Not what it seems

[missyscove]

What an interesting discussion this has sparked. It's interesting to me that some people would never consider caging a dog or a cat. I think crate training a dog is not really unlike caging a rabbit and it can be a great training tool. I've also known of cats who had cages where they spent some of their time. Of course, I can think of very few pets that could reasonably be housed in a cage without time out of it to exercise (depending on where you draw the line between a cage and something more like an enclosure.)
I don't necessarily think that rabbits should not have cages. I use a large dog crate as a cage for my rabbits and its where they're kept when I'm sleeping or at school. In the mornings and evenings when I'm home, they have their door open with free run of my room. Right now, they're each sitting in different litterboxes in their cage. I think they rather like it in there.

 

[whitelop]

I agree that rabbits like their cages, a lot of the time.

Everyone is basically saying that keeping rabbits in cages in fine, AS LONG as they get enough out of the cage, exercise time. Which is a few hours. Some of us don't use cages, some of us only use them a few hours a day. I am one of those people, Foo is out about 20 hours a day. BUT in those 20 hours, she spends a lot of time in her cage with the door open.
As long as they have enough exercise time, cages are fine. They're like home base, where there is food, water and a potty box. All the other area is like happy fun land.
I've had a few dogs who were kennel trained and like Christina said, its basically the same thing as having a rabbit in a cage. You let them out for the day, but they go back into the kennels at night. Same as Foo. Some people put their dogs up while they go to work or where ever, just like a rabbit. Is that fair to the dog? Is there a difference? As for cats, I've never seen a cat in a kennel first hand. I know they sell NIC type cages for cats, they're odd. But I guess people put their cats in there?

 

[Imbrium]

I am a firm believer that rabbits should be out in a very large area for 12+ hours of the day. That cage is okay. For a hamster.

my bunnies started out in a rabbit cage just like that until they were big enough for a NIC condo (though it had playpens set up around it and the side door of the cage was open 24/7 because the cage seemed way too tiny even for two babies). I still use the little store-bought "rabbit" cage, with a few modifications, to this day...

"rabbit" cage:


became a wonderful syrian hammy cage:

 

[Anaira]

I have the same one used for my man-rats. Works fantastically, eh? And I'm lucky, the bars are just small enough so the girls can't squeeze in, so I don't need to cover it with wire. Yay!

You shoulda used multicoloured ties; rainbow cage! lol.

 

[BugLady]

What a thought provoking video! I like how it's able to spark discussion.

I have a big cage like that for my buns - but I never close the door. I feed them there, and it has one of their litter boxes, and sometimes they sleep in there. I figure it's good for them to know the cage as a safe place just in case there is ever an emergency and I need to take them somewhere. That way they'll have their familiar blankets, toys, etc.

Of all the other rabbit owners I've known throughout my life, none of them let the rabbit out of the cage, even for a bit of play time! They would pet it inside the cage... and that's it. And then wonder why rabbits are such boring pets. When my family got a rabbit when I was 12, we didn't know much about rabbits but quickly realized that Stumper was litter training herself, so we let her out every day. She only went into her cage at night. She was a happy bun.

I talk about my two rescue rabbits all the time now, to everyone I meet. Teaching people about rabbit rescues, litter training, how they can be taught tricks, how they can be in a house like a cat or dog. Hoping I can make a difference in changing perceptions.

 

[Imbrium]

that's wonderful of you to do, BugLady - rabbits could always use another advocate!

 

[Cheyrul]

I wanted a house rabbit so always thought of a cage as a temporary thing until the rabbit is litter trained and behaved. Well to my surprise training flew by fast and he got used to the apartment so I was going to remove the cage but Conan seemed so happy in it, spending a majority amount of his time in his cage even with the door open. So as long as the cage is spacious enough I doubt they want to live without one.

This is my buns.
I had to make Squish into a free roaming bun to make room for the Christmas tree and she is down right ticked off. And she poops ans pees in front of the other bun cages. Because she was so ticked off, we have given her a crate that is for a small dog, she goes and sleeps in it but the door is always open. And for some reason, she will not go outside unless I go with her and stay with her. If I do not stay, she chews on my screen door and stares at me like a dog would. It is so sad.

 

[tamsin]

It's normal for a rabbit to want a 'warren', Scamp's a 18"x18" cardboard box with a tunnel in but for lots of bunnies their warren is their whole cage/crate/hutch/under the sofa. It's the safe spot that is just theirs. Doesn't mean they don't also want a field (aka room/house/exercise pen) to exercise and explore in.

Scamp lives in the kitchen which is about 10'x4', but spends a good portion of the day sleeping in his cardboard 'warren' in the corner of the kitchen. Then has a minimum of an hour everyday in the lounge which gives him a 20' dash to really stretch his legs.