Indoor Cage - HELP!

[nickiya]

Hello,

I've finally managed to persuade my boyfriend to let me bring Dexter inside (YAY) so she'll be living in my study.

I've been looking about for cages for her, and the ones I'd narrowed it down to were these two:

http://www.cagesworld.co.uk/p/Liberta_Extra_Large_Rabbit_Retreat_-_Cage_and_Stand.htm

http://www.cagesworld.co.uk/p/Liberta_Large_Indoor_Rabbit_Cage.htm?affiliate=gbase

However, the one with the wire platform I was worried might hurt Dex's toes, but the one with the plastic platform looks small...

And then to confuse the situation even more, I see that everyone seems to use NIC cages...

A little advice on these housing options would be great, and how to ensure Dex isn't stinky, obviously I'll be cleaning her hutch frequently, but are there any odour eating bits and bobs?

Please help

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

The bigger one looks like the wire part is a level and the floor is solid. You could take out the level or cover it with something solid.

If you look at the measurements for both cages, they are pretty close, so I don't think one would be much bigger than the other. It looks like one is about 4 cm longer and wider.

Have you looked at wire dog crates? They are bigger than the rabbit cages and seem cheaper. http://www.cagesworld.co.uk/p/Doggie_Solutions_Heavy_Duty_Dog_Cage.htm This one looks suitable in the Extra Large or Giant size, but there are others out there too.
An x-pen is another option to look at.

 

[BugLady]

I wouldn't get the one that's high up - you want something your rabbit can run in and out of easily. Rabbits do not like to be picked up, and it might end up being quite a hassle to chase your bun down every time she needs to be put away.

I have a large, plain marchioro pet cage for my rabbits. It is about 19" by 40", and is used for their litterbox, food, water, hay, and toys. I never close the door - they are full house rabbits. But I like having the cage as their "safe spot". Also good just in case of an emergency and they have to be moved - easy to transport them.

That's the only reason I don't like NIC cages - what if there is a fire, or a power outage - you can take your bun in a carrier, but then what? What if you're stranded somewhere else for days/weeks?

I would say if you want to keep your rabbit caged up for most of the day, make sure it is a BIG cage, preferably with a run attached that they have access to - like with an x-pen. You could easily build an NIC cage or run as well.

If you could rabbit-proof the room, you might be able to let her be a house bun. Would be a gradual process with lots of supervision.

As for the smell - aside from the slight odor of hay and the "cardboard castle city", you'd never know I have two rabbits in my apartment. They have three litter boxes in the living room. If you use good litter (I use pelleted aspen or straw on top of newspaper) it is absorbed nicely. I scoop poop once per day, and do a complete change once or twice per week. My bunnies themselves smell wonderful (when they let me get close enough to smell them, ha!).

Best of luck!

 

[Imbrium]

I can't recommend NIC cages enough - they're cheaper, bigger and easy to make!

http://breyfamily.net/bunnycage.html is a great tutorial on them

the best price on grids these days is at sears - http://www.sears.com/stor-floor-sta...p-00913332000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

 

[nickiya]

I've been scouting about looking for where I could get wire cubes from, but they seem to be pretty scarce in the UK

The cages I've found are actually bigger than the giant dog crate! Haha, I think I might be kicked out of my own study!

We're moving house in about a year too, so I wanted one that would be easy to transport, and I'm guessing a NIC one would be hard... It's difficult because all the big cages are fairly expensive (I'm a student too) and I don't want to end up getting a really big, really expensive cage that just isn't suitable.

