# Best flooring for a rabbit cage?



## MsBunBun

Hi everyone, its been a while since I've posted (I've been busy with work)

I just wanted to know what type of flooring is recommended for a rabbit cage. Carpet? Linoleum? A combination of both?

:bunny22:


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## ldoerr

This is a good question. I was wondering it myself since I am planning on redooing my rabbit cages soon. 

For now in my NIC cage that houses Shiny Things I have coroplast with bath tub stickers for traction on most of the floor. On the shelf she has fleece. 

Beauty is in a dog crate and for the floor just has the metal pan and a small piece of fleece that tends to bunch up (and that she has been pooping on instead of the litter box).


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## whitelop

I guess it would depend on what kind of cage you have and if your rabbits are litter trained or chewers. 

If you have a NIC cage, then you go get coroplast, its really easy to clean and available at home depot. You could also get linoleum if your bun doesn't chew. If you had different levels in the NIC cage then you could put carpet on them as long as your bun doesn't chew. Carpet is not good to eat. 
If your bun is a chewer, then you should get something like fleece. Its safer to chew than towels or carpet. 
I think a lot of people use most of the things that I've mentioned. They may have different things to say based on what they've experienced. 
So I guess it would depend on what kind personality/behavioral traits your rabbit has. 

My bun has a plastic bottomed store bought cage, so I don't have to worry about flooring. She does have a rabbit fur blanket and a whole kitchen to call her own, my kitchen is hardwoods. She isn't a chewer though.


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## Acacia-Berry

It really depends on the cage and the bunny, as was mentioned. My bunny chews EVERYTHING in her cage. I tried cloroplast, linoleum, rugs, those kids room puzzle piece things, and she damaged them all. Right now, I line the NIC grids with newspaper and top it with a bedsheet sheet or baby blanket and on the corners I banged in an extra NIC grid to hold down the corners. So far, no problems! As for lining the edges of the shelves like some people use cloroplast, I cable-tied strips of cardboard.


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## JessicaK

My rabbits live in an x-pen.
I have a tarp covering the floor. In the areas where they have dug at the tarp and torn it, I've put tiles down. Eventually the whole thing will probably be tile, but thats fine.


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## FreezeNkody

I use Linoleum flooring with a spot for carpet.


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## MyBabyHasPaws

^same thing here


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## Troller

I have a rubber horse stall mat. Heavy as hell but fairly easy to clean. I thinks its cool because while its not as easy to clean as linoleium or coroplast, its not slippery and is kind of bouncy to rest on (ive done it my self).


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## homeboyjames

I'm new here and dont want to start a new thread cause i had the same question. I build my rabbit a big cage and used tile flooring and now she slips and slides even though she did the same in the store bought cage. What could I line it with. She chews everything and would eat carpet at the moment i just put timothy hay everywhere to help her until i can get a real solution


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## Filmore

I built our outside hutch with a (recycled) plywood floor. In the summer months I put 12" square ceramic tiles upside down on the floor. The inverted position gives Filmore a bit of traction and serves to keep the floor cooler with the added benefit of being a bit abrasive on Filmores claws. The tiles are removable for cleaning and are not interesting for chewing. I bet you could find some at the home center for not much money. DON'T USE BROKEN ONES! They will have sharp edges.


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## BugLady

I got some woven-fabric-rope little throw rugs, like the kind you put as floor mats in your car or in front of your door. I put them on the bottom of the cage, and the bunnies love to flop on them and push them into piles. I bought them at the dollar store!


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## OakRidgeRabbits

My littertrained rabbits have carpet flooring. We have a tile type of flooring in our kitchen and most of the rabbits won't leave the rugs when they're in there, so I can't imagine they would be comfortable on flooring like that in their cages.

If I were to go with an easier to clean flooring, the horse stall mats seem like a nice choice.


