Expanding off Small Pet-Store Cage

[fsshaer]

(Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this! Delete if it is?)

We got a rabbit 3-4 weeks ago and for the time being she is in a simple Petco bought cage--which isn't bad considering anytime I am in the room, the cage's door is opened and she spends most of her time out in the actual room itself as opposed to the cage.

However, recently my fiance and I have been wanting to get an X-Pen type of thing to put around it, so she can have more room to herself--made out of those grids held together with zip ties? If we do it, we'll be getting an easy to clean/sturdy carpet to put in the pen (even if we are replacing the current carpets if we end up staying here permanently). I also think she would be a lot happier if she could spend more time with the cats at night--who she absolutely loves. (Before anyone says anything, she's very used to cats and my three wouldn't hurt a fly. They've gotten along with snakes, lizards, rats, mice, and this rabbit. Very loving babies. First sign of trouble I just lock them out of the room she is in at night, no big deal). Of course I will put some things in it alongside with her cage she has now, but I have made two simple layout plans in Photoshop. I'll include a blank one in case someone wants to visually show me any suggestions!

I hope the attachments I put on will work, if not here are links to the original image and my two ideas so far;

Original;
http://tinypic.com/r/2iboleb/5

Ideas;
http://tinypic.com/r/2qaut94/5
http://tinypic.com/r/4gnjad/5

 

[PaGal]

I would think the more room for her to run the better. Also, if the pen will be only as high as the cage I would be concerned that she could jump out of the pen.

 

[Kittiebot]

Yeah you will want to make the pen at least 2 grids high, I tried 1 high with my guy and he jumped over it like it was nothin.

 

[Blue eyes]

2 grids won't be high enough either. I would go 3 grids high. Or, you can use an x-pen instead of the grids.
Here's one I would recommend. (the 30" high)
If you have a corner of that room that you can use, then the space can be considerably larger since you can make use of both existing walls.
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[Korr_and_Sophie]

2 grids won't be high enough either. I would go 3 grids high. Or, you can use an x-pen instead of the grids.
Here's one I would recommend. (the 30" high)
If you have a corner of that room that you can use, then the space can be considerably larger since you can make use of both existing walls.
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It really depends on the rabbit. I have one that can get over 3 grids, some that can get over 2 and have fostered some that probably could be fine with 1 high. Since each cube is 14" tall, 2 is 28" which is not much less than a 30" x-pen.

For a pen, I would go as big as you can. I find rabbits tend to do better with a pen in a more square shape than one that is long and narrow. Since you space isn't huge, you could try having a bigger pen when you don't need the space, and making it smaller when you do. The room looks big enough that you could make and area that expands.

With the cage you have, the base slopes down. This means there can be a small gap if you put a pen right up to it. Some rabbits can squeeze through the gap. Putting the pen right up to the wall can help or you can have an opening just big enough for the door. I have also had some rabbits that would jump onto the cage top and get out of the pen.

I would not really recommend zip tieing the pen to the cage as it will be annoying if you need to move one or both of them. You can get dog leash type clips at most hardware stores or even from a cheap leash. Bungee cords can work as well.

 

[Blue eyes]

It really depends on the rabbit. Since each cube is 14" tall, 2 is 28" which is not much less than a 30" x-pen.
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I've had cubes in different sizes. Some grids were closer to 12", some 14." In fact, I used to have to sort them since I couldn't really use them together. It might have just been different brands.

Buy yes, each rabbit is different. 30" seems to be a a good height though.