English Angora Bunny- need advice!

[BetsyB0101]

My daughter got a new baby today. English angora doe, she is about 7 weeks old and beautiful! So we had got her a cage, she is in my daughter's room and we had been warned not to use wood shavings as they get hung in their fur. So we got this bedding stuff that kind of looks like tore up toilet paper. Lol. Well, it immediately started getting hung in her fur. So we brushed her out and took out all the bedding and just put down newspaper. I hate using that because of the ink but couldn't think what else to do. Anyone have any advice? She is not on wire so we have to have something to absorb the urine, etc. Thanks for any advice!

 

[Ukiah]

Try putting bedding down then fleece over top. Fleece don't hold water, therefore you see it alot
in indoor rabbit cages, guinea pig cages, etc. If she starts to dig it up, try a thin layer of bedding
underneath, and a brick at each edge. I've also had success with taking 'chip clips' and clipping
the fleece to the wire on the cage. Over all I would recommend litter box training her. It will save
you alot of money on bedding and will keep the cage cleaner. Once litter box trained you wont
need expensive bedding for the cage, as you can use newspaper or fleece. 7 weeks? That's
mighty young. Most people won't sell until they are 8-12 weeks old. Whered you get her from?

Good luck

 

[itsy]

Litter box training is so easy - you almost don't have to do anything.

Petsmart and Petco both sell a corner litter pan . It's a must have, in my opinion, if you are going to keep your rabbit indoors. I've used them with my indoor rabbits with much success....and it helps in keeping them and the rabbit house very clean. As far as what to put INSIDE the litter pan, I really love Yesterday's News . That particular link shows it as cat litter, but it's the same as the recycled pellet newspaper that they sell as small animal litter. I really liked it because my rabbits had no interest in eating it, and it absorbed their urine very well. It's super easy to clean and has no fragrance. Inside the enclosure, I like to use Carefresh bedding . It's safe for the animals and doesn't have any odors. I don't know how well it would stick to the fur of an angora, because I'm familiar with Mini Rexes.

Either way, I'd get one of those litter pans with the Yesterday's News. It'll save you a lot of hassle/cleanup from the bunny going to the bathroom in it's house.

 

[BetsyB0101]

We got the litter box and litter already. She doesn't seem to be too interested in it so far but again, just got her today. Any tips on litter box training her? As far as age, I will check her papers. She is pretty good sized, maybe I misunderstood. I don't know a lot about rabbits yet. I was actually shocked by how big she is, I expected a little bunny. Lol. So maybe I DID misunderstand. I tried the bedding that you are talking about, Ukiah. It is what stuck in her fur. Her fur is something else. Hopefully we can potty train her to the litter box. That would be great! Thanks for the help!

 

[BetsyB0101]

Sorry Ukiah. It was Itsy that mentioned the carefresh bedding. I read back over the posts. Thank you for all the advice. I really appreciate it!

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I have an English Angora & use his litter box in his hutch & in the house. We use the "Yesterday's News" litter as well, and have not had trouble with it getting in his fur. For in hutch bedding I use a straw mat from Petco & a few fleece blankets. He LOVES to rearrange the hutch with his blankets.
Is your cage wire bottomed? I had A LOT of trouble with Herbert the first week because his cage's bottom was not deep enough for litter that stuck on him to fall through to the pan. The pan was too shallow & his fur hung through it & picked up the litter that way. Now that he has a deeper litter pan we have had no trouble.
He is a part time house bunny & took to his litter box better after I put a water bottle next to it (hanging off the M.O.T.H.'s desk), he likes to eat & drink while he is in the litter box, and that helped us a lot. He still likes to pee on the couch from time to time, but has gotten much better about it in the last couple of weeks.

I love my English Angora. He is my favorite pet since my dog Lucy, and I doubt I will get a dog now that I have discovered English Angoras.

 

[BetsyB0101]

No her cage isn't wire on the bottom. It is plastic. I put the litter box over in the corner where she has started peeing. Seems like she just poops everywhere though. Lol. She is unbelievably sweet! We went an hour away to get her. My nine year old held her on her lap on the way home and fell asleep. The bunny just sat on her lap the whole way, didn't try to get off or anything. Just snuggled in the fleece blanket Kassie had on her lap and was an angel. She has obviously been handled A LOT from birth cause she is not afraid at all. I am amazed by her! Thanks for the advice! We are getting some fleece today!

 

[m.kitchengirl]

No her cage isn't wire on the bottom. It is plastic.

Try an area of chicken wire under her eating/litter area. The droppings fall through & it seems to help with the bedding getting stuck, too.​