Putting together a new habitat-ideas?

[Shmoo06]

Hey everyone!
My bunnies(Stitch and Mr. Mumbles) were recently bonded(few weeks now)and are now fully litter trained.

I'm going shopping today to hopefully get everything I need to build my new habitat idea since they are bonded now. I have been keeping them both in these store bought cages that I got free with them(don't worry, they get free range of my living room whenever I'm home). I have an xpen, so basically I'm hoping to attach the xpen to both of the cages and use that as their habitat.
I already have everything figured out on how to construct it(only thing I'm worried about is the flooring. Might go with coroplast if I can find it, a rug, or see what I can find at a few stores here. I live in an apartment, so I don't want to them to chew up the carpet while I'm gone).

Here's a quick pic of how things are now with their cages:

I have towels and their little houses on one side and some litter on the other with their food and such. My question is about how redoing their cages may affect them. I plan on putting a litter box in the xpen area that I will attach, but I also want to leave some litter in a cage. I guess my question is would it be a big problem if I just put litter in one of the cages? Or should I leave the cages as they are now until they get used to the new habitat? I'm just trying to figure out how to set it up to make it the easiest to clean for me. Would putting one house outside the cages make them mad or anything? They lay on top of them all the time when they're in the cages, but there's not much room in those little things. I'm kind of thinking of putting the litter in one cage and a house and toys in the other. Put a little hay in each.

Another question: I plan on buying new bowls for them today. Can I buy just one for their pellets or should I keep 2 in their home?

I just need some help brainstorming.
Thanks!

Oh yeah, they are both boys and neutered if that makes a difference. I just don't want them to become territorial if I change things around. Does that happen?

 

[LakeCondo]

I can't comment on many of your questions, but I know that after a few months win an indoor-outdoor carpet on the floor, Honey started digging homes in it in a number of places. I covered it with some large flattened cardboard boxes that I replace from time to time. Other people's have been fine with a tarp stretched over the floor.

 

[Imbrium]

I use a tarp... you can get an 8'x10' tarp at walmart for about $6. (the next size up is like 16'x24' or something huge and was much more expensive for the size compared to the 8'x10' *grumble*)

 

[Blue eyes]

Just wanting some clarification... I see the two cages and you said they are newly bonded. Are they locked up in those cages separately at times? (I wonder because usually bonded buns aren't separated)

If you are getting an x-pen to wrap around, and since they are so newly bonded, I'd suggest just putting up the x-pen and leaving the cages alone for now. Just leave the cages open at all times.

I would think it would be fine to put both cardboard boxes out in the open area.

I also thought that you could eventually convert the bottom part of one cage into a litter box. Just remove the top completely and use the base as the box.

 

[ldoerr]

I can not help with much. As for the food bowls, do they eat out of the same one at the same time now? If so you could probably use just 1. My girls eat at the same time out of the same bowl but I have 2 bowls in there cage. They would probably be fine with just one bowl. Bust since yours are newly bonded I tent to lean on getting 2 food bowls and 2 water bowls.

Suzette brought up an interesting (and important) point. When you lock your rabbit up, do you lock them in seporate cages? If you do I do not think that you can really call them fully bonded. Please clarify us on this subject and we might be able to answer some of your questions better

 

[Shmoo06]

Blue eyes wrote:

Just wanting some clarification... I see the two cages and you said they are newly bonded. Are they locked up in those cages separately at times? (I wonder because usually bonded buns aren't separated)

If you are getting an x-pen to wrap around, and since they are so newly bonded, I'd suggest just putting up the x-pen and leaving the cages alone for now. Just leave the cages open at all times.

I would think it would be fine to put both cardboard boxes out in the open area.

I also thought that you could eventually convert the bottom part of one cage into a litter box. Just remove the top completely and use the base as the box. 

Yeah, they have been separated at times, and I know you're not supposed to do that, which is why I am creating this new habitat. I already have the xpen, and I just got back from the store, so I'm going to start the construction now. I ended up finding an area rug that I'm going to put down. They won't have to be separated ever again. I just needed the funds to get the materials to make sure they didn't try and escape by jumping on the cages. I guess I'll just leave the cages as is then for now, and adjust them slowly to any changes I want to make. Thanks for the ideas!

and thanks for the tarp and cardboard ideas!

