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Didi

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2019
Messages
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Location
Australia
I have adopted a four months old Mini lop rabbit. I know nothing about them except that they are very sweet. I have a dog and three cats at home and to be honest I now feel I should never have adopted Roger because he may need to be confined to a cage and I am increasingly feeling terribly sorry for him. However, I am determined to do my best for him. I've bought Timothy Hay and Oaten Hay, litter tray stuff, pellets and now all in his cage. I've had the bright idea of converting an old Parrot cage, very tall and high off the ground and quite roomy but once the litter tray is in there and a little cardbox which he loves as he is hiding in there, there isn't much room left for him. He can't jump, for instance, can only hop a couple of times from one side to the other so I'm worried about that. He is chewing on different things but only nibbling. I took him out and put him in an empty bedroom whilst I cleaned out his cage yesterday but getting hold of him to get him back in again afterwards was a real problem. I did it in the end but wasn't easy and I think I frightened him doing so, although unintentionally. He doesn't want me to cuddle him. I have tried twice but sensed it was too soon. He needs exercise but he's very hard to catch once put on the ground. He seems to have lots to eat but isn't particularly thrilled with it all. Does my cage sound like a good idea or not suitable? Should I be trying to get closer to him or not? Help! Just not sure what is right and what isn't.
 
What are the measurements on the cage, maybe take a picture to show how your set up it’s.

This is my set up, normal pet shop cage with a holland lop in.

The rabbit should be able to stand on the back leg and stetch, jump 3-4 times and be able to stretch out fully when laying on the wide side. Maybe have a pen attached to the cage, to make it bigger and also have a controlled area. So you don’t have to pick him up until you earned his trust.
 

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Rabbits can become used with dogs and cats, it all depends on how they act around the rabbit.

My rabbits are used with dogs and cats, none of them are scared. One of my rabbits often snuggle up with a cat friend he have.
 
What are the measurements on the cage, maybe take a picture to show how your set up it’s.

This is my set up, normal pet shop cage with a holland lop in.

The rabbit should be able to stand on the back leg and stetch, jump 3-4 times and be able to stretch out fully when laying on the wide side. Maybe have a pen attached to the cage, to make it bigger and also have a controlled area. So you don’t have to pick him up until you earned his trust.

Hi there, thanks so much for replying! This is my old parrot cage which I am using for Roger (my bunny). This was taken before I bought all the hay and pellets and stuff so it looks empty but you get the idea. It has a slightly smaller cardboard box in there now, which he loves. Roger can certainly stand up and stretch his legs, tons of room, but he can't jump at all - he's a bit hemmed in by everything. I notice your cage is so neat and tidy! I read online I should put loads of hay in the cage so I have completely covered the floor with it but he's pooping everywhere including the litter tray, very swampy each morning, and so I'm just trying to clean it up but I know I'm doing something wrong here. The cage has metal rail bottom so I have put some lining down for his little feet. I think I've done that bit right, if nothing else. The idea of an extra pen might be the answer or, on the other hand, buy a new house for him complete with extra pen. I'd really like to move him around within the house so that he can be part of the family - this cage makes that impossible as too heavy to lug around very far and I have a split level house. Re the picking up, no, I realised that quite quickly so am simply saying good morning to him with an outstretched hand and he comes up to me and sniffs and then retreats. That's fine. I can work on that. Should I remove most of the hay on the bottom of the cage, free it all up (what there is of it) as you have done?
 

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Rabbits can become used with dogs and cats, it all depends on how they act around the rabbit.

My rabbits are used with dogs and cats, none of them are scared. One of my rabbits often snuggle up with a cat friend he have.
 
Hi again, Hermelin, (just getting used to this website) - yes, I have read that cats, especially, can become friends with rabbits but it will be quite a while before I trust them all together. My cats now take Roger for granted. They hardly notice him! Dog ditto! But opening that cage door? H'mm, think I will have to wait quite a while for Roger to settle in before I experiment. I just felt so sorry for little Roger when I saw him. I went to this market and here was his little cage sat on the end of a stall all by himself, almost as an afterthought on this stall selling tea towels and embroidery stuff. I paid $15 for him. It would be lovely if they all snuggled up together - one day, perhaps. Meanwhile, I have to inject a little love into the situation as he is still feeling very exposed. He's only a baby.
 