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## JBun

I've been looking into trying out these utility garage floor plastic tiles. Some of them are textured, so they seemed like a less slippery floor option for rabbits, plus they are a harder plastic so I thought they might also be more difficult for my rabbit to chew, especially if I work it so she can't gain access to the edges to chew on. Linoleum is just too slippery by itself, and carpet is impossible to use for my rabbit. I also thought of trying a rubber mat, but they usually stink of chemicals and that worries me with my buns nose being right near the floor all the time.


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## Blue eyes

I guess you can see there are many options! I have found that it really depends on the rabbit - what works for one may not work for another. 

One thing I try to do is have at least 2 flooring options in any cage so that bunny can choose his pleasure. 

I've used wood, tile, linoleum, vinyl, rubber mat, carpet, woven rug, area rug, foam bath mats, double-sided bath mats and towels. One bunny chewed carpet so I didn't use it for him. Some of my buns were fine on tile, others weren't. Same with the linoleum. 

My current cage has tile and also the foam bath mats. I think I have a photo of that "woven" rug I've used. It might be the same thing that buglady mentioned. --aah, this photo shows it but it looks a little grungy in this photo. At least you can see what it is.:wink


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## ldoerr

JBun- I would LOVE a link to what you are talking about  I am "hopefully" getting the stuff to build a new cage for Christmas and will "hopefully" build it next month. Also if anybody has a link to those mats (not the heavy ones) I would love it.


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## Bunnylova4eva

I put foam tiles (like the ones for kids) in Ripleys xpen. If you do this, be sure to cover it with something so they don't eat/injest any foam. Ripley never was a chewer so I didn't worry with his, but last night he went and ate all this foam. Still worried everythings ok with him.


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## JBun

Here's a link for those flooring tiles.

http://www.rubberflooringinc.com/garage/smooth-flex-tiles.html

This is what they are. Just look around to find the best price. This site has a sale on right now, til christmas plus free shipping


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## MsBunBun

I do have an NIC cage for him, and Im just wondering what kind of flooring I need for the bottom level of his cage.



FreezeNkody said:


> I use Linoleum flooring with a spot for carpet.




Is linoleum too slippery for a rabbit? I went to Home Depot and checked it out, but Im worried that my rabbit might slide on it. THough I know they are very easy to clean.




FreezeNkody said:


> Here's a link for those flooring tiles.
> 
> http://www.rubberflooringinc.com/garage/smooth-flex-tiles.html
> 
> This is what they are. Just look around to find the best price. This site has a sale on right now, til christmas plus free shipping



Those look pretty good, and it looks like it has good traction. Are they easy to clean? (And I missed the Christmas sale, lol.)


(sorry for my EXTREMELY delayed responses everyone)


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## Spikethebunny

So glad you asked this! Lots of ideas! My bun is a super-chewer and also hates tile/wood/linoleum cause he just slips around a lot. I've had towels down, which he finds uber-comfy, but chews a lot. Thanks for the tip about fleece vs towels. I'm thinking of maybe covering the bottom of his x-pen with a fleece blanket and then using the sheet idea over that and weighing them down somehow. Perhaps a little corner with tile in case he wants to lay somewhere cooler. Since I live in an apt, I can't do anything where I have to stick tiles to the floor (which is too bad cause those rubber floor tiles look great...


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## FreezeNkody

My buns all have Sticky Linoleum and I have no problems with anything, easy clean up. =)


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## sammi036

I use these straw mats ( 3 fit in a 30x15 inch cage ) My bun chews on them so I have to replace them every couple of months but their inexpensive, about $6 at petsmart. She loves them!


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## DUSTBUNNY-CLYDE

I went to a glass place and they cut 1/2 inch plexi glass for me!! It's so easy to clean and the bunnies don't seem to be slipping too bad on it!!


