Last Updated on 01/23/2021 by Veronica Jones
No matter how much active and athletic rabbits are; they need comfortable and healthy bedding in their habitat.
In the last decade or so, the trend of keeping rabbits as pets has increased manifold. Before that rabbits were limited to their natural habitat.
With the rabbits being domesticated, the need for information to house them properly and in a caring way has also increased.
When we talk about rabbits, the most common thing that comes to our mind is a rabbit eating carrots and the cartoon images of bug’s bunny.
While this is true that rabbits love to munch carrots all the time and are as cute as the cartoon, they also need other things to be taken care of properly.
One thing you must provide your rabbit is comfortable, safe and healthy bedding for them to live a good life in their habitat. After cage and diet, the third most important thing in a pet’s life is bedding.
Some people are of the view that a rabbit does not need bedding for its cage. This is true in very rare cases.
In order to avoid bedding in the entire cage and only limited to your rabbit’s sleeping area, you have to toilet-train them and food train them.
Only then you will be allowed to limit the use of bedding. While this looks easy, training your rabbit is a very difficult and time taking task. Until you are able to do it, it is better to stick to bedding for your rabbit.
There is always a need for bedding inside your rabbit’s cage.
In this review, we will discuss some of the best bedding options for your rabbit and a buying guide to help you make the best decision.
We will also take you through a user’s guide and bring some frequently asked questions in your knowledge as well.
Top 6 Best Bedding for Rabbits
We have carefully filtered the best beddings in the market for you. We have also highlighted the flaws in them so you can select the best bedding for your rabbit.
1. Carefresh Complete Pet Bedding
This is all-encompassing bedding for your pet rabbit. If you are looking for economical bedding with outclass absorption power and excellent odor control of up to 10 days then this is your go-to option.
This bedding is soft, 99% dust free and easier to clean. It stays drier than other beddings available in the market.
One excellent feature of this bedding is its ease of cleaning. Because of its high absorbency of 5x, you do not even need to wipe out the cage surface before replacing it.
It is made from scratch using high-quality raw materials and the process ensures that there is no dust or debris left in the final packing.
Its softness is just like a soft pillow that your pet feels more comfortable while sitting and sleeping on it. As it is white in color, cleaning becomes easier.
You just need to clean the dirty areas by looking at the bedding. Simply put, this bedding is at top of our list due to its amazing characteristics and amazingly outstanding feedback from the users.
Pet owners who use this bedding stick to it for ages and simply refuse to switch to any other bedding.
2. Vitakraft Fresh World Strength Crumble Bedding for Small Animals
This bedding comes with an odor blocker formula which gives a fresh feel to the home of your pet. It can absorb up to 3 times its weight and control odor up to 14 days.
This ultra-soft bedding is processed from 100% recycled paper which is non-toxic. You do not need to worry about the health of your pet if you are selecting this bedding.
It is unbleached and non-colored which means that no additional colors or oils have been added in it. The manufacturers claim that their bedding is 99.5 percent dust-free, easy to clean and lot less messy than other beddings.
The reason behind the 14-days odor control is the use of baking soda in the manufacturing. Baking soda has the ability to absorb liquid and smell more than any other material and it is also totally safe for your rabbit.
This bedding has a low carbon footprint as it is environmentally friendly and biodegradable. User reviews of this bedding reveal that it can control odor up to 12 days at a minimum.
All these features make this bedding a very good option to go for. One problem with this bedding is that it is a bit costly as compared to other beddings.
3. Living World Wood Aspen Shavings
When it comes to beddings made from shavings, aspen shavings are the safest option you can rely on. They are not pointy and edgy like pine and cedarwood beddings.
Aspen shavings from Living World have been treated to remove every bit of dust and wood debris to make them safe and healthy for your pet.
This bedding is hypoallergenic and goes a long way to ensure that you and your pet stay away from respiratory allergies.
Living World Aspen shavings can absorb up to 4x of its weight and similarly has very good odor control strength.