Hi there, thanks so much for replying! This is my old parrot cage which I am using for Roger (my bunny). This was taken before I bought all the hay and pellets and stuff so it looks empty but you get the idea. It has a slightly smaller cardboard box in there now, which he loves. Roger can certainly stand up and stretch his legs, tons of room, but he can't jump at all - he's a bit hemmed in by everything. I notice your cage is so neat and tidy! I read online I should put loads of hay in the cage so I have completely covered the floor with it but he's pooping everywhere including the litter tray, very swampy each morning, and so I'm just trying to clean it up but I know I'm doing something wrong here. The cage has metal rail bottom so I have put some lining down for his little feet. I think I've done that bit right, if nothing else. The idea of an extra pen might be the answer or, on the other hand, buy a new house for him complete with extra pen. I'd really like to move him around within the house so that he can be part of the family - this cage makes that impossible as too heavy to lug around very far and I have a split level house. Re the picking up, no, I realised that quite quickly so am simply saying good morning to him with an outstretched hand and he comes up to me and sniffs and then retreats. That's fine. I can work on that. Should I remove most of the hay on the bottom of the cage, free it all up (what there is of it) as you have done?

Welcome to the forum and I hope everything goes well with your baby. [emoji5]

It’s better to keep all the hay in one collected place in the litter box, it will make less waste and become easier to clean up. You will always have wasted hay but that’s something you will have to accept. I always fill up the hay everyday once or twice, so they have fresh hay.

He will grow, so he will need a bigger cage and a pen to stretch the leg. Make sure to let him come out and run, at least 4 hours outside the cage. Rabbits often love getting out and play, and will be a lovely sight seeing him play and explore. They have a lot of energy.

To make it easier to carry your bun to different room, you can use a basket, travel cage and move around. Most rabbits are scared in the beginning to be picked up but it’s something you can teach them to tolerate/ get used to it.

Myself own 3 bunnies and all of them can be picked up and handled by me, the rabbit I had as a kit everyone can handle because I spent a lot of time with him. I had taught him to be calm with other people handling him. He was a rabbit that always hid, when he saw people and took 1 month until he came out from the hide house. But now he’s a free roaming rabbit with a lot of confident and loves humans.

Make sure to spend a lot of time with your bun, spend everyday to build up a bond. Take him to a small area and just lay down and let him explore you. Have treats on you, it will often help interacting with a rabbit. They are a bit different then cats and dogs.

The more he learn to trust and feel safe around you, the easier it will become to handle him.

In my opinion baby’s are the best age to introduce to new situations and create positive memories, older rabbits are a bit harder. I only had two rabbits that snuggled up to cats (the rabbits have a special cat friend) but it’s a lovely sight to see them grooming each other ( I have never owned a cat [emoji23]).

I know how it feel with feeling sorry about rabbits, I’ve adopted 2 bunnies instead of buying kits which I planned to do. Because I thought bad of them and they needed a new home.
 
Hi Hermelin - lots in your post to pay attention to - thank you. I wish I could get down to my bunny's level and play with him - I had an injury to my knee which stops me putting any weight on it so can't do things anymore such as getting down on the ground. Can't get back up again! However, have a little seat I can use to get down to near his level at least and when I take him into that spare room I have, I will stay with him a bit longer and play with him a little. I know it's going to take me ages to get him back in the cage though. I had lots of trouble cornering him and finally enticing him into a box so that I could grab it. Okay, so get rid of most of the hay. I have two types, Timothy Hay and Oaten Hay so will put a bit of both in his litter tray, heap it up and let him play. Should I try and remove all his dirty litter beforehand? Some websites say no, keep it in there as it will help him identify where to poop. Onwards and upwards!
 
Hi there, thanks so much for replying! This is my old parrot cage which I am using for Roger (my bunny). This was taken before I bought all the hay and pellets and stuff so it looks empty but you get the idea. It has a slightly smaller cardboard box in there now, which he loves. Roger can certainly stand up and stretch his legs, tons of room, but he can't jump at all - he's a bit hemmed in by everything. I notice your cage is so neat and tidy! I read online I should put loads of hay in the cage so I have completely covered the floor with it but he's pooping everywhere including the litter tray, very swampy each morning, and so I'm just trying to clean it up but I know I'm doing something wrong here. The cage has metal rail bottom so I have put some lining down for his little feet. I think I've done that bit right, if nothing else. The idea of an extra pen might be the answer or, on the other hand, buy a new house for him complete with extra pen. I'd really like to move him around within the house so that he can be part of the family - this cage makes that impossible as too heavy to lug around very far and I have a split level house. Re the picking up, no, I realised that quite quickly so am simply saying good morning to him with an outstretched hand and he comes up to me and sniffs and then retreats. That's fine. I can work on that. Should I remove most of the hay on the bottom of the cage, free it all up (what there is of it) as you have done?
Hi, some people make multi level cages of a parrot cage, here are a few ideas. I personally think that main floor is important but if I'd have this gorgeous cage I'd definitely try to reinvent it :)

