Indoor rabbit cages

Hello! I was looking for some advice on indoor rabbit cages. I've been looking around the web and just wanted to know if this a cage of these dimensions: W150xD74xH63 Would be suitable? (The cage is the liberta large indoor rabbit cage) Sorry I can't post the links

My intention is that the rabbit would be in it's cage during the day (while I am at work full time, which is only for the next 3-4 months) but would be allowed full, supervised, roam of my room. I was wanting to have a run that I could attach to the cage for when I am at work, but that I could also fold away when necessary. I am hoping the run part will be roughly 1 & 1/4's of the width of the cage (that is in addition to the cage) and roughly the depth out to the side.

I can sketch that out for you if it'd be easier. Would this arrangement be suitable? It would be one mini lop (my intention is to get another rabbit at a later date) and obviously it will be spoilt rotten with toys and things to stimulate it.

I have seen these cages, and i know what your talking about. That size is certainly better than others that are on the market, but i assume that bunny will be back in his/her cage on a night when your in bed? In which case, this is too long for him to be cooped up, as despite the extra height that the liberta cages offer, its not enough for bunny to fully stretch up and periscope.

They are also quite pricey, and you will probably find that a puppy pen and a piece of lino to sit it on would offer much more space and is a lot cheaper! Why not have a look at some of the indoor setups that are posted in the properly ladder? You could get some ideas and inspitation from those. Ill see if i can find a link to some of my indoor cages.

ETA:
Some of my indoor setups..
https://happyhoppers.forumotion.co.uk/t12376-skye-s-new-house

https://happyhoppers.forumotion.co.uk/t14878p10-another-indoor-setup-new-pictures

I am a new convert to indoor buns and can thoroughly recommend buying C&C cubes. They are basically grids which lock together and the beauty of them is that you can make the space into any shape you need, which is useful for fitting an indoor cage into a spare corner or for odd shaped rooms.

My buns are in their cages when I am out and then they get play time - individually at the moment because they aren't bonded yet - when I let home.

I also recommend that you take the opportunity to look at rabbit proofing all your electrical cables. I have a biter who took out my phone line, internet and nearly got through my stereo cable.

Something like this

Just remember though that you need to be aware that bunnies are very strong and determined little beasts. And they will try to push and pull their way out of their enclosure. My boy bun Barley regularly plays tug of war with his cage bars and if they weren't cable tied together, would be out. Indeed, that is how the little ratbag got out and chewed said cables in the first place.

NickieM wrote:Just remember though that you need to be aware that bunnies are very strong and determined little beasts. And they will try to push and pull their way out of their enclosure. My boy bun Barley regularly plays tug of war with his cage bars and if they weren't cable tied together, would be out. Indeed, that is how the little ratbag got out and chewed said cables in the first place.

Yes I have this cable tied to the indoor cage itself as I have seen some bunnies actually pick the pen up with their teeth and move it back

I am constantly amazed by how determined they are. The night that Sasha got out at the same time as Barley (she was like a heat seeking missile across the living room to get him!), she had actually climbed up the inside of the cage and got out over the top! I now have roofs on both cages.

I have a cage with a play pen tie wrapped to it for my two. The pen is 6' x 3.5', in addition the the cage.

I can vouch for them being masters at escaping. Molly has escaped a fair few times. The pen is 2.5' high and she can jump it I now have a mosquito net pegged over the top so she can't do it.

There is no doubt in my mind that in time, she'll find another way to get out

You would think I never let them out but they get out every morning and evening

Thumper2001 wrote:I have a cage with a play pen tie wrapped to it for my two. The pen is 6' x 3.5', in addition the the cage.

I can vouch for them being masters at escaping. Molly has escaped a fair few times. The pen is 2.5' high and she can jump it I now have a mosquito net pegged over the top so she can't do it.

There is no doubt in my mind that in time, she'll find another way to get out

You would think I never let them out but they get out every morning and evening

I honestly think i have slightly thick rabbits, i really do! Either that, or they are quite happy to sit in a cage as they have never escaped, or tried to.

Ack! So many choices, where would I buy C&C panels from? Would a pvc type table cloth be ok for the bottom of the run part? One of the runs I've looked at has a net with it, but there was another that had an opening for the rabbit to come out into the room that would probably be better, because then I can just open the door on the run in the evening and let the bun go in and out as he wishes.

What do you use to bunny proof cables? Would it be like the cable tidy plastic tubing?

I wouldn't use a pvc tablecloth just in case they nibbled it as it could cause a bunny digestive problems and I think sat on it long term could be quite unpleasant . Some people use fleeces, I have washable mats down in our pens.

I saw this on ebay the other day and that look's quite good
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GUINEA-PIG-LARGE-INDOOR-RUN-PLAY-PEN-CAGE-NEW-UK-STOCK-/360368204697?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Small_Animals&hash=item53e79e6b99

These are cable ties http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Fixings_Index/Cable_Ties/index.html

And for bunny proofing cables and wires we use Cable tidy's http://www.jmldirect.com/uk/housewares/cable-tidy/invt/c01ca10100000001/
but shop around for them as they are different prices everywhere.
We got our's from Poundstretchers

Would something like vet bed be suitable? Can I also put vet bed in the cage, with carefresh ultra in the litter tray?

Oh good ol' poundstretchers, I'll be heading that way to go to the petshop next door so I'll pop in there too.