I thought what I may do is make some sort of ramp out of the cage, because we have her a big run too (that's my 6 foot 3 boyfriend lay inside it!) so she has enough room to play



To be honest I'm just so excited to get her indoors! We're gonna get her spayed too, which I'm a little anxious about

 

[ldoerr]

I really like NIC cages. They are easy to transport actually. To move them you just need to cut a few zip ties so it folds flat. You can then move it, and reassemble it in a couple of minutes. The hardest thing to transport is the Coroplast, because it can not be folded. I assembled my NIC cage in Spring TX and then moved it 1.5hrs to my apt in Brenham Tx. It went very easily.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I have NIC pens that I can use for travel if needed. I do use them for agility on a very regular basis. I put towels and fleece under them and have some small tarps for hotel rooms and such. The only issue may be doing laundry (you could use puppy pads, but still need to do some laundry) and moving the pens around as they can be a bit heavy.

I would caution against fabric cages or pens unless your rabbit is supervised when in the pen. Rabbits and chew and dig out of a fabric pen. It would not be suitable as a long term cage, but can be used short term. Some rabbits will try to destroy them no matter how long they are in it.

 

[nickiya]

She's really well behaved inside the fabric run actually, I was quite surprised. We've had it about 5 months and she's been left in it overnight and it's still intact, not even a teeny nibble

I spoke to my boyfriend and he's actually super excited about the NIC idea. We'll end up spending around about the same amount getting about 52 squares, connectors, cable ties and correx/coroplaat as we would on the giant cage, and I think a few floors would be good for her. I'm excited, and we should be ordering it all this week, so I'll post some pics once it's complete

Thanks for all the help

 

[Blue eyes]

Have fun building your NIC cage!

Have you seen the section on "2012 cages"? There are so many NIC cages you can see-- different layouts, flooring, decor, etc. You may find stuff you really like (and stuff you don't), but that can help you customize your way.

Some tips:

Some people seem to have no problem with the connectors. I could never get them to work properly and they would randomly pop off if bumped. I used the zip ties only so I knew it'd be sturdy.

Some find the coroplast to be slippery.

 

[MikeScone]

BugLady wrote:

I have a large, plain marchioro pet cage for my rabbits. It is about 19" by 40", and is used for their litterbox, food, water, hay, and toys.

I have the same cage, but added a second floor to give the bunny more room. I used the Marchioro walls as the bottom level and wire shelving from Home Depot for the walls of the upper level. The second floor is wood covered with terry-cloth towelling, and I used the original top zip-tied to the top of the wire shelving. It looks like this:

 

[Blue eyes]

^^^
Hey, Mike, I also used the wire shelving to make my current cage. The main part is an old kitchen oven cabinet turned sideways....

 

[whitelop]

Suzette your cage is AWESOME! Its probably the most classy cage I've ever seen! Its like, "Oh, I'll set my drink on your end table, wait a minute...is there a rabbit in there?"
Its great!

 

[holtzchick]

whitelop wrote:

Suzette your cage is AWESOME! Its probably the most classy cage I've ever seen! Its like, "Oh, I'll set my drink on your end table, wait a minute...is there a rabbit in there?"
Its great!

lol. Yes very clever indeed. I am a huge fan of making cages out of pieces of furniture. It always adds to the environment.

 

[Blue eyes]

holtzchick wrote:

whitelop wrote:

Suzette your cage is AWESOME! Its probably the most classy cage I've ever seen! Its like, "Oh, I'll set my drink on your end table, wait a minute...is there a rabbit in there?"
Its great!

lol. Yes very clever indeed. I am a huge fan of making cages out of pieces of furniture. It always adds to the environment.

Aww... thanks, guys. :blushan:

I should be fair, though, and admit that all day I really have that door open, so it usually looks more like this...

 

[ldoerr]

It still is a nice cage

 

[Blue eyes]

thank you

 

[nickiya]

So we did it! Got the squares and stuff, she's a bit wary and I'll take some more pictures once she's dared to brave the top levels, but here it is sans lapin:



El boyfriend made a hay rack too

 

[Nancy McClelland]

I bought mine a long time ago from a guy that builds them to any spec you want--in Manteca, California.

 

[Blue eyes]

Looks nIce! Dexter will soon love it.

 

[ldoerr]

I agree, looks nice