Need a cage that won't make a mess

[pam9]

Hello all,

My rabbit Butterscotch has a cage that I built him out of NIC panels. It's square - 2x2x2, so 28"x 28"x 28" (I would like it to be bigger but unfortunately don't really have the room). The cage has plexiglass about 2 inches high around the bottom, to try to prevent poop from rolling out of his cage, but it still occurs. It might just be him kicking them out of the cage, but I am looking for a solution. My family has recently acquired a puppy, who is very charming but likes to eat Butterscotch's poop, as well as any grass that falls out of his cage.

I'm looking for a cage where this will not occur or at least, will occur less. I'm open to building another cage or buying one (up to about $200). The width of the cage is limited to about what it is now but it could probably be about a foot or so wider. Height is not a concern.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

 

[Acacia-Berry]

Just build your NIC up. Mine's 3 high. And line the bottom level with coroplast or something so the pup cannot get in? Mine had a tablecloth tied around it but the cat got that torn to bits. !!!

 

[LakeCondo]

A quick & easy, though not permanent fix would be to use 4 cardboard boxes & put one in each corner, cutting away 2 sides & the top [in fact, if you're careful you could use just 2 boxes]. If the center of the cage isn't covered, put some of the cut-off pieces there. Use duct tape to hold it together, preferably on the underneath side.

This ought to last until the puppy can be trained.

 

[LaylaLop]

I let my dog clean up the poo that gets flung out.. he also eats the hair and I figure it's just less clean up for me.

When I had an NIC cage I bought the vinyl-trim that goes around the bathroom walls for fairly cheap and zip-tied it against the NIC panel to keep in stray poops.

 

[nobunnynoclue]

LaylaLop wrote:

I let my dog clean up the poo that gets flung out.. he also eats the hair and I figure it's just less clean up for me.

Ewwwwww!!
Gross.

I can't talk tho. I let my dogs eat bird poop. I've given up trying to stop them, and it saves me the trouble.

 

[Nela]

To be honest, I think that it'll be quite hard to achieve without completely covering the cage I've seen bunnies fling their poop through the top even. They are the ultimate poop army. :expressionlessLol. The puppy should be trained not to eat it but quite frankly, it's probably going to be hard to achieve. My own dog who is great at obedience still loves to steal hay and eat the litter/poop whenever he gets the chance. The one thing I can think ofis putting a playpen or NIC fence around the cage itself to limit the perimeter accessible to the puppy. Other than that or closing the door and denying access completely, I would find it quite hard to achieve.

 

[abbenator]

I'm also finding that my dog enjoys the occasional stray bunny pellet. It's pretty gross, but at least its one less poo for me to sweep up

 

[LaylaLop]

I figure as long as my bunnies are healthy and my dog is dewormed regularly then there's no huge risk. Beats him eating poop while out on a walk or something. He doesn't like eating any poos but rabbit though. Maybe because I always encouraged him to clean it up, haha.

As gross as it may be, dog's tongues ARE their toilet paper. Just don't share food directly/kiss your dog on the mouth. It's pretty much full of e.coli and other bacteria that aren't very good for you. Just some food for thought

 

[1357rabbitlover]

Rabbit poop must taste delicious in a dogs mind! aha, my dogs also eat my bunnies poop all the time!

 

[LaylaLop]

Cecotrophs are the best (in his mind)... *blech*

 

[PaGal]

Maybe just build the cage taller so it is more than one level if you want your bunny to have more room. Could you put in plexiglass that is higher than two inches? That might cut down on the mess.