Indoor cage/hutch ideas help?

We are going to be adopting a rabbit by the end of the year, so I've started looking into cage/hutch ideas as a starting point.

Because it will be indoors, I really want something that will blend in with our home décor, and not look so cage-like. I've looked through the threads on this board for cages people have made, and that's been helpful. I'm thinking of something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087BI9KW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20



http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CXQGV8E/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Is there safe paint out there, to where I could get something like this, and paint it (safe for bunny) to make it match our home better, blend in better?

Another question, is something like this big enough? We don't know what rabbit we're getting at this point, but we know we'll either go medium-small in size. We don't want a huge one. Bunny would be caged overnight and during the day, but will easily have 4-5 hours a day outside of the hutch for play time.


Thanks!

Length-wise (and height wise) the top cage is as small as you want to go. The bottom two level hutch is very short in length and each level doesn't have enough height for your bunny to stretch up. The size of the cage is also dependent on the adult size of your bunny. You want a cage that is at least 4 hops long and two hops wide with enough height for bunny to stretch upwards fully or sit upright on hind legs with ears erect. The other concern with both of those cages is the ramp, ramps aren't particularly safe for rabbits because they can easily tumble over coming down them. A steep ramp isn't suitable at all, though shallow ramps with ridges can be used. Steps are always preferable for rabbits.

In terms of paint etc, I'm afraid I can't give advice on that. I'm sure that some sort of non-toxic child safe sort of paint could probably be used, but I would only use it on external surfaces that were accessible during free range time, and not on the inside surfaces of the cage

Azerane said:

Length-wise (and height wise) the top cage is as small as you want to go. The bottom two level hutch is very short in length and each level doesn't have enough height for your bunny to stretch up. The size of the cage is also dependent on the adult size of your bunny. You want a cage that is at least 4 hops long and two hops wide with enough height for bunny to stretch upwards fully or sit upright on hind legs with ears erect. The other concern with both of those cages is the ramp, ramps aren't particularly safe for rabbits because they can easily tumble over coming down them. A steep ramp isn't suitable at all, though shallow ramps with ridges can be used. Steps are always preferable for rabbits.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! The more I look at cages, the more I'm thinking a big dog crate might be a better option for us? Yes, it looks like a cage, but I can get over that, I've seen some ideas out there that are decorated and put together to look really cute. I think part of my problem is I'm kind of a neat freak, so I want a cage that can won't look too sloppy (until bunny makes a mess of my neatness, ha)

We could fit a big one in our home, like one of the 4 foot long ones, so that would give bunny plenty of room, right? I figured we could start with just the cage, and maybe add a level if we want to in the future ? And I'd make sure it doesn't have wire flooring.

i have heard of pet-safe paint .
Azerane gave some great advice re: the size of the hutch. not sure why hutches are made that are so short that bunnies can't stand up .

dog crate is a great idea.

We're still trying to find a way to make something that will fit in more with our home, more like a piece of furniture. We found this:


http://www.therabbithouse.com/indoor/cupboard-hutch.asp


If we made something like this, would it be ideal?


I found a shelving unit online at Ikea, says it's 30 3/8x57 7/8"...my question is, laying on it's side, would the 30 3/8" be tall enough on the open side of the cabinet?


I like the idea of the 2 shorter shelves on one side, and the larger on the other side, I'm just wondering how practical or ideal something like this would be, would it give a small-medium size bunny enough space?

You might get some ideas from my post here: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/showpost.php?p=1058467&postcount=8

My son and I both re-purposed furniture for our buns. Chewy loves his hutch. And I put wheels on the bottom, so I can move it very easily.

Chewy-de-Lionhead said:

You might get some ideas from my post here: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/showpost.php?p=1058467&postcount=8

My son and I both re-purposed furniture for our buns. Chewy loves his hutch. And I put wheels on the bottom, so I can move it very easily.

Click to expand...

OMG your bun is adorable!!!


Yes, I love the idea that you have, and it's exactly along the lines of something I'd like to do (the first pictures, the second is awesome, but is way too big for my home)


Can I ask, how big your bun is, and how tall the inside of his hutch is, can he stand up in there without hitting his ears, etc.? I think that's my concern about doing something like this, is making sure I'm giving bunny enough space. Do you have enough room in there for litter box, space for hay, toys, etc.?


Thanks

lily2521 said:

OMG your bun is adorable!!!


Yes, I love the idea that you have, and it's exactly along the lines of something I'd like to do (the first pictures, the second is awesome, but is way too big for my home)


Can I ask, how big your bun is, and how tall the inside of his hutch is, can he stand up in there without hitting his ears, etc.? I think that's my concern about doing something like this, is making sure I'm giving bunny enough space. Do you have enough room in there for litter box, space for hay, toys, etc.?


Thanks

Click to expand...

It is 18" deep x 49" High and he has plenty of room to stand. He's a lionhead and is only 2lbs 2oz. If you have a bigger bun, then you need to adjust the height of the levels to accommodate that.

Here's a picture of him all stretched out on the 2nd level. You can see the litter box fit perfectly under his ramp with room to spare for toys, which he digs out and carries around. LOL I put tiles down for him to lay out on to keep cool and his top level has his blankie on it.