# Need a good grate material...



## Jenk (Feb 13, 2012)

Can someone recommend a stable/solid material that I could use to fashion a grate for my rabbits' litter boxes? (Their grates must be raised to prevent them from having access to their litter.)

For the last two years, I've been unable to find the same sized fluorescent (light) grid panels. That is, they still come in the same overall panel size, but the grid openings are now larger--too large, at the very least, for my Mini Rex's feet. (I think the opening size went from 3/8" to 1/2". And this is all I can find at all home-improvement stores.)

I'd like to find a grate material we can size for our rabbits' litter pans. (One has a busing tray, the other has a mortar-mixing pan.) The problem is that all material I've found has been akin to chicken wire: too sharp and/or thin for a bun to stand on without major foot/skin pressure issues.

I don't live near a tractor supply store, so it's hard to investigate (in person) products that they may carry.

Thank you,

Jenk


----------



## mrbunny (Feb 13, 2012)

Have you tried art supply stores? I think I remember someone mention that they purchased plastic grids for their rabbits' litter bins at an art supply store. Hope that helps.


----------



## SOOOSKA (Feb 13, 2012)

Jenk, have you thought about the plastic mesh. 

You can see it in Daisy Mae's litterbox?

















I got mine at Walmart in the Craft section also at Michaels (not sure if you have thme in the States.

Susan


----------



## Buttercup n Charlie (Feb 13, 2012)

I use the same thing as Susan (saw it in an earlier post of hers and stole the idea ). You can get it in the states, even online. Search for "plastic canvas", such as this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018N26NC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20.


----------



## Korr_and_Sophie (Feb 13, 2012)

I have found that my rabbits tend to chew the plastic mesh, so I can't use only that. What I use is the mesh cut to the right size, then a wire grid over top. The grid has holes big enough for the poops so they fall through but are caught by the plastic mesh for easy cleaning. Urine just goes right through to the litter on the bottom. 

I did find some plastic coated wire. It is used by breeders generally for shows to keep the rabbits off the floor of a cage. The ones from this site are 11" by 9", but they might be willing/able to do more custom sizes. https://www.bunnyrabbit.com/brcom.html I don't know if they have different size holes or anything. Even if this is not specifically what you want, you can try other companies to see if they have what you need.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Feb 14, 2012)

How about a Tidy Cats Breeze litter box? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001E530FW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 It's perfect for bun buns if you leave out the clay litter and just use the pee pads. I have one so far and loooove it way more than someone should love a litter box. It has a grate so the bunny can't dig in litter, and it uses pee pads instead of litter. Very tidy and easy to clean. It seems like it would be very gentle on feet, too.


----------



## Jenk (Feb 14, 2012)

*Korr_and_Sophie wrote: *


> ...My rabbits tend to chew the plastic mesh, so I can't use only that. What I use is the mesh cut to the right size, then a wire grid over top. The grid has holes big enough for the poops so they fall through but are caught by the plastic mesh for easy cleaning. Urine just goes right through to the litter on the bottom.


I'm in the same boat: my rabbits would chew--and _eat_--any form of plastic they can easily get to with their teeth. (That's why we like the fluorescent grid panels so much. We can raise them above the litter--which also would be consumed if reached--and the buns don't seem to notice that the grates technically be lifted. They seem to assume the grates are a part of their litter boxes.)

A few questions about your wire-grid/mesh setup:

*1) *Do you attach the mesh to the grid, or do you just lay it on top of the litter and place the metal grid over it?

*2) *Do you find that you must clean the plastic mesh frequently? (I would suspect as much.)

*3) *Do you even need mesh, if you have a raised grid above your buns' litter? 




> I did find some plastic coated wire. It is used by breeders generally for shows to keep the rabbits off the floor of a cage. The ones from this site are 11" by 9", but they might be willing/able to do more custom sizes. https://www.bunnyrabbit.com/brcom.html I don't know if they have different size holes or anything. Even if this is not specifically what you want, you can try other companies to see if they have what you need.


A 9" x 11" grid definitely wouldn't fit my male's litter box; I don't even think it would be big enough for our Mini Rex's litter box. Heh. (If the grid size is larger than 3/8", I wouldn't feel safe to use it--at least for Emma, who obviously has tiny feet.)

