Okay, so I need ideas for the floor of my cage

[Ponyta]

I'm adopting my babies tomorrow night, and they'll have to spend the night in their old cage. It's not to bad a cage, but the last person to adopt them didn't clean it and now it reeks of urine and the carpet has been torn out. Thank god they were returned, the woman had five children that were terrorizing them. They're mom tries to keep them out so they don't have to endure the conditions until I can take them and build them a new cage. So I'm going to put fleece down tomorrow night so it's tolerable. Saturday I'm heading to Sears and tractor supply to get what they need. Sears has a great deal on NIC cubes ($19.99 online, $16.99 in store for a set of six cubes), so I'll be purchasing three boxes, maybe four just in case I find a Mini Lop that I can one day name Steve. Their cage will be a monster.

I'll call it: Monster Cage.

>.>

<.<

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My problem is the flooring. I want the plastic cardboard stuffs, you know... what I mean. The plastic-cardboard-stuffs!? But, I don't know where to get it, I don't have anything to cut it, and even if I knew anything about either of those two things I would have no way to get it into my apartment. So that's not really an option.

But, considering this is a rental, and they aren't supposed to exist, I need something down that will prevent them from destroying my 70s shag carpet. Or them ingesting it.

I have access to a ridiculous amount of cardboard (and fleece) at work, so it's possible that I could hot glue some layers together and use that as a floor, but that might get a little time consuming, especially if they soil it a lot.

What other alternatives do you think I could use?

If nothing pops up I'll see if I can pay some guy to deliver it, but I'd rather not.

 

[Ponyta]

Oh wait, they sell those mats at Home Depot that they use in entry ways at restaurants and stuff. I could put one of those down. I'd have to cut it up so if it got soiled it'd be easy to throw in the tub, though.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

You can get coroplast (plastic cardboard) at Home Depot. It is usually near the back with the wood and stuff. It might be hard to find as they tend to have it up right and into the aisle, so you have to find the signs for it. If you have to ask someone, ask for corrugated plastic as they might not have it as Coroplast and it does come in other brands. The Home Depot near me only has white and clear, but other stores may have different colours. They come in different sizes. Try to get the biggest you can so that you don't have to tape it down the middle. I would build the cage, measure what you need, add about 8-12 inches (for the sides) then buy a piece a bit bigger than than. If you are doing shelves, include that in the total amount you need.

You should have something the protects the floor well. Cardboard is easily chewed and doesn't protect from urine. Floor mats or rugs can be chewed and may not be safe if eaten.

Some people use plywood cut to size with stick on tiles to make it easy to clean.

 

[featpete]

How many rabbits are you taking in? You should consider potty training them. Some rabbits take a little while to learn but some can learn to pee in their box within a single day. Poop you never really have to worry about because it doesn't smell and it's solid/easy to clean.

If you have access to a lot of fleece, I'd suggest going with newspapers/cardboard until they're potty trained, then switch over to fleece. Good luck!

 

[Ponyta]

They're already potty trained inside their cage. I'm still concerned for the carpet, especially because they could ingest it. I might do the coroplast, but I don't know how I'm gonna get it home.

 

[Krissa]

I went to Home Depot in the bathroom/shower area and got these white panels that are used to line showers. They are shiny and smooth on one side and a brown particle board on the other. I took some old sheets, and sewed them in half to make big 'pockets.' I slid the panels into the pockets to give Zander some traction, keeping the white waterpoof side up.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Maybe try 12X12 vinyl sticky tiles on cardboard? At least the tilescome in a small enough box vs. the Coroplast that you could sneak it into the apartment.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[goneforbaroque]

I have hardwood floors in my apartment so I put linoleum scraps under the cage to protect the wood (I want my deposit back one day!) You may be able to get scraps for free. Just make sure that if you use it for a cage liner they overlap in such a way so that nothing can leak and pool under the linoleum. Or you can just toss it down over the carpet. Only problem is it doesn't have the best traction. I wouldn't worry too too much about them eating your carpet, especially if you provide them with other fun things to chew on. I'd be more worried about them digging in it. Good luck!

 

[Junkie2]

I bought a few tiles at home depot for 1.50 a pop. They work perfectly as a floor in my rabbit's cage