Only I wouldn't use metal ramps and maybe no ramps at all just make kinda shelf so your rabbit could just jump and go to the other level, and I'd make the other levels of light wood. I'd have his toilet under that shelf so he can reach the shelf and hop on it or put something near so he could use as a step, and then he could hop from the shelf to another wooden level.

Anyway, even now an extra shelf can be attached easily with zip ties and it would give him more room right now.


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You can keep the old hay in the litter box, I often throw everything away after a week.

It will help him in the beginning to find his litter box, if it stop smelling he might find a different place. Specially when he’s soon in the teenage period which I call it, it’s when all the hormones will act up. Some rabbits will get changed personalities and others will have trouble going in the litter box, a bit of a rebellious time but will often calm down when he gets out from it or a neuter will help.

You can use treats and lure him into a travel cage, you can easily teach a rabbit on command jump into the basket/ travel cage. So you won’t have to chase him around the room. You can use pellets as treats.

Rabbits are quite easy to train jumping into a basket/ travel cage when you tell them. A lot easier than teaching them to be picked up. In the beginning will be a bit of work but with treats (pellets, fresh hay, veggies) and positive reinforcement, the rabbit will often happily jump into the travel cage with their free will, they learn really fast [emoji4]
 
A few more photo of converted bird cages. I would place a light wood sheet or something to cover the back and at least one side of the cage, I've got an impression that rabbits like their privacy and would like to have a place to hide. I cover backs of my cages with cardboard.

The other problem I see there is that rabbit should be able to jump out when the door is open, and with your cage you'd need to attach a ramp for him to go down. On the other hand if you have dogs around you can even create a whole living level for him like using an old desk or something to connect it to the cage so your rabbit would have his own level, also if you have a knee problem that would be easier for you to communicate so you can stay in your chair and still be on the same level. I'll try to find some pics later.

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Desk-high cage extension ideas

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I'm not a fan of converted bird cages or the DCN (Double Critter Nation) cage (the one shown with the chinchillas). We have a DCN (used for rats and later for birds) and they simply aren't appropriate for rabbits. The base is too small -- same for bird cages. (Those ramps are also useless for rabbits.)

[ @Poopy Poo , of the photos you posted, only the dog crates and the last cube cage would be appropriate for rabbits. The bird cages, rat cages, and one-grid tall guinea pig cages are not appropriate.]

Multi-levels is fine but the base (footprint) needs to be reasonably large (like the 2 grid by 4 grid cage in last photo). Ideally, the bottom floor should sit on the floor of your home, not raised on a stand. The reason for this is something you've already experienced -- having to pick bunny up to get them in and out of the cage. This is not ideal and in fact can sabotage your attempts at bonding with your rabbit.

The easiest thing for your to do is have a cage that sits on the floor so that exercise time simply means opening the cage door. You should begin with an exercise pen that can be set up around that opening so that bunny's roaming space is limited. This set-up has multiple advantages. One is that you no longer have to chase (and scare) bunny around to catch him and put him back in. All that is needed is to shrink in the x-pen until he has no option but to hop back in his cage.

The other advantage is that bunny has constant access back to his cage -- this alone has a few advantages. He can retreat to his safe zone (his cage) at will. Knowing he can retreat at will can provide a great deal of security & comfort. 3.) He has access back to a litter box as needed which will be most useful if you intend to have him free roam.

I believe the pages on my website about housing, bonding, and introducing a dog and rabbit will be most helpful to you. Normally I may link a specific page, but in this case I'll give my home page here. If you can view it on a laptop or computer, it is more user friendly than a mobile device.
 
I'm not a fan of converted bird cages or the DCN (Double Critter Nation) cage (the one shown with the chinchillas). We have a DCN (used for rats and later for birds) and they simply aren't appropriate for rabbits. The base is too small -- same for bird cages. (Those ramps are also useless for rabbits.)

