Indoor housing-Levels?

[dragonjaze]

I am designing a cage to be built for a rabbit-to-be. Most likely a dwarf breed, but possibly something a little larger. The one and only previous rabbit I've had was mostly loose in the house, and otherwise was in just a pen on the floor. This one will have to have a cage to live in when I'm not home.

I see all the cages with multi-levels, but do your rabbits actually use/enjoy them? I don't want to build a three foot tall cage, only to have the critter do nothing but sit on the bottom.

oh, also: I don't like galvanized wire. Where do I get welded wire?

 

[MaggieJ]

Hello Dragonjaze and welcome to RabbitTalk. :hi:

I don't know how much a rabbit will use multiple levels, but I can say with confidence that rabbits really enjoy a shelf or box to jump up on and will lounge there with great pleasure.

Welded wire IS galvanized. If you don't want to use it, you might consider constructing a pen or cage from wire shelving units or something of that sort. It works very well indoors and can be wired or zip-tied together allowing you to change the configuration as your needs change. Just a thought.

 

[dragonjaze]

The last cage I made was out of those square wire cube thingies. Worked okay, but I tossed the ones I had out a long time ago, and don't really want to get more.

Debating on building a cage vs just buying a nice cage anyway.

 

[akane]

Shimo's lounging area and litterbox.

I used vinyl coated wire I had around. Galvanized wire is welded. You can get galvanized before weld or after weld. Galvanized just means it's dipped in a zinc coating to help prevent rust but it can be toxic if chewed a lot. Usually not a problem for rabbits and most cages are most of galvanized wire but you can't use galvanized around birds or sugar gliders since they climb the bars and ingest too much plus gliders urine reacts with the coating and causes urinary tract infections. You can remove most of the galvanizing with a vinegar scrub but you'll risk rust with plain steel. Then there is powder coated which is reserved for expensive thicker wire and generally doesn't come in small enough gauge to use as a shelf without something over it. This is what shelving panels are made of but the spacing is big enough for a rabbit foot to go through and would not be comfortable to lay on without a covering.

 

[MaggieJ]

That's a very nice loung and litter box you have for Shimo, Akane. Easy to clean too.

 

[dragonjaze]

See, akane, that was one of my earlier thoughts, just to get a crate (or repurpose one of the ones I have around here) and put a shelf along the back of it.
I don't like loose bedding, although I'm not sure you'd be able to tell if it was kicked out, due to all the birdseed on the floor around here If I get a crate like that, the bun would HAVE to be reliably litter trained.<br /><br />__________ Sun Mar 25, 2012 10:42 pm __________<br /><br />ok, this is going to be one spoiled rabbit. Just ordered a 42" crate for it.

 

[akane]

We've started building plywood boxes with a wire front over 8-12" lip and wire top for indoor cages. You can waterproof plywood with polyurethane and they don't seem interested in chewing on plywood. Maybe the glue smells/tastes bad. However when using 2x4 or 2x6's for the front they do have to be replaced occasionally and I would make sure if painting to use the nontoxic version because rabbits love pine boards. The wire cages we already had made we covered in cheap vinyl flooring to stop the bedding getting kicked out. Now just a little falls straight down and I can sweep it up easily.

 

[ladysown]

you might find this page helpful?

blogs/athomepets/2011/01/18/housing-your-indoor-rabbit-building-your-own-rabbit-cage/

 

[5dognightfarm]

Your rabbit likes Mike's too? We must be twins.

I've found buying cages to be cheaper then the labor put into building them, especially if you can find them at auctions and sales.

 

[akane]

I think they just find it fun to systematically flatten the boxes and make me bend them so they'll stay back up again. The snapple boxes are far more popular because young rabbits and really small netherlands can fit in them.