Care for Rabbits - your answers

Question
I am very disappointed in this system with asking questions,   My daughter is 12 and would like a bunny.  I have made it her responsibility to reseaarch and see what they need; home, cleaning, care, etc.  She sent you a question;
"I'm thinking about getting a bunny but, I need to learn about taking care of one first. "How often do you have to change their mats and litter boxes?"

This was the first reply;
Hello! This is a receipt for a question you recently asked at allexperts.com of Randy Atkinson.  You should receive your reply within 3 days unless you see another number in parentheses by the person's name in the previous sentence. Thanks for using our service!

And this is the second reply;
I have already answered this question for you once before.  

Answer
Hi Jeanette,

Not only can't I find my response to your original question, I can't even find the question but I do remember it and I do remember responding so I don't know what happened.  So we will try this again.

Changing bedding and litter boxes depends on the type of bedding used and the habits of the individual rabbit.  Rabbits that are spayed/neutered generally are better housekeepers than unaltered rabbits...but in reality, all rabbits are different.  We use several different beddings for our rabbits.  Since most of ours are litter box trained, their housing remains fairly clean.  We do clean each house at least once a week.  The litter boxes are cleaned at least twice a weeks....and with some of the larger breeds, maybe every other day.  My suggestion as far as cleaning is to plan on cleaning the actual housing at least once a week and possibly twice a week if the rabbit isn't good with the litter box.  That again depends on the type of bedding used.  Many people have great success with using wood pellets but I personally don't care much for them.  They do absorb well and control any odor.  I would plan on doing the litter boxes 2-3 times per week. To help with litter training, in addition to the spay/neuter, is to see where your rabbit is using the bathroom.  They are creatures of habit and most of them will pick one particular spot.  Simply place the litter box there.  We use hay in our litter boxes and secure them in place with plastic wire ties.  That really helps with the overall clean up time.  You can also experiment with different beddings.  Do not use cedar shavings at all.  There are many that have issues with pine shavings.  We do use them with some of our rabbits due to some special physical conditions but we prefer not to use them.  We use a lot of newspaper as bedding but that can be messy.  If you should use Care Fresh...and some people love it....watch to make sure your bun isn't eating it as this product can cause some digestive system issues.  If you use housing with a wire floor...offer something that can get your rabbit's feet off the wire....either a piece of wood or commercially available "resting pads" made from plastic.  But my suggestion directly from your question....plan on cleaning the housing 1-2 times per week and the litter pan 2-3 times per week.  If you only have one or two buns...I would clean the litter pans every day.

Your daughter can read a wealth of information by visiting this site  www.rabbit.org  It is a national group dedicated to educating the general public on everything rabbit.  It is interesting reading for anyone that is considering or has a rabbit.  One additional suggestion that most sites don't mention...locate a rabbit savvy vet before you need one.  There are precious few vets that can properly treat rabbits.  They are nothing like dogs or cats.  Finding a rabbit savvy vet in some areas is quite difficult.

Again, I do apologize for the problems.  I will see if I can find out exactly what happened so it will no happen again.

Randy