Taking care of a rabbit means that you should look after it and make sure that all of its needs are taken care of. And when it comes to a rabbit’s needs, one of the most important things to consider is the cleanliness of the house or the room you are keeping it because a dirty environment can lead to diseases for both you and your furry little friend.
As such, there is a need for you to make sure that you are always keeping your rabbit’s messes off the floor as much as possible so that you can keep the environment clean and sanitary. One of the best ways you can do so is to keep a litter box for your rabbit so that it will only do its dirty business in the litter box instead of messing up the floor.
Here are the steps for making your own DIY bunny litter box:
Choosing the material or the box itself
The good news here is that you do not have to create your own box that would serve as the entire base for the litter box. There is no need for you to go and collect materials to construct the box itself because you can just simply use any kind of litter box used for a cat or you can even use simple bowls used for any kind of purpose and just customize these boxes and containers for them to fit your rabbit’s needs.
First off, we may want to suggest that you use a colander and bowl set you can easily purchase in a lot of different stores. While a colander or strainer set is used mainly for cooking or for other kitchen needs, it actually works well as a litter box for your rabbits. Choose the larger variant and one that is made out of cheap plastic because there is no need for you to go for the more expensive ones. You can easily find this in department stores or even in online stores if you do not want to go out of your house.
The colander and bowl set is comprised of two parts: the top portion (which acts as the colander or the strainer) and the bottom bowl part. When choosing a colander and bowl set, make sure that it is not large enough to the point that it will make it too difficult for the rabbit to get inside it. Choose one with sides that fit your rabbit’s size.
Other than using a colander and bowl set, you can also go to a nearby pet store and choose a litter box designed specifically for cats. Go for a larger one because this is what is sufficient for a lot of different household rabbits. If you are keeping two or more rabbits or if you have a bunny that weighs over 20 pounds, always go for the largest one available in the store. If the sides of the litter box are too high, you can always cut out a few inches off of it. Ideally, you would want to keep the sides of the box close to about four inches high to fit most rabbits. You can simply customize the cat litter box later on so that it will fit your rabbit’s needs.
Setting up the litter box
Colander and bowl
If you are using a colander and bowl set for your rabbit’s litter box, here are the steps you need to follow when setting it up to fit the bunny’s needs:
- Cover the bowl with a plastic bag. The purpose of doing so is to make it easier for you to clean it up later. Instead of actually cleaning the entire colander and bowl set, you can just simply throw the plastic bag out and then replace it with a new one. It is that easy as you no longer need to wash the bowl as often as you would have had you used it without the plastic bag.
- Line the inner bowl with about an inch of newspaper pellet litter, which can be bought in most pet stores. This type of litter is regarded as the best option for rabbits because of how safe they are. However, if newspaper pellet litter is not available, look for a wood stove pellets because of how similar it is to newspaper pellet litter. Go for the ones without any accelerant to make sure that it is safe as possible for your rabbit. Avoid other options such as clay or pine because of how the fumes coming out of them can potentially be hazardous for your bunny.
- The final step is to put the colander over the howl and to place the entire set inside the rabbit’s cage or enclosure. This kind of setup will be easier for you to clean because of how you can just simply remove the colander and clean it and then remove the plastic bag from the bowl and dump its contents.
Custom cat litter box
For those using a cat litter box, follow these steps:
- Custom-fit the litter box with a plastic crate or even with a wire grid. If you cannot find something that perfectly fits the box, you can cut the sides out so that it will fit. Make sure that the grid is as smooth as possible so that you can avoid injuries to your rabbit’s feet.
- Line the box with about an inch of newspaper cat litter similar to the one we discussed above for the colander and bowl set litter. Again, this is the safest type of litter for your rabbit because it is free from any harmful fumes that can be dangerous to your rabbit’s lungs.
- Place the wire grid over the litter. Cover the entire setup with hay so that it will look as natural as possible to your rabbits. The purpose of the hay is to make sure that your rabbit is enticed to go over to the litter box and do its business there.
- The final step is to place the entire setup inside the rabbit’s cage or enclosure. Make sure to put in in a corner because that is where the rabbit usually does its business. Always take the box out of the cage when you are playing with the rabbit so that it will still do its dirty work in the litter box even though it is outside of the enclosure.
Conclusion
A litter box for our rabbit is such an important part of making sure that you are keeping your bunny in an environment that is as sanitary as possible. Moreover, you can also benefit from the litter box because of how it basically dispenses the need for you to be cleaning the floor as often as possible while also making sure that you and your family are kept away from any harmful bacteria or parasites coming from the rabbit’s feces. Of course, when setting up a rabbit litter box, the one thing you should consider is how easy it is to clean up for you. After all, one of the reasons why you are even using a litter box for your rabbit is convenience.
