Thinking about moving inside for summer

[Lulubooboo]

Hey everyone! I hope everyone and their buns are staying healthy.

Ok so the summer here is not usually this hot, usually the summer highest is like 95°. But today it's going to be 102° and tomorrow 103°.
I have 2 outside bunnies, and I really want to move them inside for the summer, for obvious reasons. My mom is ok with it, I am still too young to move out , but I need to pay for everything.
Any guesses how much it would cost? I have a large cage thing, it's like a small dog exercise cage, I don't think I could do free roam, it's too much money for me right now.
And what are some things that I may not think of?
Thank you all for your answers!!

 

[Hermelin]

You will only need a run, litter box and the usually toys in the cage and bowls for food and water. You can make your own toys with things you have home.

If you have any old carpets or blankets use it as flooring and you can build cardboard houses and tunnels. That’s all you will need and don’t need to spend a lot of money ☺

 

[Lulubooboo]

You will only need a run, litter box and the usually toys in the cage and bowls for food and water. You can make your own toys with things you have home.

If you have any old carpets or blankets use it as flooring and you can build cardboard houses and tunnels. That’s all you will need and don’t need to spend a lot of money ☺

Thank you!! I really hope to move them inside soon!

 

[FuzzyBunny ph]

hmm can you get a playpen? or maybe the biggest dog cage and just put soft flooring on it.

I do hope you keep them indoors even after the summer, it would be so much safer for them and they get more human interaction. If ever you decide to do this, then hopefully you get a playpen soon

 

[Blue eyes]

Is the "small dog exercise pen" similar to what is in photo? The photo shows an exercise pen (ignore the mesh that I added to it during a bonding). By making use of an existing wall, the pen can be made into a much larger space than if it was just made into a square or circle with the ends touching each other. (hope that makes sense)

How tall is your pen?

 

[Lulubooboo]

Is the "small dog exercise pen" similar to what is in photo? The photo shows an exercise pen (ignore the mesh that I added to it during a bonding). By making use of an existing wall, the pen can be made into a much larger space than if it was just made into a square or circle with the ends touching each other. (hope that makes sense)

How tall is your pen?

Here's the pen. We would make it about 3 ½ feet longer, but then the buns could chew the wooden cabinets.
Ignore all the poop, I need to clean it. They were inside for about 4 hours until it's got cool enough then we put them outside.
I know it's not an ideal living space, but it's all we could come up with. They'll live in it during the day, I'll get them in the morning after they get their pellets and pop them in here. Then at night when it gets below 80° ( Which I know is still pretty hot for them ) they go back outside to their hutch.
One really weird thing, the male is NOT leaving the female alone! He's humping her like crazy, both are fixed and have been for months! It's only when they're in this cage, when they're outside they are perfectly fine, or in their outside area. Any thoughts on that? If not I'll post another thread on that.

 

[Lulubooboo]

hmm can you get a playpen? or maybe the biggest dog cage and just put soft flooring on it.

I do hope you keep them indoors even after the summer, it would be so much safer for them and they get more human interaction. If ever you decide to do this, then hopefully you get a playpen soon

Here's their enclosure. I said more about it in another replay, im too lazy to rewrite it all .

 

[FuzzyBunny ph]

Here's their enclosure. I said more about it in another replay, im too lazy to rewrite it all .

oh thats great! Way better than what I initially thought you had planned.

And yes, I did see your reply, and I may have some few takes on it:
- Can they stay indoors all the time in the set up you made?
- In regards to your male mounting on your female, I think he's being territorial. Has it be more than 2 months since they got fixed? Maybe make the space bigger or set up a separate enclosure for them? Maybe others can give better suggestions on this

 

[Blue eyes]

We would make it about 3 ½ feet longer, but then the buns could chew the wooden cabinets.
One really weird thing, the male is NOT leaving the female alone! He's humping her like crazy,

A piece of thick cardboard or even a wood board could block off the wooden cabinets. That would allow you to make the pen area even longer as you mentioned.