 

[Blue eyes]

Shmoo06 wrote:

I just needed the funds to get the materials to make sure they didn't try and escape by jumping on the cages. I guess I'll just leave the cages as is then for now, and adjust them slowly to any changes I want to make. Thanks for the ideas!

Good point. You will not want the current cages near the x-pen sides. You'd either have to place them against a wall so the x-pen won't be too close if u-shaped around them, or place them in the middle of the area.

Alternatively, you could just remove the tops off of both cages and then place them anywhere in the x-pen enclosure.

 

[Shmoo06]

Blue eyes wrote:

Shmoo06 wrote: 

  I just needed the funds to get the materials to make sure they didn't try and escape by jumping on the cages. I guess I'll just leave the cages as is then for now, and adjust them slowly to any changes I want to make. Thanks for the ideas!
 

Good point. You will not want the current cages near the x-pen sides. You'd either have to place them against a wall so the x-pen won't be too close if u-shaped around them, or place them in the middle of the area.

Alternatively, you could just remove the tops off of both cages and then place them anywhere in the x-pen enclosure.

Mumbles was using the xpen for a while because he wasn't litter trained and boy was he messy, so I kind of already had an idea. I just had to buy everything. I feel like taking off the tops completely will take away some space, so I probably won't do that. This way they have the xpen space and the cage space.

I finished.

I had it open when I took these pics, so it looks like it's missing a side because it is. lol.(I don't know why that first pic is so big. Sorry.)
I cut holes in the rug and zip tied the bottom of the xpen, so it won't move. I zip tied the metal squares together, and they don't move. I'll have to watch the height if I move one of their houses outside of a cage.
They are binkying.
I still have a bunch of the squares left, so I may make a sort of ceiling in a corner or something, so I can move a house out of the cage. It's still a work in progress. lol.

 

[Troller]

I know this isn't a popular option due to weight, but I also live in an apartment with carpeting so I had to make sure the rabbit doesn't dig it so I use a rubber horse stall mat. It's very sturdy, comfortable for Conan, and decently easy to clean (my wife says she perfected cleaning it, meanwhile I have slight issue with caked in poop). It comes 6ft by 4ft and weighs close to 100lbs. Heavy yes, but it wasn't to hard to for me to lift or for my wife to drag.

 

[mdith4him]

Looks great! I can tell they're happy with it from the pictures of them jumping around!

 

[Blue eyes]

^^ agreed! They certainly look happy with all that space and things to explore.

 

[ldoerr]

Looking at your pictures gave me an idea to maximize space in the cage while using the store bought cages. You could put the cages on the outside of the cage with the xpen attaches to the sides. You would have it so that the openings to the cages are the sides of the cage. To prevent the rabbits from hopping up nad out of the cage you zip tie some wire cubes to the top on the wire on the cage. Does this make any since? It would increase the size of the xpen because the length of the cages is part of the sides. Have you ever seen those chicken coops where the nest boxes hang on the outside but with an opening to the inside? That is sort of the concept that I am talking about.

 

[Imbrium]

that's how my condo is, the walls function as part of the playpen so that it can cover more space (plus two pens didn't quite go around my whole living room so I made some 3-grid-high NIC fencing in a couple spots... also stops the pen from blocking the TV since three grids come up to the base of the TV while a 48'' pen would come up higher )

 

[fuzz16]

i have one of those big cheapo rugs from walmart with a plastic bottom to prevent liqueds getting into carpet and then they free roam the room. they have 2 tipped over rectangle office trash cans they love laying in and then two litter boxes since murphy isnt spayed yet and shes stubborn so if its across the room she wont use it haha

 

[Shmoo06]

ldoerr wrote:

Looking at your pictures gave me an idea to maximize space in the cage while using the store bought cages. You could put the cages on the outside of the cage with the xpen attaches to the sides. You would have it so that the openings to the cages are the sides of the cage. To prevent the rabbits from hopping up nad out of the cage you zip tie some wire cubes to the top on the wire on the cage. Does this make any since? It would increase the size of the xpen because the length of the cages is part of the sides. Have you ever seen those chicken coops where the nest boxes hang on the outside but with an opening to the inside? That is sort of the concept that I am talking about.

I'm trying to get a visual from this, and I'm kind of picturing what I've already done. lol. I'm not sure I'm understanding correctly. The xpen is attached the sides. I attached them at the doors, so I don't have to use as many of the cubes.

I just have to say that they seem like they like me more now. lol.

Thank you for all of the comments and ideas!