I will look into this product but know that my DH will _not_ be into the idea if a custom-sized item is pricey. (Our annual vet and pet-food expenses are so much that we won't spend much on extraneous pet products.)


Jenk


----------



## Jenk (Feb 14, 2012)

*SnowyShiloh wrote: *


> How about a Tidy Cats Breeze litter box? http://www.amazon.com/Tidy-Breeze-Litter-3-5-Pound-Packages/dp/B001E530FW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329199344&sr=8-1 It's perfect for bun buns if you leave out the clay litter and just use the pee pads. I have one so far and loooove it way more than someone should love a litter box. It has a grate so the bunny can't dig in litter, and it uses pee pads instead of litter. Very tidy and easy to clean. It seems like it would be very gentle on feet, too.


This product would be too easily chewed/ingested--at least by our Cali boy. It's also more money than we want to spend on a litter box. (See my previous post re: vet bills and food expenses. )

In theory, though, it seems like a nice product. But from the photo, it looks as if the pets walk directly on top of the litter, which I also can't allow. (They'll eat it, and I don't think having them eat wood-stove pellets is a keen idea. Heh.)


Jenk


----------



## Korr_and_Sophie (Feb 14, 2012)

*Jenk wrote: *


> *Korr_and_Sophie wrote: *
> 
> 
> > ...My rabbits tend to chew the plastic mesh, so I can't use only that. What I use is the mesh cut to the right size, then a wire grid over top. The grid has holes big enough for the poops so they fall through but are caught by the plastic mesh for easy cleaning. Urine just goes right through to the litter on the bottom.
> ...


I just lay the mesh over the litter and the wire over the mesh. 

I scrub out the litter boxes and the grate/mesh once a week. I do soap and water, then spray and scrub with vinegar. They don't really get too dirty, but I like to keep them clean and I am sure the bunnies appreciate it. 

I like the mesh as it keeps the poops out of the litter. Once a week and clean off the grate (hay and some poops) onto the mesh and then dump that into the garbage and then can easily scoop the wet litter without a bunch of poops. I have tried smaller holes in the wire, but it's wasn't as easy to dump the hay and poops. 

For the other grates that are smaller, you could get a few to be the right size for the litter box.


----------



## funnybunnymummy (Feb 14, 2012)

Jenk wrote:


> *SnowyShiloh wrote: *
> 
> 
> > How about a Tidy Cats Breeze litter box? http://www.amazon.com/Tidy-Breeze-Litter-3-5-Pound-Packages/dp/B001E530FW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329199344&sr=8-1 It's perfect for bun buns if you leave out the clay litter and just use the pee pads. I have one so far and loooove it way more than someone should love a litter box. It has a grate so the bunny can't dig in litter, and it uses pee pads instead of litter. Very tidy and easy to clean. It seems like it would be very gentle on feet, too.
> ...



There's a grate between the pee pads and the litter. But you wouldn't use litter with a bunny since their poops would just collect on top of the grate and the pee would go through to the pee pad. I've been eyeing this product myself, but haven't found it to buy anywhere locally yet (and hesitant to order it online without seeing it first). Do you have pics of your set-up SnowyShiloh to show us how it works?

Rue


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Feb 14, 2012)

Jen, like I said in my post, you don't use the clay litter. That's just for kitties. The bunnies sit right on top of the grate, which seems to be pretty easy on the tootsies. Definitely easier than the fluorescent lighting screen you've used before (I've used it, too). Here's a picture that gives you an idea of what the grating looks like:



Sorry Kerensa looks like a wreck, it was right after she got home from her spay! 

As for it being plastic, I'm guessing that busing trays and mortar-mixing pans are not plastic then? I don't know what they are. Wouldn't a bunny potentially chew on the fluorescent lighting screen, too, since it's plastic? As you can see from the photo of Kerensa, I didn't put up the white pee guard thing around the litter box because it isn't needed for my little buns. They can't lift their butts high enough to pee over the size. The edges of the litter box are kind of curled under so they're a bit harder to chew. Pink may need the white guard though since he's bigger and the edges on that are just flat.