I'd also suggest keeping them in 24/7. Changing them in and out isn't ideal for them and just adds unnecessary stress.

As for the humping, that may well settle if they are allowed to remain indoors. I'd also suggest providing a hidey spot that is only large enough for one rabbit. Even a smallish step stool could work. The idea is to provide your gal a place she can go that prevents the male from being able to hump her. That might be just enough to give her a needed break now & then.

 

[JBun]

The increased mounting is due to the change of territory. Usually after rabbits have had time to settle in to their new space, the dominance behavior settles back down to normal levels. But with you bringing them in and out, it may not settle down, or it could take a while.

 

[Lulubooboo]

oh thats great! Way better than what I initially thought you had planned.

And yes, I did see your reply, and I may have some few takes on it:
- Can they stay indoors all the time in the set up you made?
- In regards to your male mounting on your female, I think he's being territorial. Has it be more than 2 months since they got fixed? Maybe make the space bigger or set up a separate enclosure for them? Maybe others can give better suggestions on this

Thank you for your suggestions!!! The male has been fixed since late March. He's not always super territorial, but he'll still mount her sometimes, but in this pen, he's really bugging her.
I would love to let them stay inside, but we have a dog, and she's a little crazy about the bunnies, so I'm not overly comfortable leaving her alone with them, even if they're in a pen.
Again, thank you for your suggestions!

 

[Blue eyes]

Can the dog be blocked from the room at night or when no one is around? As we mentioned, it can be quite stressful on the rabbits to be constantly moving them inside and outside. If the dog could be elsewhere, then perhaps the 2 rabbits could remain indoors, be less stressed, and he (male rabbit) would not pester her in the pen.

Many dogs can be trained to behave appropriately around rabbits but that could take a bit of time before that may become comfortable.

 

[Lulubooboo]

A piece of thick cardboard or even a wood board could block off the wooden cabinets. That would allow you to make the pen area even longer as you mentioned.

I'd also suggest keeping them in 24/7. Changing them in and out isn't ideal for them and just adds unnecessary stress.

As for the humping, that may well settle if they are allowed to remain indoors. I'd also suggest providing a hidey spot that is only large enough for one rabbit. Even a smallish step stool could work. The idea is to provide your gal a place she can go that prevents the male from being able to hump her. That might be just enough to give her a needed break now & then.

Thank you for your suggestions! There is a small box in there where there is only room for one bunny, but when the female goes in it ( Shes bigger than he is ) the male can squeeze right in beside her.
I'll see if we have any boards or thick cardboard panels we can put up to make it bigger.
I'm not very comfortable leaving them in the pen all night. We have a dog, and she's a little crazy about the bunnies when she's unsupervised, so she could push the pen down and possibly hurt them. I know it's not ideal to move them morning and night, but this is the best we can do. It's only going to be this hot for a little longer.
Again, thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Lulubooboo]

Can the dog be blocked from the room at night or when no one is around? As we mentioned, it can be quite stressful on the rabbits to be constantly moving them inside and outside. If the dog could be elsewhere, then perhaps they could remain indoors, be less stressed, and he(male rabbit) would not pester her in the pen.

Many dogs can be trained to behave appropriately around rabbits but that could take a bit of time before that may become comfortable.

I'll see if we can put the dog somewhere else tonight, and put a blanket over the top or something because the male likes to jump.

 

[Blue eyes]

Haha. We were posting at the same time! ...the box is too big if he can fit in there as well. Need a smaller box or something low (similar to a kiddie step stool) so he can't get on top of her if she's below the step. (I saw the box in your photo and could see it was too large. That's why I had suggested a smaller one.)

 

[Lulubooboo]

Haha. We were posting at the same time! ...the box is too big if he can fit in there as well. Need a smaller box or something low (similar to a kiddie step stool) so he can't get on top of her if she's below the step. (I saw the box in your photo and could see it was too large. That's why I had suggested a smaller one.)

