Indoor Cage Advice

Hi all!

I'm peeking out from under my rock with another question (I read daily but can't find time to post or anything useful to say).

I'm looking for thoughts on an indoor cage. My daughter (almost 4) wants a black pet rabbit. I have 3 in the nest box now for her to pick from (conveniently all black) and I plan to let her keep this one in the house. They are an odd-ball Californian x lion-lop mix (long story lol). I'd call dad medium sized. I've never weighed him, but I wouldn't guess more than 5-6 pounds. Guessing mom is in the 10 pound range. I'm debating on cage options, and could use some RT wisdom.

Cost is an issue - we're running tight so while I will spend what I have to, I don't want to spend more than I need to. I've narrowed down to the following 3 options (but am open to other thoughts as well):

The cage I have:
I have an old super-pet type cage, which is 17x30 (inside). That just doesn't seem very big. But is it big enough?

Build a C&C cage:
I used to use C&C type cages when I had guinea pigs. I don't still have any, but could make a new one. I have enough grids and wire shelving for a top. I'd just need some zip ties and a sheet of coroplast, making this a fairly inexpensive option. My concerns: The wire shelving worked well with a 1 panel high cage. Not sure that would be tall enough for a rabbit? I believe the cube panels are 14" square. And I don't know how sturdy it would be if I went 2 panels high. Plus that would make the rabbit pretty inaccessible to the kids due to height, which defeats the purpose of a pet rabbit. And if 1 panel high would work, would a rabbit just chew up the soft coroplast? I've seen some people use this cage type for rabbits but it doesn't seem common.

Buy a new cage:
My max budget here is $100. From what I've found this one seems the biggest I can get for that price. I'd go with the XL size. Currently on sale, so I ought to order soon if I'm going to.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=23958


I know there are those here who do have rabbits inside. I value the practical and wise advice to be found here on RT, so I'm hoping y'all can guide me again. Thanks!

Quick update for those who remember me: Still milking cows. We're 2 years into the transition to certified organic (1 year to go!). Just had our 3rd little monkey (a girl) born April 23, adding to our daughter almost 4 and our son 2.5. For many reasons I gave up my rabbit colony for now and am down to 1 Californian doe and a lion-lop buck (my dad's dog got my 2 meat bucks and I haven't yet found a replacement). I miss the colony and am seriously thinking about going down to just one pet rabbit for Sami until I can save up the funds to build a nice outdoor colony the way I'd like, and when the kids are old enough to help. Maybe next summer, but more likely the following one.

Hi Kotapony!

Long time no see! Congrats on the birth of your third "little monkey"! :bouncy: We call our kids that too.

Glad things are going well with the farm. Congrats on being almost organic.

I like the look of the cage from Foster's and Smith- it would look cute in your daughter's room. You could use pelleted pine bedding in it- I have done so with the occasional house-quarantined rabbit, and just stir the pee spots around so the bedding lasts a long time and is pretty affordable. Better yet would be if you can get the bunny litter box trained, which is usually almost automatic since rabbits tend to pick a potty corner anyway.

Some members here do use the panels and coroplast, but yes, the rabbits will chew it. If you aren't going to have a wire floor, you might buy a cement mixing tub and use that as the "tray". They are about 6" deep so would contain the mess well and they come in several sizes. 14" is high enough for the smaller breeds. I assume being a house bunny it will have outside play time so that might work even for a bigger rabbit.

Some people do build them 2 panels high. If you overlapped the panels by a couple of inches it would be more sturdy than edge to edge, and you could make it a height to suit ease of access by the kids.

They will completely eat coroplast. You can get custom metal pans from bass equipment for about $20 but I don't think they go over 3" for the edge so having a solid bottom cage with bedding might be difficult. Some do potty train their rabbits and use minimal or no bedding with some type of mat/rug for traction. A thin layer of pine pellets might be enough. You can also extend the sides with plexiglass that many hardware stores like lowes will cut for you. I'm not sure the cost though. Some combination of that would let you build a cube cage.

We use marchioro cages which are a higher quality version of the one you linked to. If you can't catch them on sale and preferably with an extra discount through membership or coupons they can be really expensive. The other brands of solid bottom cages will work but may have a shorter lifespan before pieces break or get chewed up.

All wire cages have the problem of rabbits spraying urine out the sides. My rabbit room walls are disgusting and we're going to scrub and paint them this week. Then I will probably put up plastic. You can wall off some sides with a cheap wood product. Also take a look at some of the hutch designs on the market right now. I would not buy a commercial hutch. They are overpriced, leak urine around the edge of the pan, and get chewed up. It can give you an idea how to do the wood, wire front, and a roof.

I am in the process of making a house-rabbit cage for my bunny as well. I found a really cool idea on pinterest, converting an old cabinet or dresser into a cage. Here are a couple examples. I will post mine when I get it finished. I love that you can leave a drawer in it to store all of your bunny-supplies.

I like xpens - you can sit in them with your rabbit and play. I got some x pens really cheap on the NZ version of craigslist.

Thank you all for the for the ideas. Lots of new things to think about, and not just cages now. Right when I thought I had everything figured out (I chewed on this for days before asking for advice), I'm totally rethinking my plans.

