2022 Indoor Cages...add your photo!

[Blue eyes]

Each year we start a new thread to show off our rabbit cages. Not only is it fun to see everyone's cages, it is also useful for new bunny owners.

Whether you've made a cage out of cube grids, exercise pen, xl dog crate, old furniture or any combination, we'd love to see it! (there is a separate thread for outdoor cages here: Outdoor Cages... post your photo )

We want this thread to be full of photos!


Please... keep compliments to emojis in the "like" section of a post.

[If you have specific questions for a member, send them a private message.]

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A WORD ABOUT CAGE SIZES

"Proper" or "recommended" cage size can be a touchy topic. However I believe all can agree that bigger is always better.

There are varying recommendations by different groups so I will include a few here to give a general feel for some of those recommendations. The sources will be included as well. Generally, these are for indoor house rabbits. The information is included in the spirit of providing the best we can for our bunny companions.

Bigger is better! A rabbit's home should be at least 4-6 times the size of your bunny when he's entirely stretched out - more if he is confined for a large amount of the day. Enclosure sizes also should be decided in conjunction with the amount of exercise time and space the rabbit has. One guideline to go by is at least 8 square feet of enclosure space combined with at least 24 square feet of exercise space, for 1-2 rabbits, in which the rabbit(s) can run and play at least 5 hours per day.
Housing | House Rabbit Society (House Rabbit Society)


A rabbit needs at least four hours per day of running time inside the house or in a fenced yard, supervised by a human to prevent attack by predators. Our house rabbits are often never caged, but if you find it necessary to keep your rabbit confined while you are away, then be sure the cage is at least 3' x 4' on the floor dimensions, and at least 2' high, so the rabbit can comfortably stand on her haunches to look around. Large breeds (more than 6 lbs.) need an even larger hutch to be comfortable and healthy.
Rabbits: Why an Indoor Bunny? (by Dana M. Krempels, Ph.D.)


Our recommendations are based on research, where it exists. One thing that all welfare organisations agree on is that A Hutch Is Not Enough. We recommend a minimum area of 10ft x 6ft x 3ft high (3m x 2m x 1m) for a pair of average sized rabbits, regardless if they live indoors or outside.
Housing (Rabbit Welfare Assoc Fund)

 

[odyssey~]

I suppose I'll start off, here's Odyssey's pen! The top is off for the picture and she's only in this at night because it's quite small

 

[John Wick]

My Wick has an ongoing fractured toe complication (10mo running), so restricted space, platforming, and flooring considerations are important. This is his main enclosure, catered to his specific situation, mobility, and care, dubbed "Sheepette Haven", haha. It should not be a used as a blanket model for rabbits with fractures/mobility complications -- always consult with a rabbit veterinary about enclosures for rabbits with special needs.

 

[Lilsakli]

This is my female lop Willow’s xpen. She gets 5-6 hours of free roam. Unfortunately I have not had success with bonding her to my boy Gunther otherwise she’d be free roam 24/7 just like him. There is green grid attached to front of xpen as she has history of jumping over xpen.

 

[ChocoLatte Buns]

I’m a new owner so I’ve been steadily trying to improve on my buns’ pen. Their space is currently 2ft x 8ft but I allow the girls to free roam the living room, dining room and kitchen for almost 20 hours each day.

I’ve only had them for about a month and a half and they were also spayed a month ago, so it’s very possible they’ll be able to free roam 24/7 soon. I often leave them on their own for an hour or two to see how they are without supervision and it’s gone fine. They also have many boxes, tunnels and toys that I’ve made scattered around so they’ve been quite well-behaved this past week!

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Here are the bunnies playpens! They are in the process of bonding, but once they are bonded they will have freeroam of my room.
Many people ask me why I have the wire baskets over their water bowls. That is because when they get excited they will put their paws on the playpen (as Theo is doing in the picture). When they were next to their water bowls they would put their paws in the bowls and would accidentally spill their water. So now I have the wire baskets blocking them from spilling water all over the place.

 

[NYAngela]

Snowflake’s Clearly Loved Pet pen he got for his 1st birthday I found that indoor/outdoor washable rug on Overstock.

 

[Jilly beans]

Gillian’s disaster zone ! Can you tell we are still learning

 

[WhiteBunnyEcho]

Bonded my 4 bunnies (Left to right: Echo, Zola, Gemini, Romeo) with my 2 foster buns (Ember & Juliet/Jewel). This is the pen they all share! They get lots of playtime too. Sorry about the lighting..