You do not need to worry about its source as it is made from 100% natural aspen wood and no aromatic oils or dyes have been added to give it any color or scent. This is an economical bedding option as one large pack can cover very well for two large rabbits.
Users are so satisfied with this bedding’s ability to cover up smell that they even use the dirty bedding to cover up the trash bin smell. Once your rabbit starts to live in this bedding, he will stay happy and delighted.
4. Small Pet Select Aspen Bedding
This bedding comes from the house of Small Pet. Small Pet has a good reputation when it comes to making aspen beddings.
Just like the above company they also employ the same manufacturing process to make the bedding dust-free, safe and healthy for your pet. It does not contain any kind of additives to give it color or any kind of scent.
This bedding can absorb up to 3 times its weight and has good odor control strength.
Despite the company’s claim of being dust-free, some users have reported that it leaves a thin film of dust on the base of the cage and this makes the cleaning process time consuming and difficult.
5. RentACoop Hemp Bedding
This one is industrially grown bedding and it is totally safe for your rabbit. It has been grown using the minimum levels of pesticides and insecticides that are approved by medical associations.
The industrial process of manufacturing makes it costly but this cost is easily covered by its high quality and amazing features. It is highly absorbent and controls the smell for long periods of time.
This bedding is so durable that you can just use 2 inches of bedding where you have to use at least 5 inches of bedding for your rabbit.
It must have had the first place in our list but due to its high price, it takes a lower spot. User reviews are also great for this product.
However, people who have tried this bedding report that it is highly overpriced and the packing material of cheap quality.
6. Fresh News Paper Small Animal Bedding
This bedding also contains baking soda and is relatively good at containing odor. It can absorb up to 3x of its weight and is made from recycled paper.
It is safe for your pet and does not contain any harmful oil or chemical. The paper used in the making process is biodegradable and does not have any negative impact on the environment.
It is soft in touch and keeps your pet comfortable.
User reviews say that it is not as absorbent and odor-controlling as the manufacturers claim. If you are going for this bedding, you may have to change your bedding every 24 hours.
Rabbit Bedding: Buying Guide
While there are a lot of options for you while buying bedding for your rabbit, you need to select the best one. Our buying guide will help you in making the best decision. Following factors are considered when you are making the purchase decision.
Absorbency
Good quality beddings offer high absorbency. Bedding with low absorbency will not only create problems for your rabbit, but it will also require frequent cleaning and replacing.
Beddings with high absorbency are costly as compared to bedding with low absorbency power. At present, beddings with 5x absorption strength are available in the market.
Odor Control
Odor control is directly proportional to absorbency power. Selecting the bedding with a high absorbency ratio will also significantly reduce smell inside and around the cage.
This will ensure that the ammonia buildup and other waste materials are held by bedding and do not impact the health of your pet.
Some people recommend using scented beddings to contain the pet smell, but scented beddings are harmful to your rabbit.
They contain chemicals which can hurt the respiratory system of your pet and cause serious breathing problems.
Dust
Try to get bedding that is dust-free up to maximum level. Dust allergies are common in rabbits and if they live in bedding that has a high level of dust. The risk of getting infected can increase manifold.
Comfort
The main purpose of bedding is to provide comfort. Organic beddings are highly comfortable as well. Your rabbit will spend a considerable amount of time on the bedding. It should be totally comfortable.
Eco-friendly
You will be using a lot of bedding for your rabbit or rabbits. Do not forget to play your part in environment conservation by getting bedding which is environmentally friendly and biodegradable. Such beddings are also safe for your pet as well.
Materials
As compared to other pets, rabbits are intelligent animals. However, they are not intelligent to distinguish what’s harmful to them and what is not.it is your duty to give them a healthy habitat.
They will chew on the bedding and spend their entire day on it. Organic beddings and paper beddings are safe for rabbits. Any other bedding is not safe in case your rabbit decides to have a feast on it.