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## JBun

I haven't tried those flex tiles yet, so I don't know how good they are. They do say that they are slip resistant. Rubber would be the most slip resistant, but I think my rabbit would be able to find a way to chew on it. These tiles don't glue down at all they just lay on top of your existing floor and interconnect to each other. They are resistant to liquids and chemicals, so they would be easy to clean up messes on. Linoleum is much cheaper, but it's so slippery that my rabbit doesn't like it. They also have these slate flex tiles for the same price. They're still on sale and these tiles show that they ship free too. 

http://www.rubberflooringinc.com/garage/slate-pattern.html

I've been using this clear vinyl fabric that I got from walmart, that is less slippery than linoleum, and has worked pretty well. It's really cheap, and since I secured the edges with wood strips, my rabbit can't get to the edges to chew the vinyl.


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## Troller

Anyone try those foam mats from Lowes or Home Depot? http://m.homedepot.com/p/Best-Step-EVA-Foam-Flooring-BS100-4HDT/202019834/. I'm curious if they're any good for pets.


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## JBun

I know a few people on here use them. They would probably be ok as long as your rabbit isn't a chewer or digger, or they wouldn't stay intact very long and could be dangerous if a piece of it was swallowed.


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## ldoerr

When I built my new cage I made the floors out of wood panneling covered in the vinyl fabric from walmart. Seems to be working out pretty well so far. It provides lots of traction, cleans up VERY easily, is water proof and is cheep as can be (I got a thing that was 9 feet by 54" for $4.50).


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## Winston Bishop

Do the rabbits not pee on the floor, whatever you choose? I'm about to build a new condo for my bun and in the one he has now - he pees outside of his litter box (and in). I've only had him since June and he's about a yr old and is getting neutered in 2 weeks. And then we'll find him a mate. maybe it will be different once he's fixed?? he doesn't pee all over the house - but has peed on the dog's bed and all inside of his cage.


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## Popsicles

@Winston Bishop you’re right that litter training is a lot easier when a rabbit is neutered, so hopefully once he has the op he will stick to peeing where he is supposed to


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## Smudgebunny

Hi. Lots of replies so forgive me if I am repeating a previous suggestion. I have a 2-storey hutch with attached puppy pen in my garage which leads off our laundry. Our bunny Smudge is free to move in between the two. During the day I usually open one side of the pen to give him access into a portion of the laundry. He goes outside for a good part of the day too. I use seagrass mats on top of newspaper in the bottom of the hutch. He does chew on it but I think that’s a good thing for him to be able to do & they only cost $2 at my local Bunnings. I also use a piece of artificial turf in the puppy pen area. I can sweep it, vacuum up excess hair & even hose it off. He also has a rubber tile to sit on too. He hasn’t shown any desire for blankets, fleece etc despite many offerings from us. Each rabbit to their own I guess. A NIC cage looks & sounds great but I haven’t seen them in Australia so far. Once our hutch needs replacing I’d be keen to try & set one up for our bunny. All the best. Maybe you could post a photo once it’s all finished?


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## jsjjane

Khaleesi’s hutch has a wood floor covered with linoleum, I then put a thin carpet on top cut to size. Over that I tuck in a piece of fleece. Each week I replace the fleece with another fleece so I can launder the first. This works really well. She is a chewer but does not chew the fleece. I make sure the fleece is tucked in on all sides of the carpet so she doesn’t chew the carpet.


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## Jacaroe

I use these in the hutch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0721QM73D/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

And when he has free time outside the hutch, it's on the linoleum kitchen floor, which he doesn't seem to mind.

I would love to set up something softer, or even use carpet, but he pees on EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE. Yes, he'll pee in his litter box(es), but he always leaves a little extra when he's out also.


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## jamesewaller

flooring,?-lets consider first -rabbits are by nature consummate chewers{this is mandatory}-my facility has linoleum flooring,but over that- is cardboard and cloth{old clothing/tee shirt,etc.}-it does add to clean up but remember your in it for the long haul-labor of love?--this does help not generate sore hocks.-my bun b-denium will be 13yrs.on oct 22,2018-yes he has health issues,but that's another subject.--I use grasses timothy/orchard also so he can graze..-I -hope something here helps,--food for thought..--sincerely james waller--in memory of the jojobeez


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## Tara Parker

We use Fleece liners & pee pads in our cage. We have a separate litter box too. We use pellets in there, which work lovely. 
***Please make sure if you use fleece that you watch for chewing. We’ve been lucky that our two buns don’t chew on their liners, but I know many people whose buns love chewing them. We have purchased lots of chew toys for our babies, which I think has helped a lot! There’s an awesome shop on Etsy called Fuzzy Bunz (I believe), and she makes fabulous toys to distract & keep your buns busy so they don’t chew their fleece!*** Good luck!