----------



## LakeCondo (Feb 14, 2012)

I combined 2 things: 1/4" wire mesh & fiberglass window screen material. I used duct tape on the underside to tape the larger piece of fiberglass to the wire mesh. The tape may need replacing, but it's lasted 10 weeks ok.


----------



## Jenk (Feb 15, 2012)

*SnowyShiloh wrote: *


> Jen, like I said in my post, you don't use the clay litter. That's just for kitties.


I didn't think buns would be on top of clay litter but on top of common bun litter types--Care Fresh or wood-stove pellets. While Emma is fairly trustworthy with CF, it's too pricey compared to wood-stove pellets. And I don't trust either bun having direct access to wood-stove pellets.




> The bunnies sit right on top of the grate, which seems to be pretty easy on the tootsies. Definitely easier than the fluorescent lighting screen you've used before (I've used it, too).


I wish there were a cheaper way--since hay costs us about $65 per month--but we place hay over the buns' entire grate area, to help cushion their feet a bit more from the fluorescent-lighting grid. 




> As for it being plastic, I'm guessing that busing trays and mortar-mixing pans are not plastic then? I don't know what they are. Wouldn't a bunny potentially chew on the fluorescent lighting screen, too, since it's plastic? As you can see from the photo of Kerensa, I didn't put up the white pee guard thing around the litter box because it isn't needed for my little buns. They can't lift their butts high enough to pee over the size. The edges of the litter box are kind of curled under so they're a bit harder to chew. Pink may need the white guard though since he's bigger and the edges on that are just flat.


It's the white guard that made me feel this product wouldn't be safe, at least for Pink, who would most definitely chew it. And Emma can raise her backside amazingly high, often overshooting her box. So having this box without a guard wouldn't provide extra protection. Plus, we just don't want to spend $40 on a litter box.

Yes, both the busing pan and mortar-mixing pan are made of plastic. The busing pan is made of very tough plastic and has smoothed, rolled edges. And Emma's not a plastic chewer, so she's fine with it. 

Pink's mortar-mixing pan is made of cheap, easier-to-chew plastic. But he doesn't think to chew it much because it, too, has smooth, rolled edges. Anything that has a straight, raised edge, though, is fair game for him. 

The fluorescent lighting grid works well because my DH cut them to fit very neatly against the edges of both litter pans; the buns don't realize that they're not standing on the bottom of the litter pan and, thus, leave the grate alone. The grates are also somewhat weighted, because my DH makes "runners" on them, so that they sit above the litter, rather than on it. (Does that make sense?)


Jenk

Jenk


----------



## MiniLopHop (Feb 15, 2012)

Jenk, why are you spending so much on hay? wow! You are in farm country and should be able to get it at a much better price. I pay $7.50 for 60 pound bale. If they waste a good bit I still don't care because it is so cheap. They won't eat the bagged stuff from pet stores anymore because it's not as fresh.

I use the same system as Susan (thank you so much for the idea!). I toss the poops daily and clean the whole thing once a week. I think it makes things easier on mini rex feet and prevents the angora from getting his hiney wet.


----------



## funnybunnymummy (Feb 15, 2012)

I believe she special orders her hay.

Rue


----------



## Jenk (Feb 23, 2012)

*MiniLopHop wrote: *


> Jenk, why are you spending so much on hay? wow! You are in farm country and should be able to get it at a much better price. I pay $7.50 for 60 pound bale. If they waste a good bit I still don't care because it is so cheap. They won't eat the bagged stuff from pet stores anymore because it's not as fresh.


I'm in the Chicago suburbs, not farm country. 

I once purchased a 50-lb. bale of hay from a semi-local feed store for $8, and our home wound up with a horrible case of grass mites--likely the straw-itch mite--that lasted nearly a year and cost us a tragic amount of money to eradicate. Since then, we refuse to return to that feed store.

I used to buy a 50-lb. bale of timothy hay from Oxbow but must now buy it from Drs. Foster & Smith (since Oxbow no longer fills orders to consumers). Buying that same brand/amount locally isn't an option; it costs $85!

I live semi-close to an exclusive area that affords land for horses but have been unable to learn what hay source(s) people there may use. (I even once contacted a horse racetrack in my region and got no response.) Bah.


Jenk


----------

