# which litter is best?



## mitchell8684 (Nov 29, 2010)

petsmart and petco are probably 45 minutes away from me and outrageous on shipping prices -- what kind of litter can i get for sophie's litter boxat a wal-mart or dollar general that is reasonably priced and safe for my bunny?? :biggrin2:


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## Korr_and_Sophie (Nov 29, 2010)

You should be able to get Yesterdays News at Walmart. Get the unscented cat stuff. 

If you have a hardware store near you, you might be able to find wood stove pellets. They are compressed sawdust and cost about $6 for a 40 pound bag. Make sure there is nothing added to them as it could be toxic to a rabbit. 

A feed or farm store should have horse stall bedding. It is wood pellets like the wood stove pellets but is made for use as animal bedding. It is about the same price as wood stove pellets and should be avaliable all year. 

If you can't get these, you can just use newspaper and change it every day. It's not the best and doesn't do much for the odor, but it's better than nothing. 

You can also try using a sifting litter box or one with a raised grate and not using litter at all. The pee you could just pour down the sink and the poops can go into the garbage or compost.


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## Nancy McClelland (Nov 29, 2010)

Walmart also has "Petspick", which is a kiln dried pine. Works fine for our brood.


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## mitchell8684 (Nov 29, 2010)

yay! am going to try out the yesterdays news litter --- printed a coupon off of there site for buy one get one free!!


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## maxysmummy (Nov 30, 2010)

we used to use the pressed newspaper pellets but upon advice of the pet shop people we switched to wood shavings made into little pellets. it seems to last longer and you can tell just by looking at the pellets when its time for a change - the moisture makes them burst from pellets into like a sand stuff, whereas the newspaper stuff just seemed to get soggy.


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## MsBunBun (Nov 30, 2010)

I use Carefresh with a layer of newspaper on top of the Carefresh litter, and on top of the newspaper I use fresh hay.  works well, and its easy to clean. (for me anyway)


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## elrohwen (Nov 30, 2010)

If you're looking for the cheapest and most effective, you can't go wrong with wood stove pellets. For $4-6 per 50lb bag you get something as good as any of the pet store litters.

Yesterday's News is a great litter and I think it works really well, but it's about 4x the cost of the wood stove pellets, so I switched.


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## slavetoabunny (Nov 30, 2010)

I use the horse stall bedding. I pay $8 per 40 lbs. It's the best litter I've every used (I've used Carefresh, Yesterday's News, and aspen shavings).


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## Suz (Nov 30, 2010)

I'm a wood stove pellet lover myself. Find a local place that sells wood stoves. They'll have like 40lb bags for like $5.00



Can't go wrong with that!


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## Mia (Dec 2, 2010)

*slavetoabunny wrote: *


> I use the horse stall bedding. I pay $8 per 40 lbs. It's the best litter I've every used (I've used Carefresh, Yesterday's News, and aspen shavings).


I live in horse country so should be able to find this close to home. Is it something you buy in bags or bales? What should I look for?

TIA!


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## Korr_and_Sophie (Dec 3, 2010)

*Mia wrote: *


> *slavetoabunny wrote: *
> 
> 
> > I use the horse stall bedding. I pay $8 per 40 lbs. It's the best litter I've every used (I've used Carefresh, Yesterday's News, and aspen shavings).
> ...


You get them in bags, usually 35-40 pounds per bag. Go to a feed/farm store and ask them for it. Make sure you get the pellets and not shavings. The feed stores around here usually have it in the back that you pay for them drive around to pick it up. Since most people would buy large amounts at a time, they probably won't have it in the main store area. I would get a couple bags so you don't have to go too often. 1 bag lasts me about 8 weeks with 4 rabbits. 
http://eaglevalleyabm.com/about.html this is one brand so you can see what they are. Your local store might have something different. I haven't found much difference in brands other than the size and texture of the pellets.