[ @Poopy Poo , of the photos you posted, only the dog crates and the last cube cage would be appropriate for rabbits. The bird cages, rat cages, and one-grid tall guinea pig cages are not appropriate.]

Multi-levels is fine but the base (footprint) needs to be reasonably large (like the 2 grid by 4 grid cage in last photo). Ideally, the bottom floor should sit on the floor of your home, not raised on a stand. The reason for this is something you've already experienced -- having to pick bunny up to get them in and out of the cage. This is not ideal and in fact can sabotage your attempts at bonding with your rabbit.

The easiest thing for your to do is have a cage that sits on the floor so that exercise time simply means opening the cage door. You should begin with an exercise pen that can be set up around that opening so that bunny's roaming space is limited. This set-up has multiple advantages. One is that you no longer have to chase (and scare) bunny around to catch him and put him back in. All that is needed is to shrink in the x-pen until he has no option but to hop back in his cage.

The other advantage is that bunny has constant access back to his cage -- this alone has a few advantages. He can retreat to his safe zone (his cage) at will. Knowing he can retreat at will can provide a great deal of security & comfort. 3.) He has access back to a litter box as needed which will be most useful if you intend to have him free roam.

I believe the pages on my website about housing, bonding, and introducing a dog and rabbit will be most helpful to you. Normally I may link a specific page, but in this case I'll give my home page here. If you can view it on a laptop or computer, it is more user friendly than a mobile device.
Well I agree with everything you said there just keep exploring my own options as I am very limited with space and going to build a cage/housing for my rabbits under my large wooden desk and there will be definitely second level because it will be 74 cm high. But if I had that parrot cage I'd experiment with it, I can't see how it built if I could remove the bottom part I'd probably place it on it's side and put hard flooring, that would be decent size cage then. It depends if it can be dismantled which I think is possible.

I actually was going to repost here your cage as an example but couldn't find it so was hoping you'll show up and will post it again yourself :)
 
Aaah... you must mean this one.

However, anyone seeing this should note that this is not a large cage. It only works because the cage door is left open every morning until late at night.

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@Didi , I'll use this opportunity (since I just posted the prior photo) to show what I mean by the exercise pen set up around a cage to provide some exercise space while limiting that space initially. This allows easy access back to cage and, in this example, if bunnies need to go back in cage, I could move that pen closer and closer toward the cage opening until they hop in.

This is how their area was set up until they were comfortable in the space. Then I eventually removed the pen altogether.

re: a prior post: If you do take a peek at my website link, I do have all my "Easter rabbit" warnings scattered about for this time of year. ;)

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You can keep the old hay in the litter box, I often throw everything away after a week.

It will help him in the beginning to find his litter box, if it stop smelling he might find a different place. Specially when he’s soon in the teenage period which I call it, it’s when all the hormones will act up. Some rabbits will get changed personalities and others will have trouble going in the litter box, a bit of a rebellious time but will often calm down when he gets out from it or a neuter will help.

You can use treats and lure him into a travel cage, you can easily teach a rabbit on command jump into the basket/ travel cage. So you won’t have to chase him around the room. You can use pellets as treats.

Rabbits are quite easy to train jumping into a basket/ travel cage when you tell them. A lot easier than teaching them to be picked up. In the beginning will be a bit of work but with treats (pellets, fresh hay, veggies) and positive reinforcement, the rabbit will often happily jump into the travel cage with their free will, they learn really fast [emoji4]

Thanks for this. Okay, so keep the litter box contents for a week, just adding hay each day - will do. You mention neutering. I have been reading up on rabbits since I got Roger and many people say definitely get them neutered as some of them can become quite aggressive. The thing is I live in a country town in Australia and we have a choice of about three or four vets in all and I'm wondering how many of them are experienced in bunny vetting. I'm taking my dog in next week so I will ask them about rabbit expertise! Rabbits really are amazing little creatures, aren't they - just reading about training them to jump into baskets/travel cage. I will get on to that one when I've managed the basics, which must come first for his health.
 
Aaah... you must mean this one.

However, anyone seeing this should note that this is not a large cage. It only works because the cage door is left open every morning until late at night.

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Hi Blue Eyes - With your converted desk/cage (picture shows door wide open) doesnt your bunny nibble at your furniture? I have been warned about this but to make the furniture bunny proof seems almost impossible. Especially with tv cords, computer cords, etc etc.
 

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