 

[Canadianmom]

We just brought Lemon home this week, we have added a litter box, hidey house bed and lots more toys since our first set up picture! And rabbit tax of course! She is a broken blue Holland lop and a total sweetheart. It’s a 4x4 xpen style.

 

[Blue eyes]

We just brought Lemon home this week, we have added a litter box, hidey house bed and lots more toys since our first set up picture! It’s a 4x4 xpen style.

With the addition of a litter box & hidey house, her roaming space will be quite reduced. Might I suggest you consider reconfiguring the pen to provide more space? Photo below provides an example of how that 16 sq ft arrangement you currently have can be doubled by making use of an existing wall.

 

[Canadianmom]

With the addition of a litter box & hidey house, her roaming space will be quite reduced. Might I suggest you consider reconfiguring the pen to provide more space? Photo below provides an example of how that 16 sq ft arrangement you currently have can be doubled by making use of an existing wall.

View attachment 59137

Thank you! I never even thought about using the existing wall, that’s a great idea! I will update a new photo tonight!

 

[odyssey~]

Valentine's Day enclosure!

Top isn't on for pictures and she gets at least 14 hours out of this daily.

 

[ChocoLatte Buns]

I’ve only had them for about a month and a half and they were also spayed a month ago, so it’s very possible they’ll be able to free roam 24/7 soon. I often leave them on their own for an hour or two to see how they are without supervision and it’s gone fine. They also have many boxes, tunnels and toys that I’ve made scattered around so they’ve been quite well-behaved this past week!

UPDATE: The girls are completely free roam now! They can go anywhere they like on the first floor at any hour of the day. I also cleaned and slightly changed their home base, which they didn’t seem to mind when they checked it out after a nap.

I purchased new mats so I could take my time cleaning the other ones. I think both patterns are cute and the colors are light enough to help me spot any “accidents.” (They happen once in a while.)

 

[WhiteBunnyEcho]

Today I started the process of free roaming my 4 rabbits + 2 Fosters in my room. Still working on proofing some things but so far so good! Just hoping my older lionheads don’t have an issue with their potty habits due to having more space

 

[bigtab]

I’m a new rabbit mama, this is a cage we were gifted but hope I can upgrade her soon

 

[Blue eyes]

I’m a new rabbit mama, this is a cage we were gifted but hope I can upgrade her soon

If you are looking at larger rabbit cages, the larger cages are pricey and still aren't large enough on their own. For much less cost, you could just get an exercise pen (30" tall minimum).

An exercise pen will allow her instant -- and urgently needed -- space. I'm afraid that cage is scary small. The photos below are from a member here. She had a 2' by 4' cage (roughly double the size of the one in your photos) that she kept open to a space made with an exercise pen. Later she removed the top portion of the cage to make things easier (2nd photo).

On a separate note, the hay feeders that come with the type of cage you were gifted are not adequate, unfortunately. It takes too much effort for bunny to get enough hay out from between the bars. They should be eating their body size in hay every day (the amount of hay it would take to completely fill the feeder). Try putting a big pile of hay inside her cage, perhaps next to her tiny litter box. Once you get an exercise pen, the cage bottom itself could become the litter box.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/housing-options.html

 

[Tercar88]

My little bun on left is more of a jumper so half of his ceiling is a piece of fabric that can be moved aside for adding to hayrack. The red cloth was reminder to wipe/check big buns right eye but seems to be fine now last 4 days. Yipee!! Petting him before we always got a wet hand. Two large water bowls are placed so they dont accidentially step in as pacing or coming and going.

 

[bigtab]

If you are looking at larger rabbit cages, the larger cages are pricey and still aren't large enough on their own. For much less cost, you could just get an exercise pen (30" tall minimum).

An exercise pen will allow her instant -- and urgently needed -- space. I'm afraid that cage is scary small. The photos below are from a member here. She had a 2' by 4' cage (roughly double the size of the one in your photos) that she kept open to a space made with an exercise pen. Later she removed the top portion of the cage to make things easier (2nd photo).

On a separate note, the hay feeders that come with the type of cage you were gifted are not adequate, unfortunately. It takes too much effort for bunny to get enough hay out from between the bars. They should be eating their body size in hay every day (the amount of hay it would take to completely fill the feeder). Try putting a big pile of hay inside her cage, perhaps next to her tiny litter box. Once you get an exercise pen, the cage bottom itself could become the litter box.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/housing-options.html
View attachment 59775

View attachment 59776

This is what I was able to do for now. I can’t afford anything additional at the moment.

 

[Blue eyes]

This is what I was able to do for now. I can’t afford anything additional at the moment.

I'll message you to keep conversation off of this thread.

And here's another photo of an indoor setup to keep photos on every post here.