Help With Housing

[BunnyHunny17]

Hi! so I'm not sure if it's okay for me to post as I don't actually have a rabbit yet (my fiancé and I are getting one when we move into our new apartment in August or so for emotional support)

So anyways, I'm doing my research on what it'll need and I'm trying to decide if a large hutch with a run underneath would be adequate for it while we are away (we plan on letting it roam while we are at home). Or if we should have a hutch and attach a "x-pen" (I think that's what they're called on here, a dog run basically) with flooring so as to not spoil the carpet.

Would a large hutch like this be alright for a singular rabbit for daytime while we're away and for sleeping? The max time it'd be alone for would be 8.5 hours.
(the bunny is going to be an inside bunny, not outside.)

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Hi! Welcome to the forum! I personally don't like having any cage at all because the rabbit may chew the cage bars. Chewing cage bars can cause teeth issues later on if it is not stopped. I suggest having a home base (see picture) where the food, water, and litter box is. It might not be possible for you to leave your rabbit out at night and if that is the case, I would use a playpen because they are way cheaper then a hutch.

 

[BunnyHunny17]

Hi! Welcome to the forum! I personally don't like having any cage at all because the rabbit may chew the cage bars. Chewing cage bars can cause teeth issues later on if it is not stopped. I suggest having a home base (see picture) where the food, water, and litter box is. It might not be possible for you to leave your rabbit out at night and if that is the case, I would use a playpen because they are way cheaper then a hutch.

thanks! We will probably go with a playpen then, we'll be renting so it's important for us to maintain the apartment Do you have any ideas for helping with the bar chewing? we're looking into the regular wire runs, is there something we can put over the bars to soften them or block them or something?

 

[Mariam+Theo]

I totally get that! You can put a taste deterrent on the cage bars, but that is only a temporary repellent that will have to be reapplied and it sometimes doesn't work. Another option would be distracting your rabbit from chewing the cage bars with hanging toys. If you want something permanent, you can cover the bars with cardboard.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

A hutch like that would be okay, but as Mariam+Theo said, a playpen would be better. It’s cheaper (I got mine for £20), and they are collapsible and easy to travel with. My rabbit doesn’t chew on the wire bars, so if you give them toys to play with or things to do, he/she shouldn’t bite on the bars. This is my temporary pen just to help with my rabbits hocks, but he’s usually free roam. I hide dried herbs in his hay and that keeps him occupied for a long time. Hanging toys will work great too!