Cage for first ever rabbit! Tips, suggestions?

[Cati]

Another question:

I have some weekend travel plans later this year and my parents agreed to watch and care for my rabbit while I am gone, but they would prefer to not come to my house because they are allergic to my cats. I am trying to find a cage that might be okay for a medium-large rabbit to stay in for a weekend.

At the moment, here's my biggest contender:
https://smile.amazon.com/MidWest-Homes-Pets-158-Wabbitat/dp/B01E0RWM9U/
I was thinking about getting the smaller 39.5" length one because it would fit nicely in my car, but buy the 18.5" expansions to make a cage that's approximately 6ft by 2ft by 2ft. I realize that's probably not optimal, but would it be acceptable for a rabbit to stay in for a weekend?

 

[bigtab]

My cat quickly became friends with my bunnies

 

[Cati]

Sigh, I was setting up the new toys in the cage, left the door open, and this happened:



Cats aside, here's the cage as it is now:



Still pending: hay, litter, food, water, since it will be a few weeks before I get a rabbit.

Also going to put puppy pads on top of the cardboard.

Anything I am missing?

 

[Tercar88]

Rabbits will eat pee pads. Plastic in their tummy not good! They should pee in their litter box after you determine where they want it.

 

[Cati]

Oooh, good to know! Do these have plastic? GREEN LIFESTYLE Reusable Dog Pee Pads, 30 x 34, 6 count - Chewy.com It mentioned rabbits so I though it might be safe.

 

[PeanutsPlace]

Any pee pads that are ingested are not safe for rabbits, thats why I only use it in the litterbox, and it helps that my bunnies are intrested in chewing them. Instead of peepads to protect your floor id suggest puzzel mats or laminet flooring. (the kind that has texture on it) Then you can wipe anything up quite easily .

 

[Emmi]

I see your in the United States. Chewy has some great rabbit toys as well as Amazon. If ordering from Petco or petsmart just be sure that they are safe as all toys and things they sell are not rabbit friendly. You mentioned a snuffle mat. What is it made out of?

 

[JBun]

Oooh, good to know! Do these have plastic? GREEN LIFESTYLE Reusable Dog Pee Pads, 30 x 34, 6 count - Chewy.com It mentioned rabbits so I though it might be safe.

It's the disposable pee pads that would be the problem if a rabbit chewed them. Not all rabbits will. I've had to use the disposable pee pads for old incontinent rabbits, and since they didn't chew at them, it worked out ok for me to use them. But some rabbits will just chew and shred them up, risking them possibly ingesting the contents, which would pose a risk of digestive obstruction if they did.

Reusable ones can be fine unless a rabbit was a really determined chewer and tried chewing these ones up as well. But the main problem with using pee pads or any soft surface, is many rabbits like to pee on soft surfaces, even if they are litter trained. So using anything soft on the flooring could create litter training issues. If that happens with your rabbit, then you would need to stick with smoother flooring surfaces, though with some texture and padding preferred if at all possible. For my rabbits I could use the foam puzzle mats as my rabbits didn't really chew them. For my rabbit group, anything soft they would pee on, but my pair didn't pee on things so they also got a soft rug on top of the foam mat.

What works best for each rabbit will be different. It will be trial and error. I have piles of things that I tried and they didn't work, so then I had to try something else. So try the flooring that you have and you'll soon learn if it's working or if you need to change things.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/housing-options.html
https://bunnyproof.com/best-floor-bunny-enclosure.html

 

[Cati]

You mentioned a snuffle mat. What is it made out of?

Looks like fleece!

 

[PeanutsPlace]

Looks like fleece!

I just re read your post, and misunderstood it! I saw this lovely reusable pee pad on toki hut!
Toki Hut Pee Pad
It’s 5.5 by 3.8 so It should
fit the area well!

 

[Emmi]

Looks like fleece!

I would not use fleece for a snuffle mat for rabbits as ingesting it can be harmful to them. Here’s a better option I get mine off chewy .

 

[Blue eyes]

I do! It's 22 inches by 18 inches, 3 inches tall. The grate is removable. Didn't arrive yet though, so no pictures.

And eeeeeeh, I could use more advice on the mid-level. Good news: it's sturdy. Bad news -- not really sure what to do with the over-layment?
Because of the table legs I couldn't do the full 4ft by 2ft (had to leave gaps), but the shelf seems sturdy. I'm use the cube squares zip-tied together some wood to support it, and binder clips part of the way on one side (shown in first picture) in case I need to get in and out there. I cut some foam squares to size and put on top. I used some painter's tape to cover some of the harsher edges, but is painter's tape safe? I can remove it.

