbit is younger, it takes much longer to litter train them. My four year old rescue took 2 days, with no accidents, but it can take months to train a young rabbit. They are just little stinkers:)
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com As a disinfectant, I love using vinegar. Its non-toxic, and if you wipe it off with water, it shouldn't smell.