Unsuitable Beddings Material
It is better if you avoid the beddings made of the following materials
- Pine and Cedarwood Beddings – These beddings are sharp and pointy. They are harmful to your rabbit as they can injure their feet from the edges and in case they eat it, they can also hurt the internal lining of their mouth and intestines.
- Fluffy Beddings – These are soft and inorganic beddings which are soft and fluffy. As a pet owner, you may be tempted to get them for your rabbit because of the comfort they provide. Since these are inorganic and can cause stomach problems for your pet.
- Newspaper Bedding – While almost every household has an ample amount of newspapers, you may be tempted to use it as bedding. This sounds cheap and practical, but the newspaper has zero absorbencies and zero odor control strength. You can use newspaper at the base of the cage and then spread the bedding on top of it. This can make the cleaning process easy and also save the base of your cage from catching rust.
- Cat Litter – Cat litter is not recommended for rabbits because of the digestion problems it can cause in rabbit’s stomach.
- Scented Beddings – Rabbits are very delicate when it comes to breathing problems. Any scented bedding will cause them serious respiratory infections. The chemical used in the scenting process can cause breathing problems.
- Corn Cob – Corn Cob bedding has zero absorption and no odor-controlling ability. It is best if you to avoid them. They are also susceptible to mold and fungus.
- Cotton – Cotton is cheap, soft and can relatively contain liquid and smell. It is indigestible at the same time and rabbits will be in a lot of pain if they eat it.
- Sawdust – This type of bedding must also be avoided because of the high dust content in it.
User’s Guide
In order to get more out of your pet’s bedding, you need to know how to use it best. No matter, if you are a first-timer or a veteran pet keeper, our user’s guide is aimed to enhance the use of bedding and save you some money.
Quantity of Bedding
An important factor which is in mind of all the users is how much bedding is enough for rabbits. The concern even increases when you know that rabbits love to dig and make nests in the natural habitat.
Since they cannot make nests inside their cage, they will love to dig. You must provide them with ample bedding in the cage so they stay busy and happy.
For other small pets, 3-4 inches of bedding is recommended. For rabbits, you should deploy 5 inches of bedding in their cage.
Bug Checking
Beddings are likely to be attacked by insects and mites. You need to make sure that your rabbit’s bedding is free from all sorts of insect colonies.
If you find any bugs inside the bedding pack, freeze in your freezer for at least 48 hours. It kills all the insects. The dead insects cannot hurt rabbits.
Remember to put it in an air-tight bag and bring it to room temperature when you are going to spread in your rabbit’s cage.
FAQs
We hope all your queries and concerns have automatically been answered in our detailed buying guide and user’s guide.
If still, any question is lingering in your mind, it will be answered in the frequently asked questions section below.
How often should I change my rabbit’s bedding?
The answer to this question depends upon the quality of your bedding. Some bedding can last easily up to 10 days and some need to be changed after 2-3 days.
However, in order to keep your rabbit’s habitat neat and healthy, you must change the bedding after 5-6 days. In case the bedding is smelly and messy, change it within a couple of hours.
Can I use this bedding for other small pets as well?
Yes, all the beddings listed in our list are safe for small animals like hamsters, hedgehogs, and rats
Can the used bedding be utilized somewhere else?
Yes, the bedding can be used in flower pots and garden holes. It will act as a fertilizer.
Is there anything to worry about if my rabbit consumes bedding?
If you are using organic or paper bedding, you do not need to worry about it. Inorganic beddings are harmful if eaten.
How can I control my bedding expenses?
You can easily control your bedding expenses by buying in bulk volume.
Conclusion
High-quality beddings will ensure that your rabbit stays happy and healthy. A satisfied rabbit will be easy to train and get close. All the beddings in our list are the best options available in the market.
Get the best one according to your pet’s needs. If your rabbit likes particular bedding, we suggest that you stick to it and do not change his bedding often.
A substantial amount of bedding will ensure that your rabbit stays content and will be thankful to you.
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