I have one of my rabbit at school because he has allergies. At school, he has a cage with a grid on the bottom, so all the dirt etc. goes through the bottom, and he always has a clean environment, and he does very well there. At home he had a large cage, 42" long with a solid bottom, and he was always sick. I think he has a problem with dust. I can keep him in school until spring, then I have to bring him home. I am hoping one of the students wants to adopt him, because I can't stand to see him sick every day. I am thinking about buying him a wire bottom cage. I could put EZ mats on the wire to make it easy on his feet. The wire bottom cages I have been looking at don't seem very big. Any suggestions?
Wire Bottom Cage
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rabbits should not be on mesh it hurts their feet what bedding are you using? I would suggest trying a bedding with less dust yesterdays news is great no dust and its recycled paper.
Also maybe try a custom " rabbit condo" its cheaper and bigger
Also maybe try a custom " rabbit condo" its cheaper and bigger
If I cover the wire with EZ mats, the rabbit's feet will not hit the wire, but the mess will still be able to fall through the bottom. I have tried every kind of bedding on the market, including Yesterdays News, and nothing made a difference. I made him a custom condo before, but it didn't make him any healthier. The condo had a solid bottom. I really think he needs as dust free of an environment as possible, and a big condo sitting on the floor is not going to do it for him.
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Well its more they need a solid bottom its not just a wire bottom. Have you taken him to the vet over this? And could you link us to the EZ mats?
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If he 'needs' to be on wire bottom then what's the purpose of the ez mats? How does stuff fall through? I think you could use a solid floor without bedding. I don't use bedding, Acacia has the same floor we do- she walks on blankets and floor mats bc she can slip on the wood floor..
I might also note, if a kid was to adopt the rabbit from the school- fine. But teaching the kid that the rabbit needs a wire floor will most directly influence his worldview that ALL rabbits should have wire floor. And as Elli said, this is most unfortunate and unnecessary. I don't like the idea at all. Sorry. His poops can be easily swept up with a small sweeper or a dustbuster and his pee can be wiped up if he is not litter trained.
I cannot see how a rabbit is allergic to solid bottom floor.
I might also note, if a kid was to adopt the rabbit from the school- fine. But teaching the kid that the rabbit needs a wire floor will most directly influence his worldview that ALL rabbits should have wire floor. And as Elli said, this is most unfortunate and unnecessary. I don't like the idea at all. Sorry. His poops can be easily swept up with a small sweeper or a dustbuster and his pee can be wiped up if he is not litter trained.
I cannot see how a rabbit is allergic to solid bottom floor.
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How often where you cleaning his cage? Couldn't you use a solid bottom cage and then just clean more often to keep the dust down?
Or what about living in an XPen instead of a cage? The rabbit wouldn't need to stand on wire or grating all day but his cage would have an open plan and I would think hold less dust.
I dunno I've never had a problem with my rabbit cages getting dusty with a regular cleaning schedule. And how do you know it's dust he's actually allergic too? It could be other things as well like house hold cleaners, other pets, etc. I'm sure there are a lot of differences between your home and the school and any one of those differences could potentially be the thing that's triggering his allergy.
Or what about living in an XPen instead of a cage? The rabbit wouldn't need to stand on wire or grating all day but his cage would have an open plan and I would think hold less dust.
I dunno I've never had a problem with my rabbit cages getting dusty with a regular cleaning schedule. And how do you know it's dust he's actually allergic too? It could be other things as well like house hold cleaners, other pets, etc. I'm sure there are a lot of differences between your home and the school and any one of those differences could potentially be the thing that's triggering his allergy.
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I agree purple hops litter training a bare bottom and some tlc should fix this 
Go to www.bunnyrabbit.com and click on "Foot Relax Pad" on the side menu.
He has been to the vet many times and I have tried many different things, but nothing has worked except keeping him at school. The only thing I can think of to do differently is to change the bottom in the cage.
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I wonder if it could be his immune system reacting to all the travelling. One style cage, scents, water and sounds at school would be far different than that from a quiet relaxed home environment with different water and sounds. Could just be upsetting him so his immunity is down.. That's a long shot idea but I would not rule it out.
Even with areas wth relax pads they still have to access the wire bottom and it only takes 1 second for a nail to get hitched, for them to trip or something else. Also, the possibility of doing binkies is out.
(I wake up like every dawn to Acacia running back and forth in her condo jumping and having great times ) I would never take that on her. ^.^ I do think there are other alternatives here though.
Even with areas wth relax pads they still have to access the wire bottom and it only takes 1 second for a nail to get hitched, for them to trip or something else. Also, the possibility of doing binkies is out.
(I wake up like every dawn to Acacia running back and forth in her condo jumping and having great times
) I would never take that on her. ^.^ I do think there are other alternatives here though.Maybe there is something in your house that he is allergic to that isn't at school? What are his symptoms?
For dust-free living conditions, try covering the wire grate with linoleum flooring. That's what I did in Smudge's hutch. You can leave a small section of wire un-covered for him to go to the bathroom on. That setup always worked well for Smudge when he was outside. Or instead of leaving the wire part open, you can cover it all with linoleum and use a litter box for him, and just use plain newspaper instead of bedding.
What kind of hay are you feeding him? I know that some brand are dustier than others.
Smudge has teeth problems and allergies that cause his eyes to water, and nothing I've done has been able to stop it. So I understand your frustration!
For dust-free living conditions, try covering the wire grate with linoleum flooring. That's what I did in Smudge's hutch. You can leave a small section of wire un-covered for him to go to the bathroom on. That setup always worked well for Smudge when he was outside. Or instead of leaving the wire part open, you can cover it all with linoleum and use a litter box for him, and just use plain newspaper instead of bedding.
What kind of hay are you feeding him? I know that some brand are dustier than others.
Smudge has teeth problems and allergies that cause his eyes to water, and nothing I've done has been able to stop it. So I understand your frustration!
Honey sneezes and has a snotty nose. It is like he has a bad cold 24/7. At school they use a paper product for litter. They do not give him newspapers, which I have done at home. He loves to rip them up, which I am sure puts dust into the air. That might be another part of the problem. But I did try keeping him outside to see if he would do any better, which he did not. It also could be something in the air that isn't filtered out in our house.
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Sneezing and a runny nose can by signs of having "snuffles", which is caused by bacteria. Did the vet ever try to culture the nasal discharge? Maybe it could be something like an infection brought on by a weakened immune system or stress when the rabbit is staying at your home?
What color is the discharge? A clear discharge is usually something less serious like an irritant or I believe allergies. If the discharge is yellow or white or any color other than clear it can be a sign of infection.
Runny noses can also be caused by an foreign object in the nose like a piece of hay or a nasal growth, and also dental issues.
What color is the discharge? A clear discharge is usually something less serious like an irritant or I believe allergies. If the discharge is yellow or white or any color other than clear it can be a sign of infection.
Runny noses can also be caused by an foreign object in the nose like a piece of hay or a nasal growth, and also dental issues.
Yes, he did have cultures, more than one, and he does not have snuffles. His discharge is sometimes watery, sometimes green. He had this condition for over a year before I took him to school. He is in a school for vet techs, and has regular exams and tests (no experiments). He gets plenty of attention, but would have a better life in a home. I did bring him home for a couple of weeks over Easter break, but he quickly got sick again, so I hesitate to bring him home again. The students foster the animals over their breaks, so I am hoping he works out at someone else's home and they want to keep him. I don't know how his visits at students homes have gone. I haven't talked to the teacher in a while.
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Some older homes have things in the walls etc that animals react to that we dont ... Could it be something like this? or even the carpet?
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