So I could get say 2 packs of the C&C cubes, and make a double height run? Looking at them I don't think one level would be tall enough for keeping a bun in, I'll have to do some calculations on run size!

I'm hopefully talking to my Dad about me getting a rabbit tonight (21 years old and I need permission, the perils of living at home!) So fingers crossed for me please, there's going to be a lot of begging.

You can use vet bed in the pen and the indoor cage as long as they have somewhere cooling they can sit as well as they tend to get warm sat on vet bed, especially in the Summer.

In our indoor cages we have newspaper first, then a litter tray in with newspaper first, megazorb litter and then topped with hay and that's at one end of the indoor cage and then I put more hay in.

This is one of the boarding hutches (below) but we have the same for the indoor cages and our own bunnies. That's a big hutch in the photo below and so there is a lot of hay in it, you wouldn't need that much in an indoor cage. Shop around for indoor cages as well, sometimes you can pick them up a lot cheaper on ebay, if you buy a second hand one off ebay. make sure you disinfect it out thoroughly.

Would a combo of vet bed and a tray or piece of plastic work ok? That way they have a cool spot too. I've had a look on ebay and amazon and haven't found much yet, but as I said I've got a couple of months yet so I'll keep checking

Zo wrote:Would a combo of vet bed and a tray or piece of plastic work ok? That way they have a cool spot too. I've had a look on ebay and amazon and haven't found much yet, but as I said I've got a couple of months yet so I'll keep checking

Just put some newspaper down then some vet bed and then the litter tray with some paper, litter in it and hay on top at the opposite end

Our big guy hated having hay in his cage anywhere other than the litter box and hay rack. And he wasn't too sure about it being in the litter box. We started putting hay in it to cover the litter. He was demanding the litter box be cleaned every time he used it. It was too messy for him. If Hubby doesn't keep the litter box clean enough he poops on top of the blanked we have covering the top of his cage where the litter box is.

He is totally free-range now. He usually has his good long sleep on ceramic tile in the dining room. He does this even in the winter! We placed a nice soft bed where he chose to sleep and he moved it out of the way. So we left it where he did. They can all be SO opinionated about where they prefer to lounge.

You absolutely must cover all wires and cables or you will be replacing them on a regular basis and the bunny could get a fatal jolt depending.

We have a spare dog crate that we used for our one of dogs before they got a size upgrade which is L96xW60xH66. Now I know that is smaller than the cage but it would allow for a bigger run which the bun could then have full access too (as it fits better I wouldn't have to take it down ever)

Ok so this is it with the cage:

this is roughly 4.5ft long

and with the crate:

this is roughly 7ft long

I hope you'll agree that the crate is the better option, it fits a lot better with the space
(the top left line is where the door is, and the two lines on the short wall on the right are where the window is, and the bookcase will be mounted on the wall so won't be in the run)

I think tha looks fab . Remember that buns like somewhere to hide under too.

Some soft fleece or Lino for the floor is always a good idea and a litter tray with a non clumping litter and some hay on top.

Sounds like the new bun is about to hit the jackpot:-)

https://happyhoppers.forumotion.co.uk/t11109-this-is-where-i-live?highlight=This+is+wher+I+live

Here is a link to how my housebound lives - might give you sme ideas :-)

What litter do you use? I will see if I can get some lino, still have to clear everything with my parents first

We have a massive C&C indoor pen - see this video - because although I can be entirely trusted to live free-range and never damage anything ever (except for The Wallpaper Incident), my Gizmo goes through the house like a tornado stripping walls, slicing cables, digging carpets and generally destroying everything

My Humum thinks the panels are the best thing ever - ours are from B&Q but they can be quite hard to find. We have about 6 or 7 boxes in total, some in use and some not, but they are just brilliant for knocking up a quick indoor or outdoor pen when one is needed and can be changed around so easily. The one thing she learned is to cable-tie every joint in every direction, as if one comes apart it's very difficult to get it back without breaking the plastic. Our pen has about 600 cable ties on it

We have a carpet offcut under our pen - it was a roll end about 10' long x 4' wide and she paid £15 for it, so it doesn't matter that Gizmo is gradually eating it

For litter, we have Megazorb with a thin layer of hay on top. Bunnies like to sit and eat hay in their litter trays so it is worth getting a nice big one - we have underbed storage boxes from Poundstretcher at 3 for £10.

Someone posted a link on here for some on ebay, so I think I will be getting those, yes I was going to cable tie it as well, you can never be too careful. Where do you get megazorb from? Would carefresh ultra be ok?

The Hay Experts - my second favourite website

Megazorb - unfortunately it only comes in a huge sack, but it would last one bun forever Carefresh should also be ok though.

marleyNfriends wrote:

Thumper2001 wrote:I have a cage with a play pen tie wrapped to it for my two. The pen is 6' x 3.5', in addition the the cage.

I can vouch for them being masters at escaping. Molly has escaped a fair few times. The pen is 2.5' high and she can jump it I now have a mosquito net pegged over the top so she can't do it.

There is no doubt in my mind that in time, she'll find another way to get out

You would think I never let them out but they get out every morning and evening

I honestly think i have slightly thick rabbits, i really do! Either that, or they are quite happy to sit in a cage as they have never escaped, or tried to.

Sparky wrote: - unfortunately it only comes in a huge sack, but it would last one bun forever Carefresh should also be ok though.

Ah good, I still have a couple of bags from my mice, who are very poorly and being put down on monday it's why I've been hitting the bunny research so hard, it makes for a nice distraction