Why? Well, I lost my meat bucks last fall, and have been looking ever since for a meat type buck within a reasonable distance. There has been NOTHING within an hour of here. For MONTHS. And finally, after I posted this today, up pops an ad for Californians in the next town over. I went ahead and emailed, and it turns out this is a lady who bought stock off me a couple years ago, and she even offered delivery of a buck here to the farm. Score! And she also has a nice meat mutt bred doe for sale. $30 for the pair. How can I say no? I mean, if that's not a sign to keep going what is? So now I'm getting myself in trouble again! Uh-oh!

Apparently I'm not waiting to try again on a colony - I need to cobble something together NOW as I'm out of cages and already told her I'd take them! But if I'm going to do a new colony somehow, it'd be easier to just let pet bunny live with them, keep the buck in his own cage and take does to him to breed rather than let him live in the colony. That is, if course, if Sami picks a doe to keep. It'll throw a monkey wrench in for sure if she picks a buck and I'll be back to thinking about indoor cages again. The 3 kits I have are only 2 weeks old so I haven't taken time to sex them yet. I'm not sure what she has to pick from.

Sigh. Just once, it would be nice if something went according to plan! I guess if I can just figure out where to put them, this plan going off keeps me in rabbits, and that's not all bad is it?

I saw someone convert 2 sides and a top of a tv stand in to rodent breeding cages (I can't remember exactly what they had) and then put the tv in the middle. They could watch all their rodents and tv. There was some question about the vibration from the tv sounds bothering them but the person had it set up for 5 years at that point with no health problems or shortened lifespans.

I use the NIC type cages in 3 tier racks and am pretty happy with them. I have no problems with the 14" height. You can go taller without problems. I actually have a 3 tier rack that is made entirely out of the 14" nic panels. For flooring I use 1 x 2" wire. I place the coroplast pan underneath that and there is no chewing. In all 9 out of my 17 rabbits are in NIC panel cages.

Hope she picks a doe, or make sure any cage you get can have urine guards installed! Every boy bunny I've kept indoors (garage, or rabbitry) has sprayed. Of course, he's been housed with girls in other cages so YMMV.

My indoor bunny has a 36" dog crate. It was what I had at the last minute. And I'm sure you can get one cheap (or free) on craigslist. I don't think 1 panel high will be high enough for a bunny. I love those ideas on pintrest!

:bunnyhop: I want a bigger cage for my rabbit. that way he can lay or play on the different levels of the cage. he has a cage right now and pet pen. the pet pen is around the cage. so he can go in and out of his cage all day if he wants. help me with designs or wear I can buy one.

Here is a neat design advertised on the Bakersfield Craigslist:

http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/grd/4720371969.html

If that is too far to travel, maybe you can contact them for the manufacturer information and see if you can find it locally.

thanks I already seen that. but it is closed in. . the door has to be open all the time. I let my rabbit go in and out of the cage and he can play or lay in the cage or his pet pen. thanks. I texted the seller.

Hello!! I am interested in keeping my new bunny inside (when i get her), do you think its possible to have a space set out for her in my bedroom? i have been reading and apparently rabbits are most active at night, will she be very noisy? Im sorry for the noob questions I just want to be prepared and have a happy bunny!!

realife33":1fti33y2 said:

Hello!! I am interested in keeping my new bunny inside (when i get her), do you think its possible to have a space set out for her in my bedroom? i have been reading and apparently rabbits are most active at night, will she be very noisy? Im sorry for the noob questions I just want to be prepared and have a happy bunny!!

Click to expand...

Lots of people keep their pet rabbit in the bedroom. Unless you are a very light sleeper, you should soon get used to the nighttime noises and sleep right through them. You might want to take out any noisy toys before you go to bed and then give them back in the morning.

I find that it is unusual noises that wake me up--ones I hear every night (like my cat "house-running" at three in the morning) do not bother me at all.

MaggieJ":17jxzz57 said:

realife33":17jxzz57 said:

Hello!! I am interested in keeping my new bunny inside (when i get her), do you think its possible to have a space set out for her in my bedroom? i have been reading and apparently rabbits are most active at night, will she be very noisy? Im sorry for the noob questions I just want to be prepared and have a happy bunny!!

Click to expand...

Lots of people keep their pet rabbit in the bedroom. Unless you are a very light sleeper, you should soon get used to the nighttime noises and sleep right through them. You might want to take out any noisy toys before you go to bed and then give them back in the morning.

I find that it is unusual noises that wake me up--ones I hear every night (like my cat "house-running" at three in the morning) do not bother me at all.

Click to expand...

I've had 6 bunnies in my bedroom so far. 5 out of 6 of those bunnies caused no problems at all. The 6th(and last) bedroom kept bun (a buck) caused no end of troubles for our sleep. Endless digging and stomping in the early hours of the morning.
Yes, stomping. He was TRYING to wake us up.
See, he had learned that if he woke us up we might give him a bit of extra kibble in order to quiet him down.
("Why is this rabbit waking us up? Maybe he's hungry...")
Essentially, we trained him to wake us up for food.

I used NIC cubes. 2, 6 cube packs, 2 wide, 4 long, 3 - 4 tall with 3 levels built it for less then $100