Bunny in basement?

[Makaylaa]

so I have one bunny, it is currently in my room. It is in a cage from a pet store but I try to let it out as often as possible. It was in a larger cage until I moved to a new house and don’t have the space in my bedroom for it. I have a x-pen cage for it but not enough room up here in my bedroom so I’ve been thinking about moving it to the basement. I want what’s best for the bunny but I don’t know if leaving it in the x-pen cage down there alone while I’m out will be best. It’s not a finished basement but I would carpet down under the x-pen and I could let it out to play while I’m down there but I can’t be down there all the time so I’m not sure what to do. I want my bunny to be with me to bond with it and so it’s not lonely but it needs more space that I can’t provide for it up in my room. I’m also scared of of it will be cold or humid like I’ve seen some people say. It can’t be a free roam bunny because I have a cat and the bunny would try to hump my cat

 

[A & B]

Are you aware of your rabbit's gender? If you don't, we could help you figure it out. If the rabbit has testicles, it's a male. Getting the rabbit fixed would make it so the rabbit wouldn't want to hump your cat. My rabbit used to hump my dog until he got neutered. Now, he doesn't hump anything. I don't have any advice on the basement thing however.

 

[Makaylaa]

Are you aware of your rabbit's gender? If you don't, we could help you figure it out. If the rabbit has testicles, it's a male. Getting the rabbit fixed would make it so the rabbit wouldn't want to hump your cat. My rabbit used to hump my dog until he got neutered. Now, he doesn't hump anything. I don't have any advice on the basement thing however.

Yeah it’s a male, I am working on getting him neutered i need to find the time and I was planning on doing it soon

 

[Imbrium]

Even neutered, cat + bunny is a dangerous combination that should always be supervised. The bacteria on cat claws and teeth can be FATAL (even WITH vet treatment) to a rabbit who gets scratched or bitten.

I would NOT do carpet under the pen - rabbits like to rip that up and swallowing pieces could be dangerous. Hard flooring is much better. Depending on the rabbit, plastic/vinyl might work.

It's not cold that gets bunnies, it's heat (or drafty/windy cold or below freezing + wet). A basement could work quite well as long as it's not too hot in summer, he can't get into anything dangerous and he first gets put down there during more moderate temps (like spring or fall) so he has more time to grow the appropriate coat for summer or winter. You can always bring him up to your room for a couple hours whenever you have time to supervise him so that you can spend time together .

 

[Makaylaa]

Even neutered, cat + bunny is a dangerous combination that should always be supervised. The bacteria on cat claws and teeth can be FATAL (even WITH vet treatment) to a rabbit who gets scratched or bitten.

I would NOT do carpet under the pen - rabbits like to rip that up and swallowing pieces could be dangerous. Hard flooring is much better. Depending on the rabbit, plastic/vinyl might work.

It's not cold that gets bunnies, it's heat (or drafty/windy cold or below freezing + wet). A basement could work quite well as long as it's not too hot in summer, he can't get into anything dangerous and he first gets put down there during more moderate temps (like spring or fall) so he has more time to grow the appropriate coat for summer or winter. You can always bring him up to your room for a couple hours whenever you have time to supervise him so that you can spend time together .

Thank you for the help I will try to see if I can get those hard flooring pieces that people stick on the floor if u know what I’m talking about would that work?

 

[Makaylaa]

I have another question too, so it would not be safe to put my cats litter box downstairs because any interaction with them can harm my bunny or scare it too?

 

[Blue eyes]

Some rabbits do just fine on carpet - especially once neutered. I've only had one of my many buns try to chew carpet. A low pile rug may do just fine. Only way to know is to try. (though you may want to wait until after he's neutered)

 

[Imbrium]

I briefly tried free-ranging two rabbits (supervised) in a household with two cats. One of the main reasons that idea got scrapped in a hurry was that Nala and Gaz would camp out in the cat box like they owned it! ALL clay and ALL clumping litters are unsafe for rabbits. While they probably won't try to eat litter in a cat box (as opposed to their own boxes where they might grab some accidentally while picking up hay), it could cause serious problems if they did. It's better to just block access between cat and rabbit boxes (if their running around areas overlap, put the cat box where the cats would have to make a jump the rabbits can't or something).

Funny you should mention the hard flooring tiles - I just posted this link in another thread last night! I used to use the cheapest tiles on this page (the first one listed). They're awesome!

 

[Makaylaa]

This is my very bad set up until I’m able to get tiles and proper things to set up the cage. Please give me any tips you can think of! I know it’s not a great set up right now I’m working on what I should do

 

[A & B]

That's not too bad of a set up actually. Make sure somewhere in the cage (after the tiles are put down) has an area with a blanket or two that he can sit on so he doesn't develop sore hocks.

 

[Makaylaa]

That's not too bad of a set up actually. Make sure somewhere in the cage (after the tiles are put down) has an area with a blanket or two that he can sit on so he doesn't develop sore hocks.

Thanks for the help