help!

[RexyGirl]

i'm moving in about 2 weeks, so i have time right now to figure out what i'm actually going to do.

i dont have a rabbit right now, but when i get to where i'm going, i already have someone holding 2 rabbits from a litter, so i need a cage. i have NIC grids right now so if worse comes to worse, i can use that till the whole cage is put together.

nic avaliability right now would make the cage 42inches x 28inches x 28inches (20 grids).

the plan:
the cage i plan to make will be 56inches x 42inches x 42inches (and then some for the wood frame).
i plan to make it out of wood and nic grids on the front, top and sides (i'll be buying more NIC grids, once i can locate them...). for the floor it would be waterproof lenolium flooring OR a clear plastic material used for shower curtains with something over it to make it non-slip (ideas?). there will be at least 2 floors, so a ramp with wood foot holds at the back of the cage. it would have rough sand paper between the foot holds to aid in then going up.

am i missing anything? is any of the materials i've mentioned so far maybe bad for bunnies? any suggestions?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sounds good so far. We've found that once you get going the details tend to get worked out and anything that's missing isn't for long. We use floor tiles, carpet samples and wood for our flooring. All of our buns really like the carpet and only one has been a chewer, so she gets a grass mat.

 

[RexyGirl]

i thought about carpet, then i remembered back when i had my first bun, we had a few nice bald spots in the carpet over night lol. the cage is going in my room, which is shag carpet, so i'll have to make a base floor out of plywood with a lip. it'll help keep everything in and the bun from chewing the carpet up to shreds till i can rip up the shag carpet. i'm moving back in with my parents till i can find a place for myself, and the room they've got for me, is like a trip back to the 40's lol

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

For the floor, I would stick to something that is more solid than a shower curtain. They tend to not hold up well to digging and chewing. Many people use coroplast which can be gotten at most hardware stores. Some use plywood with stick on tiles. Linoleum can also work as long as the rabbit can't get at an edge to chew it. You could also put a tarp under whatever flooring you use to make cleaning around the cage easier
I just use fleece blankets in my cages. My rabbits don't have an issue with them and they are easy to wash when needed.
I don't use ramps in the multi-level cage I have. What I have done is create steps using the NIC grids, each step is about the height of 1/2 a grid. They are supported using L brackets (used to hold up shelves) and attached with zip ties. I have a piece of coroplast cut to fit the grid with an edge along the sides of the cage. It is covered with some plastic stuff that is used in cupboard that has some grip. I cut 2 strips of this and duct taped it down, the 2 strips is so that is doesn't bunch up in the middle. The levels in the cage also are part of the steps, so it is the bottom of the cage, 2 steps to the 1st level, then another step to the top level.
I wouldn't use sand paper on the ramp, it would be uncomfortable for them to walk on. If you put the foot holds close enough together, they should not have issues going up and down.

 

[Acacia-Berry]

I have a table cloth lining the bottom layer of NIC so she cannot get stuck and to prevent any accidents on to the hardwood floor. To prevent her from chewing it I laid down some floor mats. She likes it and it gives her traction for binkying
I wouldn't use sandpaper either. If they slipped they can hurt themselves. As Korr said, bunnies can jump from level to level. Until they're older it shouldn't be a problem! ^.^
*edit, I forgot to add, On each level I have floor tiles to protect her from falling through the grids but lined with newspaper and then a blanket. These seem to work wel for her!

 

[RexyGirl]

i was thinking coroplast, after xaviour chewed up the carpet, i used to have a bunch of "for sale" signs taped together under the cage. the shower curtain idea was to go under everything, just in case of leakage. shower curtain or lenolium. i also found the material that people use for kids, the large puzzle foam pieces. except that instead of being puzzle pieces, it was in a large sheet, kinda like a thick yoga mat. i found it at canadian tire, so i'm kinda wondering if that would be ok...

 

[LaylaLop]

What I did for the floor of mine was a plastic floor mat used for under desk chairs and I affixed the self-stick linoleum to it. For my jump-up ramp I zip-tied a piece of carpet to it and put carpet on the 2nd story. I then put extra tiles just lying on top of the carpet since sometimes she isn't good with her cecotrophs and smashes them down and the linoleum/tile is easiest to rinse off.