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## Blue eyes

Jacaroe said:


> I would love to set up something softer, or even use carpet, but he pees on EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE. Yes, he'll pee in his litter box(es), but he always leaves a little extra when he's out also.



Have you considered the possibility that your rabbit may have a UTI? Just wondering because fixed rabbits are usually 100% for urine in their litter box. If there are dribbles elsewhere, that can be a sign of an infection.


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## Liung

I'm making a new condo out of an entertainment unit, I'm stressing out about the flooring because Lahi has sore hocks—they're red and angry looking but haven't broken open yet and I'm desperately trying to keep it that way, so he absolutely cannot stand on any hard flooring that will put pressure on his heels. I have to put something down to keep him off the hard wood. 







(Doors still in progress but they are all either holes cut into the wood and covered with chicken wire, or plexiglass with ventilation holes)

My current plan is to put a layer of vinyl (I bought a clear vinyl shower curtain liner to cut up) down on the shelves to protect the wood, then a layer of the EVA foam tiles for cushioning, and then a layer of polar fleece to stop them from chewing on the foam and give more padding. They've shown previously that they absolutely will chew holes in the foam if they have access to it, though they didn't seem to eat the pieces, thank god. Polar fleece I know to be particularly pet safe because it doesn't unravel, so in order to actually eat a piece they have to very determinedly cut out an entire section. Bite a hole in polar fleece and all that happens is that now there's a hole.

I also have a cotton rug for one of the shelves, and I'm maybe going to look at some woven straw mats for other shelves, to give variety. Any ideas for what else I can use that would be good for his sore hocks?

I have carpet in their current enclosure but Lahi is getting forgetful about proper litter habits in his old age and carpet is a massive pain to try and get all the urine smell out of. Because of course if I don't get it all out, Delilah then decides that the spot is a new litter and then they're both going out of the litter, I have to give up and put a new litter box there, but Delilah likes to dig in litter boxes and toss litter everywhere... basically it snowballs into a giant mess.


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## Liung

I attended a talk at Bunfest by a vet on sore hocks, and she explained that the way a rabbit's foot is designed, the toes and claws are supposed to sink into the ground to give them a really good grip to push off if they need to flee. When they're put on hard flooring, their toes can't sink into anything, propping them up and tipping their weight back onto their heels. Further, when they can't propel their motion from their toes, they push off their heels instead, causing even more excessive pressure. Okay, good, yes, makes sense, soft flooring is essential, also regular nail trims. But what flooring?

And what alarmed me was when she said carpet actually doesn't help sore hocks at all, because it's very abrasive. "If you wouldn't want to slide across it on bare knees, it's not good for sore hocks." WHAT FLOORING WOULD ANYONE WANT TO SLIDE ON THEIR KNEES?! I can't plant sod in my house!!

So what carpet they have, I let the fur pile up on top to truly astonishing thickness so they're not standing on carpet so much as they're standing on their own fur, heh.

Of course, then the house got hit with an infestation of Common Carpet Clothes Moths, of which the larva were THRILLED to find lots and lots of fur to make cocoons with. So I'm pretty determined to not bring anything from the old enclosure to the new enclosure. If I never again pick up a piece of what I think is lint only for a tiny head to pop out and wave at me, it will be too soon.

I had someone tell me that a sheepskin fleece rug is great for rabbits with sore hocks but they're SO EXPENSIVE.


