Cleaning cages is not a fun chore for any pet, but making cleaning as easy as possible and sticking to a schedule will make cage cleaning less of a chore and simply part of your routine.

There are no set rules for how often to clean, but doing a bit of cleaning every day will help keep your rabbit’s cage clean and your rabbit healthy and happy.

As a general rule, plan on doing a thorough cleaning of your rabbit’s cage at least once a week.

However, your rabbit’s cage may need a thorough cleaning more often depending on the size of the cage and how well your rabbit is litter trained. If you have more than one rabbit, you may also find you need to clean a bit more often.

Daily Cleaning

Remove any uneaten fresh foods (greens, veggies etc.) from the cage daily (ideally morning and night).

Remove hay from the floor of the cage; if you don’t use a hay rack, at least remove any hay that is wet or soiled.

Wash out the food bowl(s), and wash and refill the water bottle.

Spot cleaning small messes such as water spills or litter box misses. This will help make the weekly cage cleaning much easier.

Check and scoop or change and clean the litter box as necessary.

Weekly Cleaning

Remove all accessories from the cage.

Remove all bedding from the cage.

Wipe down the cage well with hot water (use vinegar to remove any urine deposits). If you have a smaller cage, you may want to take it apart and rinse it with hot water (for example, in the tub or with a hose).

Wash feeding dishes, the water bottle, hay rack and litter box with hot water.

Clean any toys or furnishings that have become soiled.

It is a good idea to periodically disinfect your cage, but any disinfectant needs to be rinsed really well and is not a good option for wood cages (which can soak up the chemicals) or cages that aren’t easily moved to a place where they can be hosed off. A bleach solution (one part bleach to ten parts water) can be used to disinfect the cage and other supplies (soak in this solution for 30 minutes for the best result) but make sure to rinse extremely well.

Tips

Vinegar is an excellent tool for cleaning rabbit cages and especially litter boxes. Calcium salts tend to precipitate out of rabbit urine and form a hard material that really sticks to cages and litter boxes. However, vinegar dissolves this calcium salts wonderfully well.

Keep some vinegar in a spray bottle for quick cleaning of litter pans and to spray down soiled parts of the cage. If your litterbox has more stubborn deposits, simple soak with vinegar for 10-20 minutes and you should be able to wipe them away.

Litter training your rabbit (and choosing a good litter) will make cage cleaning chores easier.

Likewise, choosing a good absorbent bedding will help to make cage cleaning easier too.

Choosing the right cage is important too; a large cage is best but look for one that is easy to clean. Exposed wood surfaces soak up urine and other messes and is difficult to clean.

Spraying or neutering your rabbit will also help keep the cage cleaner by reducing the incidence of territorial marking and spraying (and it is good for their health).

Don’t clean items soiled with feces in the kitchen sink – use the bathroom sink, tub, or laundry sink to clean litter boxes and then sanitize the sink or tub and surrounding area afterwards.