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## Mia (Dec 3, 2010)

Thank you so much. There is a feed shop not far from here; I'll check it out. The most expensive part of my bunnies is the litter!


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## Bunnylicked (Dec 3, 2010)

I personally like Wood Stove Pellets. They're cheap ($5 for a 40 lb bag), and they take care of the pee smell very well - I only have to change the litter every 3-4 days. And plus, they're safe for bunnies to nibble on. I've seen them at Wal-Mart and various supermarkets.


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## Mia (Dec 3, 2010)

Bunnylicked, are they all safe? I saw another post that said something about making sure there weren't additives or something...so I didn't know how to tell which ones might be good or not good. Wal-mart is even closer than the feed store, so if they're an option, I will probably want to give them a try, too.


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## slavetoabunny (Dec 9, 2010)

*Korr_and_Sophie wrote: *


> *Mia wrote: *
> 
> 
> > *slavetoabunny wrote: *
> ...


At the farm supply store I go to you do have to ask for it at the checkout. If I only get one bag, they just carry it out to my car for me. More than one bag and I drive around back to have it loaded. One 40 lb. bag lasts me almost a month for 5 bunnies (I change litter every 2 days for my pair and every 4 days for singles). I use Stampede brand.


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## Acacia-Berry (Dec 9, 2010)

I wish I had a car now!! I'd like to get the kiln dried pellets, I have been using plain newspapers for over a year now. Even when Akina was sick and peed every 15 minutes or so I changed the litter boxes a couple times a week and there was only minimal smell. With one closet case bunny now, the smell is not existant!!  Acacia is such a wonderfully clean bunny! I top her newspaper twice a day and dump it once a week and there's never smell! I keep a 200lb tote down in the basement full of newspaper and a stack in my room at all times.


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## jwark (Dec 10, 2010)

Is it bad to use cat litter? I recently started using it after always using carefresh to cover her entire cage since I got a large cage and can just use a litter box in the corner. After reading this I'm thinking there is a reason no one uses cat litter. I was careful not to get dust producing litter, is that ok?


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## Acacia-Berry (Dec 10, 2010)

NO!!! Never use clay clumping or non-clumping cat litter. Bunnies usually digest some when they're picking around for hay and this stogs their digestive tracts leading to stasis or death. Now, admittedly I used it 4 years ago when I firtst got Acacia and never had problems but you learn from your mistakes and please please do not use cat litter!


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## jwark (Dec 10, 2010)

Hm, well it's arm and hammer essentials. Says it's only made out of corn and baking soda. It clumps and there's no clay. That's bad, though? I've actually only used it for a week with her so hopefully no damage has been done. I definitely haven't seen her try to ingest any of it.


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## Korr_and_Sophie (Dec 11, 2010)

Clumping litter is a huge no no for rabbits. Imagine the clumps inside your rabbits intestine. Even a small amount could cause a blockage that could cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to fix and the rabbit may not survive the surgery. Unless there is absolutely no way for the rabbit to eat the litter, don't use it. 
With rabbits and other small animals, it is much better to avoid unsafe things than try to deal with the issues they cause later.


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## jwark (Dec 15, 2010)

That makes sense. I did try to read on it but the only thing I found was saying the dust was bad. Thanks for the info.


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## lagomorphlvr (Dec 19, 2010)

I use Equine Pine - it's pelleted horse stall bedding. You can find it at feed stores. I pay about 5.99 for 40 lbs, and it works great! I've also used Yesterday's News - also works great, but much more pricey!


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## BrittsBunny (Dec 21, 2010)

Guardian! It's horse pine bedding and it's absolutely amazing! & cheap! It's only $6 for a pretty big bag (I'd say about 25 lbs maybe?) and it lasts forever! 

I used to use the Care Fresh and even though it's really nice, it's way too expensive! I would pay $6 weekly just for a small package! The Guardian bedding lasts for several months at a time! Then again, I do have just one rabbit too! And a small one at that!


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