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## Bellamy+Lilah

Liung said:


> I'm making a new condo out of an entertainment unit, I'm stressing out about the flooring because Lahi has sore hocks—they're red and angry looking but haven't broken open yet and I'm desperately trying to keep it that way, so he absolutely cannot stand on any hard flooring that will put pressure on his heels. I have to put something down to keep him off the hard wood.
> 
> View attachment 38176
> View attachment 38177
> View attachment 38178
> View attachment 38179
> 
> 
> (Doors still in progress but they are all either holes cut into the wood and covered with chicken wire, or plexiglass with ventilation holes)
> 
> My current plan is to put a layer of vinyl (I bought a clear vinyl shower curtain liner to cut up) down on the shelves to protect the wood, then a layer of the EVA foam tiles for cushioning, and then a layer of polar fleece to stop them from chewing on the foam and give more padding. They've shown previously that they absolutely will chew holes in the foam if they have access to it, though they didn't seem to eat the pieces, thank god. Polar fleece I know to be particularly pet safe because it doesn't unravel, so in order to actually eat a piece they have to very determinedly cut out an entire section. Bite a hole in polar fleece and all that happens is that now there's a hole.
> 
> I also have a cotton rug for one of the shelves, and I'm maybe going to look at some woven straw mats for other shelves, to give variety. Any ideas for what else I can use that would be good for his sore hocks?
> 
> I have carpet in their current enclosure but Lahi is getting forgetful about proper litter habits in his old age and carpet is a massive pain to try and get all the urine smell out of. Because of course if I don't get it all out, Delilah then decides that the spot is a new litter and then they're both going out of the litter, I have to give up and put a new litter box there, but Delilah likes to dig in litter boxes and toss litter everywhere... basically it snowballs into a giant mess.


I would LOOOVE to see your finished product when you get it done!! That is like my ultimate dream project for my bunnies' living spaces someday if I can ever get permission to move them in the house [emoji50][emoji7][emoji195][emoji173]


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## Tara Parker

How’s the progress going Liung? I’m excited to see the finished result!


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## Blue eyes

Liung said:


> Polar fleece I know to be particularly pet safe because it doesn't unravel, so in order to actually eat a piece they have to very determinedly cut out an entire section. Bite a hole in polar fleece and all that happens is that now there's a hole.
> 
> I also have a cotton rug for one of the shelves, and I'm maybe going to look at some woven straw mats for other shelves, to give variety. Any ideas for what else I can use that would be good for his sore hocks?



Actually any brand of fleece from the fabric stores is safe. (I know of Blizzard fleece and anti-pill fleece. Maybe Blizzard fleece is what you know as Polar fleece?) Fleece is not woven and therefore has no threads to tangle (either around them or in their gut). 

If you use woven straw mats or seagrass mats, you may want those on top of some of your fleece since it will likely be chewed and possibly eaten. 

My rabbits did pretty well for awhile with a memory foam bath mat. That may be an option for some areas of your hutch. They used one for maybe a year before they suddenly decided to chew it.


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## Liung

The top part is just storage until I can replace the glass doors with plexiglass that has holes in it. But the rest is done, and after a 2 hour drive the buns have arrived and are doing well!


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## Liung

So in the two bottom cupboards are litter boxes. I wanted to have the two sides symmetrical so that if I need to separate the two of them for any reason I can. I also wanted to do something like this litter/hay box combo that you can get on Etsy



It took a bit of doing to figure out how to make it fit in a cupboard but I did a box for the hay and then a platform box for the other side of the litter, for them to be able to get on the ramp to the next shelf. 



Unfortunately the first night they got here, I didn't want to leave them in the tiny cage I'd brought overnight but neither did I have enough hay with me to completely fill the hay box. The holes in the box are more than large enough for Lahi to fit through, and overnight he decided the hay box was a wonderful place to hide in. I bought a new bag of hay the very next morning and Lahi has been furiously digging it out of the hay box ever since, wanting his hiding place back xD oops




As I mentioned before, the shelves are covered in clear vinyl to protect the wood (which has already come in handy, one of them must have hung their little butt over the corner of the litter box and managed to pee outside it), then a layer of EVA foam, covered in polar fleece. What I ended up doing is making almost pillowcases for the foam. 


