Can't Decide On A New Cage

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feedtheflame

feedtheflame

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Mar 23, 2012
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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
So for those who have seen the posting on my new baby bunny, he's currently in a guinea pig cage. And i know that its not gonna last him long. So for now while he's in there settling in and calming down, im trying to figure out what kind of cage i want to get him. Having guinea pigs before, i went through two different cages, and with that experience i have an idea of what i dont really want.

He's going to be a house rabbit and i want to be able to let him out most of the time while im home. So im thinking of getting either a large wire dog crate with a litter pan in a corner and then it pretty much bare on the bottom with prob a fleece blanket for him to lie on. Or...a dog pen. But im wondering if its really a bad idea to put the dog pen right on the livingroom wood floor? if he's litter trained is the floor still going to get really messy? But also i think a crate would be easier to get into and move around because of doors and how its all one piece.

And then i hear how some people put a gate in the bathroom doorway and keep their rabbit in the bathroom...cept i dont think my roommate would like that.

All in all, im not too crazy about the typical wire and plastic pan cages for rabbits. I find them kind of ugly, and theyre a lot harder to move around as opposed to a collapsing dog crate. And i dont plan to really use much bedding (shavings, carefresh etc.) except for in the litterbox, thus saving money and mess.

This is my first rabbit so i dont know how practical my ideas and expectations are. Anyone care to give suggestions? I have seen the C&C cages but im not too sure i want one of those...

I live in Canada btw, Vancouver B.C.
 
hmm..some of that looks basically like a C&C cage...is it really worth it to build one? Seems to me it'd be simpler to buy a dog pen (and around the same price? pens here are like, $70+ canadian for new) And what im thinking here is, if its an open top, how high does it have to be? i heard more than 24"?

I see puzzlepiece flooring can be used...so thats an idea
 
I have a dogpen from craigslist and screwed a plant caster from home depot onto the bottom. Therefore it's really easy to move around, and you have the convenience of a collapseable dog crate. The bottom is still made of choroplast as the sides of a dog crate isn't high enough. We then built a 2nd level with wood beams and NIC cube cages. As for a litterbox, I never found the typical cat litterboxes adequate - a bunny has a huge butt! Instead, we have a rubberneck roughneck 14 gallon bin with hole cut out. All in all, we probably spent $30 on the entire set up.

I recommend that you get a dog crate, then make a choroplast bottom with 3-4 inch high sides. Add the wheels so that you can push it around easily. the rest is up to you!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yannikin/7018176529/#/
 
yannikin wrote:
I have a dogpen from craigslist and screwed a plant caster from home depot onto the bottom. Therefore it's really easy to move around, and you have the convenience of a collapseable dog crate. The bottom is still made of choroplast as the sides of a dog crate isn't high enough. We then built a 2nd level with wood beams and NIC cube cages. As for a litterbox, I never found the typical cat litterboxes adequate - a bunny has a huge butt! Instead, we have a rubberneck roughneck 14 gallon bin with hole cut out. All in all, we probably spent $30 on the entire set up.

I recommend that you get a dog crate, then make a choroplast bottom with 3-4 inch high sides. Add the wheels so that you can push it around easily. the rest is up to you!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yannikin/7018176529/#/
Click to expand...

That's really a good idea. Cute, bunny likes Snoopy.

Regarding litter box, I found a nice square one to use for Neville. Ferretts use them. Pretty good because I'm finding the corner litter boxes are a bit narrow. But the rubber maid sounds like a good idea too.

As I don't need lots of bedding, towels do nicely in our smaller crates, it cuts back on the cost and the ECO bedding is used in the litter box along with the hay. Another cost I cut out for hay racks.

K:)




 
why a choroplast bottom with sides? a crate has a shallow pan/smooth bottom on it. a blanket will add comfort and then the carefresh or whatever will be in a litterbox..

and yes im leaning towards a crate...seems the best for my money so far
 
b/c the pan doesn't have sides.

unless your rabbit is *perfectly* litter trained AND has good dining manners, it'll leave poops and hay scattered around the bottom of your cage. When she runs out of the cage, she's gonna track her poops and hay onto the floor for you to clean.

choroplast bottom w/ high sides will keep it all together, the pan will leave you cleaning for ages. :)

we have 4 inch high walls on the bottoms, a 0-waste hay rack, and mesh over her litterbox, yet we still have a bit of droppings and hay that ends up on the floor.
 
ahhh..didnt notice the link until now :p

yea that looks like a nice cage. i dont necessarily need the wheels... i just meant for the sake of moving/taking it apart, i want it easily collapsible cus i live in an apartment and it'd be almost impossible to move it through the apartment if it doesnt collapse. and folding up a regularr rabbit cage is such a pain..
 
lemme save you a pain in the butt by recommending that you get wheels.

i didnt think i needed wheels when i first built it, but good lord, if i wanted to move the cage to vacuum, to get something that fell behind the cage, or put her whole home into another room when i had guests over, i'd have to drag the cage. it'd shake all over the place, difficult to move, the dishes of food and water would spill.

a plant caster is $6 from home depot :)

up to you.
 
We use a dog pen (x-pen) with a litter box and toys and what not... Our bun is a house rabbit when we are home but goes in his pen when we are gone... We have our on some carpet and in the kitchen. It has gotten quite messy though... So we will be changing the flooring soon!

Good luck!
 
unfortunately im looking on craigslist and dont see any used dogcrates...maybe a few but theyre either the plastic ones or they're someplace too far to me to get to...i dont drive so that doesnt help lol
 
i got my baby on thursday...how long should i wait before switching him to a bigger cage? and i got some people saying wild babies are hard to keep..should i still be cautious on not knowing if he'll die? :( even if he seems to be doing great right now?
(and yes im taking him to the vet in a day or two, theyre closed today)
 
Check craigslist or kijiji! You could get a used crate for pretty cheap if you wanted to I`m sure. If you`re leaving the top open I believe the standard height to go with is 36... I could be wrong.

I know my bun has jumped over 28.
 
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