Looking for the best rabbit cage
August 12, 2012 7:21 PM Subscribe
Looking for recommendations for a rabbit cage
Looking for something big and easy to clean for our large bunny. Right now he is in frame type but he bashes it around the room and not having a bottom, it's on an outdoor rug it's hard to keep clean.
Looking at this one at the moment.
Looking for something big and easy to clean for our large bunny. Right now he is in frame type but he bashes it around the room and not having a bottom, it's on an outdoor rug it's hard to keep clean.
Looking at this one at the moment.
Can you post a photo of your current setup? May make it easier to trouble-shoot.
I have 3 rabbits, and have used a variety of housing strategies...
Bunny Condos: Some folks use coroplast as a bottom for NIC cube cages. It is the same material most election signs are made of (kind of a corrugated plastic). Easy to wipe clean.
If you are leaning towards the cage you have posted, I would encourage you to invest in a bunny run that is available all day/evening to your bun so that he/she can get sufficient exercise. The posted cage is adequate for overnight containment, but won't meet the physical needs.
You could place that cage inside a large run, like so
Personally, I use a linoleum sheet on my floor (as shown above), then cover that with those foam sponge mats you see in children's play areas. Those wipe clean easily in the event of any piddles, and offer good traction for your bun ( which will help prevent splay leg issues in young rabbits).
The housing subforum at RabbitsOnline has a lot of photos of bunny homes - I've found the members there to be very helpful :)
PS: Is your rabbit neutered or spayed? Litter-trained? I find both make a world of difference in keeping things clean.
posted by NorthernAutumn at 7:45 PM on August 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
I have 3 rabbits, and have used a variety of housing strategies...
Bunny Condos: Some folks use coroplast as a bottom for NIC cube cages. It is the same material most election signs are made of (kind of a corrugated plastic). Easy to wipe clean.
If you are leaning towards the cage you have posted, I would encourage you to invest in a bunny run that is available all day/evening to your bun so that he/she can get sufficient exercise. The posted cage is adequate for overnight containment, but won't meet the physical needs.
You could place that cage inside a large run, like so
Personally, I use a linoleum sheet on my floor (as shown above), then cover that with those foam sponge mats you see in children's play areas. Those wipe clean easily in the event of any piddles, and offer good traction for your bun ( which will help prevent splay leg issues in young rabbits).
The housing subforum at RabbitsOnline has a lot of photos of bunny homes - I've found the members there to be very helpful :)
PS: Is your rabbit neutered or spayed? Litter-trained? I find both make a world of difference in keeping things clean.
posted by NorthernAutumn at 7:45 PM on August 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
That's pretty much what we used for our rabbits and it worked just fine.
posted by arcticwoman at 7:45 PM on August 12, 2012
posted by arcticwoman at 7:45 PM on August 12, 2012
Just to add: worked fine for overnight, our rabbits roamed the house during the day.
posted by arcticwoman at 7:47 PM on August 12, 2012
posted by arcticwoman at 7:47 PM on August 12, 2012
When I had my rabbit I had a double decker from Leith Petwerks.
They are not cheap, however, but you didn't mention price!
posted by malphigian at 8:29 PM on August 12, 2012
They are not cheap, however, but you didn't mention price!
posted by malphigian at 8:29 PM on August 12, 2012
The Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund promotes hutches be large enough to allow the rabbit to stand up, and do 3 hops... essentially, 6 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet. This may be helpful when choosing your housing design.
posted by NorthernAutumn at 9:02 PM on August 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by NorthernAutumn at 9:02 PM on August 12, 2012 [3 favorites]
When we first got our rabbits I used this type of cage. The stand makes it easier to clean, etc., and also makes interaction with the bunnies easier. However, I've since moved to an x-pen (two, actually) over a rug. If you aren't going to allow your rabbits to be free range, this gives them a lot more room to move around. I use a sisal type rug, which has the added attraction of being able to be eaten. I have to replace it every so often when it gets too ragged, but since rabbits will chew anything within teeth range, it makes me feel better than having them chew on a synthetic rug. Do they move the cage around? Yes, but that's just something you have to put up with.
Rabbits really need a significant time each day to hop around. If you do decide to use a cage, make sure you are letting them out for supervised play time every day. Do you have anything like this cat tunnel? My rabbits absolutely love them.
posted by Bresciabouvier at 6:18 AM on August 13, 2012
Rabbits really need a significant time each day to hop around. If you do decide to use a cage, make sure you are letting them out for supervised play time every day. Do you have anything like this cat tunnel? My rabbits absolutely love them.
posted by Bresciabouvier at 6:18 AM on August 13, 2012
Response by poster: Right now bunny is in an x-pen (couldn't recall the correct name previously) over an outdoor rug. We do let him out to hop around but the x-pen is just too dominating in the room, especially considering how much he pushes it around (this is not a small rabbit..) hence the cage.
Rabbit is fixed and litter trained (it was a rescue)
posted by zeoslap at 6:41 AM on August 13, 2012
Rabbit is fixed and litter trained (it was a rescue)
posted by zeoslap at 6:41 AM on August 13, 2012
We purchased this one - Advantek 3 story rabbit hutch for Mr. Munch when we moved - before that, we were using the NIC cubes, and we built one. It took him a little while to get used to the ramps, but now quite enjoys it, although he does not do the running laps he used to do in the NIC cage, as he really can't. (we had 3 levels in the NIC cage - the top two were for lounging, and the mid and bottom level were for anything else. He would run around and use all three levels.)
Some notes on the cage - the ramps are fine, but be careful with the screws - there's not a whole lot of wood for them to work with, so if it cracks, it's hard to fix. We put carpet on all levels of the cage, and he seems ok with it. He has chewed a lot on the inside of the doors, but he hasn't chewed through anything - yet.
He comes out in the morning and evenings, and has a room essentially to himself - he shares it with my craft/sewing stuff, but his cage dominates in.
I second the use of the foam sponge mats - we got a pack of them at Sam's, and use them under the bottom of the cage, under carpet. Otherwise, he chews them!
posted by needlegrrl at 7:50 AM on August 13, 2012
Some notes on the cage - the ramps are fine, but be careful with the screws - there's not a whole lot of wood for them to work with, so if it cracks, it's hard to fix. We put carpet on all levels of the cage, and he seems ok with it. He has chewed a lot on the inside of the doors, but he hasn't chewed through anything - yet.
He comes out in the morning and evenings, and has a room essentially to himself - he shares it with my craft/sewing stuff, but his cage dominates in.
I second the use of the foam sponge mats - we got a pack of them at Sam's, and use them under the bottom of the cage, under carpet. Otherwise, he chews them!
posted by needlegrrl at 7:50 AM on August 13, 2012
That cage looks tiny! I would definitely try to find something bigger. When we lived in a small apartment and needed as small a footprint as possible, I built a 4-story NIC cage (wire panels that are generally sold to build storage crate configurations). I am not handy at all, but I built it in a weekend, on a plywood base with wheels so I could clean hay and pee out from behind it easily. Memail me if you'd like details on the design. It's been 10 years since I built it and it's held up beautifully, and I really had a fun time making it!
posted by rabbitrabbit at 2:32 PM on August 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 2:32 PM on August 13, 2012 [1 favorite]
PS: Looks like there's lots of resources online to help you build them now.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 2:34 PM on August 13, 2012
posted by rabbitrabbit at 2:34 PM on August 13, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
For cleaning, I just take the bottom part out to the dumpster, dump everything, clean it with that "Cage Clean" spray, then put in new bedding and hay and stuff.
posted by drjimmy11 at 7:34 PM on August 12, 2012