Litter Box:
For our litter box, we use the bunny famous Ikea 'Hol'. This is actually a storage bench from IKEA, with a little DIY door hand-sawed out of the front so the buns can enter it. It's a bunny community favourite because it looks gorgeous and discreet in the home, but also keeps your space much tidier as it prevents excessive hay and poop carry out. It's also available in a half size which can work well in a smaller space. The lid is easily liftable to make cleaning simple!
If the Ikea Hol isn't available for you e.g. if you're in the U.S. 'Silveran' is another great Ikea alternative that could work well for you, and you can purchase it on the Ikea website for $49.99 here.
Flooring:
Protective Plastic Lid
At the bottom of the litter box I've placed the lid of a plastic storage box. It sounds a little strange but it's actually a great hack for keeping the space clean. The one I found is the perfect width (a little short length-wise - but doesn't matter too much as it covers the area where the litter tray is). Since there are little ridges in the lid, these catch any urine or poop that might miss the litter tray, so when it comes to cleaning, you can just use a tissue to soak it up in the gaps quite easily.
Rug:
On the side where the plastic lid doesn't cover - I've added a cheap little IKEA rug. This covers part of the plastic lid and also the base of the Hol. Like this, it's both protective to the Ikea hol in case the buns decide to pee there on the rare occasion, but also provides some traction when they jump into the litter box, as the plastic lid can be a little slippery. The buns sometimes sit or sleep in the hol, so it's nice not to cover the entire hol with a large litter tray, and the rug makes it a little more cosy and homely.
You can purchase the same rug from Ikea (UK) here. It's called 'Keljs' and only £1.50!
U.S. link ($1.99).
Litter tray
The litter tray we use is actually one from a previous hooded litter box we had.
If you're looking for a litter tray for the Ikea hol, there's a few factors to consider to find the right size. Firstly, you want the litter tray to be wide enough to fit the space as much as possible (to prevent mess on the sides), but also long enough that a rabbit can sit comfortably with enough space in front of them to place their hay. However, you also want to ensure the litter tray is not too long or high as it may partially block the entrance of the little door at the front of the hol. Additionally - you really don't need a litter tray that covers the entirety of the (large) Ikea hol - as you'll likely end up wasting a lot of litter that way, and it's nice to leave a little space for the buns to chill out on.
Here you can find some litter tray options, in particular I recommend the moderna option for the Ikea hol as it's a good size.
Litter:
Inside the litter tray, I use a pine pellet litter. A common question I always get is "how do you deal with the smell" - and I'm always a little puzzled as I've never had any issues with smell, even when I've left the litter box uncleaned a little too long. I believe that's because I've used pine pellet litter from the get-go. Pine pellet litter is absolutely brilliant at absorbing urine and any associated smell, and a little really goes a long way.
I initially used to line their litter box with pee pads or a thick layer of newspaper, before placing the pine pellet litter on top. However, after some time I found that it was just an unnecessary step and or cost, which often actually made the cleaning process harder. The newspaper/pee-pad would absorb the pee instantly thus rendering the pellet litter a bit useless and the bottom of the tray would eventually get soggy with urine and make cleaning up more messy. Once I stopped using a lining, the pine litter absorbed the majority of the urine and clean up was a lot less bothersome.
The amount of pine pellet litter you need will depend on how frequently you change the litter tray. I find with the pellet litter I can leave it around 3/4 days and it's really not that bad, so I usually put about 3 big scoops in and concenctrate it on the bottom 3/4 of the litter tray (i.e. not where I place their hay). If you’re changing the litter tray more frequently, however, you'll likely need less than that. A good tip during the cleanup process is to pay attention to how many pellets you notice that aren’t soiled and are still formed and in their usual colour. If there’s a lot - you can put less litter next time around to prevent too much wastage.
When purchasing a pine pellet litter - just double check that there aren't any strange pieces of plastic in the batch or that it isn't too dusty, and definitely avoid any highly scented litters as these are harmful to rabbits.
You can find some of the pellet litters we've purhcased in the past here.
Hay:
I personally prefer to place the hay directly into the back of the litter tray in small portions that I replenish frequently. I found when I used a litter rack, this didn't really help much with hay wastage as the buns would just end up pulling all the hay out anyway, and additionally it was a bit annoying to refill having to remove another lid everytime. I also preferred the idea of not having my buns work as hard to get their hay, which is another reason I like placing the hay directly in their litter box. As long as you don't put TOO much hay in one go, you shouldn't get much more wasteage than you would using a hay rack or hay bag, however experiment with what works best for you and your bun!
Happy Pooping!
That's all bun-friends - hope that helped you out and gave you a little inspiration for setting up your buns litter box.
Lots of love, Tamara, Peanut, Butter & the Plants xoxo