Rabbits are adorable animals that have a unique appearance and lovable personalities. As such, it’s no surprise that many people choose rabbits as their pets and do their best to give the rabbits the most comfortable life. One of the elements necessary for such a life is hygiene.
In this article, we’ll talk about how often you should change the rabbit’s bedding as well as other related information you may find interesting, so keep on reading to learn more.
Changing your rabbit’s bedding is like cleaning their cage; you should do it regularly, especially when it already smells bad. It’s usually recommended to change the beddings at least twice a week. However, even this depends on a variety of factors. The information below will help you to find the answer to this important question, ensuring that your bunny stays healthy and happy.
Types Of Rabbit Beddings
Most bunny beddings are made up of straws, hays, cloth, or hardwood shavings. Some bunnies love organizing their habitat, so make sure to place a couple of comfortable items along with their beddings. As for how frequently you should change their bedding, it depends on how often they urinate and produce feces. There are certain instances when you’ll need to change their beddings as frequently as possible.
You should place some available materials as well, not just the bedding. Don’t forget to provide your rabbit with a litter box too, which needs to be cleaned with soapy warm water once a week. However, you can do it more frequently as well, if needed.
Bedding Choices
The kind of bedding you choose can affect how often you’ll need to change it. Some of the beddings you can choose from are:
1. Newspaper
Newspapers are a generic material. You can easily obtain them when the newspaper boy delivers them each morning. However, as much as it’s easily obtained, you’ll need a lot of newspapers because it’s not as absorbent as some other materials. So if your rabbit urinates on it, it will start to stink immediately. Regardless of how many newspapers you use, make sure to change them as frequently as possible to avoid a bad odor. Most people who use this type of bedding change them at least every two days.
2. Paper Pulp Pellets
This type of bedding is more recommended than newspaper bedding because you won’t need to change your bunny’s beddings as frequently as in the case of newspaper bedding. A lot of veterinarians also recommend this kind of bedding, especially when you’re making the rabbit learn where they should put their litter. Paper pulp pellets need to be changed once every 4-5 days.
3. Food Grade Paper Bedding
This type of bedding is considered one of the best bedding options. It is approved by the FDA and can also serve as rabbit food. Food-grade paper beddings fight odor and can last for prolonged periods as well.
4. Wood Fiber Pellets
This bedding is densest than all the other ones. It’s also a much safer option for rabbits and lasts the longest as well. However, you’ll still need to change it once every 3-4 days to ensure that your rabbit’s habitat remains clean. Moreover, be wary of those materials that you want to place on the bedding. Certain materials can be toxic and dangerous for your bunny. For example, materials like cedar and pine shavings aren’t suitable to use as litter or bedding for rabbits. Such wood shavings can cause liver disease in bunnies and even shorten their lifespan. So make sure to avoid them.
5. Hay
If you want to use hay as bedding, don’t worry; the rabbit will not eat much of it. They may nibble at it though while they are using a litter box. So pay attention to the area near the litter box. Daily checks on the hay condition and level are vital to keeping the rabbit using their box.
Other Factors That Can Affect How Often You Should Change Bedding
1. Size
Many people may not know this, but the size of their rabbit can be the determining factor when it comes to changing the beddings. Do you know why? It’s because larger rabbits usually eat more than the smaller ones. So if your rabbit is larger compared to other ones, you need to change the bedding as frequently as possible.
2. Illness
Rabbits that have a certain disease or illness tend to fill the litter much faster. For example, if your bunny has diarrhea, you’ll need to change the bedding at least once a day. Doing this can make your rabbit feel more comfortable till they get better. However, make sure to visit the veterinarian if you notice that your bunny isn’t getting any better.
3. Rabbits That Are Not Litter Trained
If your bunny still uses the bedding as their bathroom, you will have no choice but to change their bedding as frequently as you’d change their litter box.
4. Litter Trained Rabbits
If your rabbit is litter-trained, you’ll need to change bedding once every week. You can consider it as part of the regular hutch cleaning routine.
5. Inexpert Litter Users
If your rabbit is still not used to using a litter box, you’ll need to change it frequently. As for how frequently you should change it, it usually depends on how often the bunny does not use a litter box.
6. Hutches With Multiple Rabbits
If you have a couple of bunnies living in the same habitat, you should change the bedding as often as you see fit, especially if the bunnies are not litter trained.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are a variety of factors to take into consideration when deciding how frequently you should change your rabbit’s bedding. Some things to consider are the type of bedding your rabbit uses, the size or illness of a rabbit, as well as how much experience they have with using a litter box. Paying attention to these will help you determine how often you should change the bedding of your rabbit and maintain clean conditions in their habitat.
