# Keeping floor dry



## bunnylovin1093 (Jul 13, 2015)

Hello. I have not been on this forum in a long time. Recently me and my bunny Bambi have been having the problem of the floor of the run which is part brick and part newspapers with shavings getting soaked. It is not pleasant or comfortable for Bambi at all and I am afraid it may lead to a URI. Today I purchased Bambi a lovely new home as the run is too narrow and too short for me to comfortably perform tasks. 

http://alwaysdirect.com.au/huge-wal...g-box.html?utm_source=getprice&utm_medium=cpc 

I was wondering how can I change the floor or bedding so that the water does not soak through the ground and make it wet.

PS: The run has a roof and I suspect it is partly getting wet due to nearly horizontal rain which seems quite common. I will fix that by tacking sheets of clear plastic to the sides.


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## BrokenMermaid (Jul 13, 2015)

Well, if you felt let giving Bambi a new floor or adding a layer over his current one, you could give him a slightly slanted floor with drainage indents or holes, like we use for patios here in hurricane alley. If you don't know what I mean I can find you a picture, but if you've ever been around an in ground pool you've probably seen something like it.


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## bunnylovin1093 (Jul 13, 2015)

What could I use for the floor?


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## MiniLopMad (Jul 14, 2015)

I had the same problem with my on-ground hutch. Isn't it terrible  

I don't use the hutch anymore, but when I did have a bunny in it, I did a few things to help stop it from getting wet and flooded. 

I attached strong wire mesh to the bottom and then had my cousin attach legs so it was slightly off the ground. This allowed water to run under it. 

I am personally not a fan of wire bottom cages, so I used small carpet rugs to cover the wire in most places. The carpet would get wet when angled rain came in, but I would take the carpet out if I thought it would rain. When it all dried up again, I'd put the carpet back 


That's what I did and I'll admit that it isn't the best plan as it didn't work 100% of the time but it really did help. My bunny wasn't on wet, dirty bedding caused by rain. 

I didn't make the floor angled as I was too paranoid about the hutch falling. I was worried about it being top heavy but I guess it could of worked if I tried it 

If the bedding is getting wet because your bunny is urinating on it, you may have to try other things.

I hope I helped  Keep us updated!


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## BrokenMermaid (Jul 14, 2015)

That could help! Do you guys have outdoor or patio carpet there? That might be a good thing to cover the mesh floor with, it's made so that liquids either roll off or go right through it, rather than get absorbed into the fibers. Seems like a great thing for bunnies to me. Other than mesh I would think something that is not going to be destroyed by the rain, so probably a type of plastic, but you'd have to make sure it drains good and still probably put that carpet over it for your bun so he's not all Bambi on ice.


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## bunnylovin1093 (Jul 15, 2015)

I am in australia so no snow or ice really here . It is definetley not Bambi weeing on the bedding as the bedding is completely soaked through with water as well as all the toys being soaked. Plus Bambi is littertrained. I forgot to mention that the run is 3.65 m long and 1.10 metres wide. The roof has spots where it drips a bit which is one of the reasons I have purchased this

http://alwaysdirect.com.au/huge-wal...4QK-I-TU6HPTZdFeGyS4rhPgBcGqGPUSq7hoCtZ3w_wcB

We do not have outdoor carpet. Bambi lives out the front of the house where as what I guess is like a patio on the ground (?????!!!!) is out the back on the other side of the house. Out the front of the house around the run is dirt . I have been trying to talk mum into having the new coop out the back on the thick tile bricks. When Bambi lived in a little hutch before we built the run he lived out the back and stayed dry out there. He has a plastic dog kennel to shelter in.


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## BrokenMermaid (Jul 15, 2015)

I meant you probably wouldn't want to leave him on just plastic because he would slip and slide like in the Disney movie when the deer Bambie was on ice. I'll ask my husband when I get the chance, he's more of a mind for these things so he may have better ideas.


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## bunnylovin1093 (Jul 17, 2015)

Thanks. The coop arrived yesterday morning we are going to construct it tommorow. It is awesome. My mum suggested getting some soft barkchips and making them thick enough that they would stay fairly dry. Are barkchips too hard on bunny's feet? We have stopped the problem of horizontal rain by putting the plastic on the south side. It is working well as everything has stayed dry.


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## Azerane (Jul 19, 2015)

My concern with the bark chip would partially be his feet, but also I would have concern for him eating them. I know that you can get pine, and red gum bark chips, neither of which should be eaten by a rabbit. The phenols in the pine is also a concern, that could cause health issues. I would look into another sort of flooring.


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