Ok, thank you, I'll see if there's a smaller box laying around. Thank you so much for your suggestions!

 

[Lulubooboo]

Can the dog be blocked from the room at night or when no one is around? As we mentioned, it can be quite stressful on the rabbits to be constantly moving them inside and outside. If the dog could be elsewhere, then perhaps the 2 rabbits could remain indoors, be less stressed, and he (male rabbit) would not pester her in the pen.

Many dogs can be trained to behave appropriately around rabbits but that could take a bit of time before that may become comfortable.

The bunnies spent their first night inside, and the dog was just downstairs with my parents, so all is good! He doesn't seem to be bothering her like crazy right now, but I've only been with them for like 5 minutes lol He's just chinning her a lot. Which he does often anyways.

 

[RWAF]

Are you intending to move indoors only for the summer, or as a permanent change? If temporary then you are going to need to return your rabbits outdoors in time for them to grow thick winter coats, before the weather gets cold.

If I was going to have my rabbits indoors for half the year, it would be in winter with the worst weather, that they would be in, and in summer when there is plenty in the garden for them to eat, and warmer weather, that I would have them outdoors.

Obviously that depends on the climate where you live, how hot the summer days get, how cold the winter nights get, but really it's better for the rabbits if they have one regime, either outdoors or inside, with proper protection against any extremes of the weather

 

[Lulubooboo]

Are you intending to move indoors only for the summer, or as a permanent change? If temporary then you are going to need to return your rabbits outdoors in time for them to grow thick winter coats, before the weather gets cold.

If I was going to have my rabbits indoors for half the year, it would be in winter with the worst weather, that they would be in, and in summer when there is plenty in the garden for them to eat, and warmer weather, that I would have them outdoors.

Obviously that depends on the climate where you live, how hot the summer days get, how cold the winter nights get, but really it's better for the rabbits if they have one regime, either outdoors or inside, with proper protection against any extremes of the weather

They're going to be inside until the weather is under about 80, which I know is still hot, but when it starts to cool off, probably less than a month, they'll go back outside. I want to keep them inside as free roam, but I don't have the money for that right now.
The winters here can get fairly cold, sometimes down to upper teens. Which if they're outside and can get their winter coat, that shouldn't be a problem, right?
The summers here are not usually this bad, it's usually only up to 95° on a super hot day. But this summer that temps have reached 104°. That's why we decided to move them in for the hottest part of summer.

 

[Blue eyes]

The bunnies spent their first night inside, and the dog was just downstairs with my parents, so all is good! He doesn't seem to be bothering her like crazy right now, but I've only been with them for like 5 minutes lol He's just chinning her a lot. Which he does often anyways.

Glad it went well! If you are interested in seeing how I've gotten my dogs to get along with my rabbits (no guarantee this method will work as it depends on the individual dog) you can see that here:
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/introducing-dog-to-rabbit.html
If it is over 80-85F, it is better for them to be indoors in A/C. The setup you have for them now with the exercise pen is a decent setup. (Once you are able to expand it after blocking off the wood shelves, would love to see an updated photo!) Once expanded, you may be getting close to 30 sq ft which is a fine size. You don't have to free-roam. They will do just fine in the pen with supervised playtime in that room the pen is in. In other words, there is no need to put them back outside since your indoor setup looks like it will be perfectly acceptable.

What state are you in? There is a current outbreak of RHDV2 that is causing the recommendation that rabbits be kept indoors. You can read about that (and what areas are currently known to be affected) at this link:
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/rhvd2-in-the-us-what-you-need-to-know.99131/
If you are not in a known area of infection, then it may be even worse to house outdoors as the vaccine won't be available. Yet this disease spreads rapidly and it's only a matter of time before it may reach new areas. [When it hit Australia, it only took 18 months for it to traverse across the entire continent.]