I got a roll of sew-on loop Velcro and a roll of stick-on hook Velcro and so now the fleece case is completely removeable and machine-washable. 

However I am noticing that while the fleece may be soft, soft doesn't equal traction, and I am noticing their feet slipping a bit as they walk across it. :/ the cotton mat I put in the centre later gave them more traction but it's not really soft and giving under their feet! ARGH I can't win!

They do like the massive mirror I mounted on the wall of the centre cupboard. 




For the room itself when they run around, I have a woven cotton rug I brought with me from the previous place after washing it thoroughly. I then also bought a woven jute rug to cover the rest of the floor. It's got lots of traction and is very safe if they were to chew on it, but I didn't foresee how uncomfortable it would be. The woven texture is hard and just uncomfortable for me to stand on, kneeling on it is completely out. They haven't shown a preference yet but I'm thinking it's going to get covered with another cotton rug.


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## Scarly

I use the Ikea Tanum rugs. My bun is a chewer but not interested in these for some reason, I just trimmed off the tassels in each corner. when I first got my bun this was the flooring of her cage and could easily be thrown in the laundry when needed. Now her cage is her litter box and she has a full bedroom when we aren’t home, and run of the house when we are home. Her room has linoleum flooring and a bunch of these rugs, though she spends most of her time on the window sill looking out or binkying on her bed (yes she has her own bed that was bought specifically for her ) the bed is untreated pine that she chewed a tiny bit at the beginning but isn’t really interested in (the baseboards have her heart i guess) on the bed we just have the cheapest ikea mattress we could find with a waterproof mattress protector, a patchwork quilt (king size, folded) and then a fleece blanket on top. As long as the fleece isn’t tucked in she’s content pushing it around and couldn’t be bothered with the quilt. 

Rug: 
https://m2.ikea.com/ca/en/p/tanum-rug-flatwoven-assorted-colors-30212675/




Bed: 
https://m2.ikea.com/ca/en/p/neiden-bed-frame-pine-00395252/


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## Popsicles

Wow @Scarly talk about spoilt!! What a lucky bun


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## lavendertealatte

I'm stuck on this again. I'm getting tired of my makeshift plastic shelf liner because it moves around so much and it's getting gross on the parts that I've taped. I'm also thinking about taking out most of the tile cause Bunster slips and slides on it.. although she's not afraid of it, but it also adds to the difficulty of cleaning cause things get stuck under the tiles X_X

Bunster is not a chewer .. all the chew toys I've given her are left untouched.. except for the phonebook. She isn't spayed yet so she will have an accident here and there, so I'm still looking for something easy to clean and waterproof that would protect the carpet underneath, relatively large, and stable. Someone in Instagram mentioned they found gym mats at Tj Maxx?

Also in her xpen the flat sheet is getting covered in Bunster hair..... x_____X


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## Popsicles

I used to use an offcut of lino before Poppy was free range - if you get one with sen texture it is easy to walk on, quite comfy (not too hard) and really good for cleaning up any accidents!


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## CharlieRae

Your buns have the coolest set up!


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## billythebun

My bunny has fleece and towels (mostly fleece) as he is not much of a chewer. Works well for us  Really depends on your bunny though!


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## olobunny

I use Dyson's as well - the only difference w/the animal is the attachments. HOWEVER, I've really had to rig mine by taking out the wand and using a small wand part upside down from another vacuum cleaner I had. I use a totally separate one especially for my rabbits because it does have an odor that I don't want in the rest of my home. I have gone through about 4 Dyson's however - I vacuum my rabbit area twice a day - now keep in mind I now have 5 rabbits in my rabbit room currently and have had up to 16 when I fostered so even a very expensive vacuum gets used more than a normal one of once a week. 

I do use a Dyson ball (hate the ball though) for the rest of my home and only for the areas other than the rabbit rooms - I prefer the regular Dyson rather than the ball for maneuvering. 

I tried a Bissell and it kept hitting me on the head because the vacuum tube thing was not long enough.


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