On top is a whelping blanket cut to size and not fastened to anything, but as you can see, it sticks up and doesn't look great. Any suggestions there? Did I use anything dangerous to bunnies that I should undo?

And question about the zip-ties. I have been clipping them short, but they keep leaving rough edges. Any tips to fix that?

I would remove the blue painter's tape. It would likely just get chewed. It looks like a great set up for the cats!!
However, I'm a little leery of the loose fabric (blanket) on the top of the upper levels. Rabbits tend to chew the edges of things like that. It would be the rare rabbit that wouldn't nibble on the edges. It would have been better to wrap it around the edge and tuck it under. Once tucked it could be held in place with binder clips. If you don't have more of that blanket, fleece fabric could also be used in the same way.

For the bottom level, I don't see a need to spend all that money on washable pads. Pads, blankets, or anything cloth-like only make litter training more difficult. It should be something solid not soft. It would be less expensive, nicer looking and easier to clean if you purchase a single piece of rolled linoleum or vinyl flooring from a hardware store. You can see a sample of this on the lowest level of my NIC cage (photo I posted near the beginning of this thread). Feel the samples of the vinyl flooring at the store to find one with the most texture or grit so it isn't slippery. Skip the cardboard. {lowes and home depot sell sheet vinyl for as little as 60 cents per sq foot}

For the sharp zip tie edges, be sure to have the sharp edges facing the safest direction-- typically the outside of the cage.

If that's your new litter box, I'd still say to try it without the grate. The grate is just something else that will need to be cleaned. Far easier to just remove it altogether. Use the wood pellets topped with hay and you're good to go.

I was going to suggest one possible option to cover where that blue painters tape is, but it won't be needed if you wrap the edge with whatever cloth you put on those shelves.

 

[Cati]

I do have more of that fabric, I will see how much I have and give it a shot.

I will look into the linoleum! Dumb question, but is it difficult to get it to flatten out?

That is indeed the litterbox. I will try it without the grate once I fill it.

I’d still be interested in hearing the option if it turns out I don’t have the fabric I need — what are you thinking?

 

[Cati]

This isn't what I had planned, but is this an improvement?

If the bottom floor covering turns out to be a pee-attractant I will replace it with vinyl, but I figured it was worth trying the way it is for now -- unless there's something else wrong?

 

[PeanutsPlace]

Does the vinyl have traction? or else I worry about the bunny slipping off

 

[Cati]

Hmm, it's not perfectly smooth, but it is also not the roughest vinyl I've seen. How would I know if it is good enough?

 

[PeanutsPlace]

trial and error is the best option to me as it seems. So just see how the bunny does with it!

 

[Blue eyes]

This isn't what I had planned, but is this an improvement?

If the bottom floor covering turns out to be a pee-attractant I will replace it with vinyl, but I figured it was worth trying the way it is for now -- unless there's something else wrong?

I believe my post may have been mis-read. I had suggested the fabric covering (either more of blanket or fleece) for the upper levels -- with the fabric wrapped around the edges. The rolled vinyl was suggested for the bottom/floor level.

Fabric has grip, so it is better suited for the upper levels. That is where bunny needs grip while hopping up and down. That isn't so critical on the floor level. Having vinyl on the upper levels may prove to be too slick for bunny. If you want to try it out, maybe bun will go up there and be ok. Depends on the bun. However, the edges must be addressed or bun will chew the edges. When the vinyl is used on the floor, the cage sits on top of the edges which prevents bunny from getting to those edges.

If you want to keep the vinyl on the upper levels, you can get corner guard to cover any edges.

I see something dark black under the litter box. Can't tell what that is. Is it on top of the blanket there?

 

[Cati]

Oh, not your bad, I completely understood what you were saying! I didn't have enough material to wrap the edges and I was having trouble finding a way to secure the wrapped edges, so I thought I would try vinyl on the shelves. I'll pick up a corner guard for it and at least try the vinyl for now. If is too slick, I can get more fabric and put on the shelves and figure out how to wrap it.

The fabric covering on the bottom was already there (under the cardboard) and I just didn't remove it to put vinyl down there. Totally open to switching it, but I didn't want to go vinyl crazy until I got feedback on what I already did. It's not a soft blanket, more like a very thin carpeted mat.

The dark black is the underside of the fabric, yes, I have it folded. Now that I think of it, I assume I should probably either fold it under instead of over, or alternatively, cut it to prevent chewing?

 

[Blue eyes]

Yes, I'd at least fold it under if you don't want to cut it.