Switching rabbit bedding from wood shavings to paper

Switching from wood shavings to paper bedding is actually one of the best moves you can make for a rabbit — especially a big one like a Checkered Giant. Wood shavings, particularly pine and cedar, can irritate the respiratory tract over time, and a five-year-old rabbit has had years of that exposure. Before I point you toward something specific, can I ask a couple of quick things? Is he in a hutch or a free-roam indoor setup, and roughly how large is the area you're bedding? Checkered Giants need a lot of space, so the quantity side of things matters.

The sneezing is almost certainly the shavings — pine releases aromatic oils that are genuinely irritating to rabbit lungs, and some rabbits tolerate it for years before it starts showing. Good that you're catching it now at five rather than leaving it longer. For a space that size with a large breed, I'd go with Kaytee Clean & Cozy White Paper Bedding. It comes in a big 85-litre bag which is practical for your enclosure size, it's virtually dust-free, absorbs well, and it's soft enough that a bigger rabbit's feet and hocks stay comfortable — hock sores are common in Checkered Giants on rough substrates. It also doesn't have the smell-masking chemicals some paper beddings use, so you get a clean neutral base rather than artificial fragrance on top of odour.

You can swap it out in one go — there's no need to transition gradually the way you might with food changes. In fact, doing a full clean and starting fresh with the new bedding means you're removing the source of irritation immediately, which is better for his airways. For depth, aim for about 7 to 10 centimetres. That gives enough for him to dig and burrow a little, which most rabbits genuinely enjoy, and it handles moisture absorption well between full cleans. Spot-clean daily around the litter area and do a full change once a week or so depending on how heavily he uses it.

Most rabbits show improvement within a week or two once the irritant is removed. The airways need a little time to settle, especially if there's been ongoing mild inflammation. If he's still sneezing regularly after two to three weeks on the new bedding, it's worth a vet visit just to rule out anything else — pasteurella or a minor upper respiratory issue can sometimes sit quietly alongside an irritant and only become obvious once the obvious cause is gone. But genuinely, in most cases like this, removing the shavings sorts it.