Upgrading cage suggestions for large rabbit

I have a large rabbit (5kg) and the cage I was recommended for him is too small really. I will be looking in about January/February to bond him, but I will bond him to a small rabbit, say maybe a mini lop or lionhead as I probably wont have as much space next year and dont want to upgrade too much.

Here is the cage he has now:



So I dont know what to get. The cage he has is 120cm long, and the largest dog cage I can find is that.

I was thinking about the cages made up of those storage cubes, but dont know if any shelves would support his weight? Also he's strong and boistrous and it would need to be able to stand up to his leaning/climbing up the walls. Anyone have experience of these cages?

It would have to be fairly sturdy and not too rattly either if he went up against the bars or hopped around, as he is in my bedroom. I would like it to have top opening preferably, as I like to lift him in and out as it gets him used to being held and he associates it with either going out or coming in to eat.

Any suggestions about a good size and what kind of setup?

He gets minimum 5 hours out (Mondays) but most days he gets over 10.

If you get the dog crate that is the same length then you could add levels into the dog crate and add a pen. :thumb:

I prefer dog crate plus pen myself. You can add a shelf quite easily with a flat piece of wood and some battens. Or bunnyproof a room.

As for grids you can make shelves but they need reinforcing in my opinion, we reinforced ours simply by adding a bit of wood underneath that went through the bars of the panels below. I'll see if I have a picture.

This is the best picture I can find. Shelf is on the right, can just about see the bar of wood running along underneath. It had screws in each end to stop it slipping out or moving around.



Cor it's weird seeing that, that room has changed SO much!

Ahhh yeah I see it. Do you think if I did that it would support 5kg jumping on it? how stable are the walls too?
I like this idea because it means that if I ever need to upgrade/downsize it wont be an issue.

I have a feeling my bun would push it along the floor though, does yours?

Who needs a cage, bunny proof your room
:lol: Though if you really really need one Dog crates are very high and twice as deep as the indoor cages. Annnd you can connect to dog crates together by folding two sides down and using cable ties to connect them together, that's an 8ft x 3ft cage... though do you have the space :lol:

PixieRabbit said:

Who needs a cage, bunny proof your room
:lol: Though if you really really need one Dog crates are very high and twice as deep as the indoor cages. Annnd you can connect to dog crates together by folding two sides down and using cable ties to connect them together, that's an 8ft x 3ft cage... though do you have the space :lol:

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:thumb:

If you use cable ties instead of the connectors then the storage cube grids will work great. I built cages that are 4 grids long, 3 grids wide and 2 grids high (56"L x 42"W x 28"H), and at the back of the cage I attached a shelf using 3 grids for the base halfway up the cage, and supported it by placing two grids below the shelf in an "L" shape. I then rested a piece of wood cut to size on top of the three grids. I have pictures if you want to see them. The cages are REALLY sturdy, nice and big for a cage base (obviously exercise time free-range will still be needed) and simple to build.

AMETHYST

nessar said:

Ahhh yeah I see it. Do you think if I did that it would support 5kg jumping on it? how stable are the walls too?
I like this idea because it means that if I ever need to upgrade/downsize it wont be an issue.

I have a feeling my bun would push it along the floor though, does yours?

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Ooh I dunno. I had two 1.8kg bunnies and a 1.3kg bunny once but all spread out so in theory, yes.



I still prefer the dog crates myself and even better is bunnyproofing. Not sure what you mean about 'pushing it along the floor'. The base was pretty sturdy though as it was a board of wood with lino over the top and even I struggled to move it sometimes! My bunnies are no longer in it, we dismantled it when we were decorating and bunny-proofed the room instead.

I cant bunny proof the room completely due to my electrical wires. Some of them need to be moved around quite a bit e.g laptop, phone charger. I've actually got the idea from the cubes to fence off these areas, not sure how well this will work though as he takes any obstacles as a challenge :roll: hed need to be shut away from 12am till 8am regardless anyway as he likes to jump on my head when Im sleeping :lol:

Apart from strength, what are the advantages of dog crate cages over the cubes?

Would folding the sides down not mean the bunny is walking on the bars ?

I think the maximum area it could be is 5 and a half foot x 3 foot at the moment, but that may go up or down when I move in June. I could do 6ft x 5ft if I included the sofa in his cage (I dont use it but its the landlords so cant get rid) but Im scared he'd ruin it.

Schuette, I mean when I put him in his cage and then go to walk past, he headbuts it or puts his paws through the bars and leans on the side. Do you think this could cause it to move along the floor as it doesnt have an attached base? I have images of waking up to find the cage in the middle of the room, or toppled over because hes been too boistorous :lol: he really is strong, he moves the armchair enough to get behind it.

Amethyst can I see these pictures if possible? How big are your buns?

Ah I see. It may push out of shape if he's a big boy. As ours was to be quite permanent we put an edging round the bottom round the panels which held it in position and also sandwiched the lino to stop it moving.

Dog crates tend to be deeper front to back that cages to although they are still 4' long they are 3' wide (cages are usually 3' max) which gives you half as much again (same as a 6'x2' hutch).

A couple of lengths of wood fitting horizontally through the bars with a wooden board on top makes a basic shelf and will support quite a bit of weight. A shelf can add half the floor area again which gives you around 18 square foot total over 8 square foot in a 4'x2' cage.

If you wanted to do something similar to the CC cage but with a bit more strength, you could try making a frame from plastic pipe fittings and then using either the grids or mesh panels (3'x2').

Tamsin said:

Dog crates tend to be deeper front to back that cages to although they are still 4' long they are 3' wide (cages are usually 3' max) which gives you half as much again (same as a 6'x2' hutch).

A couple of lengths of wood fitting horizontally through the bars with a wooden board on top makes a basic shelf and will support quite a bit of weight. A shelf can add half the floor area again which gives you around 18 square foot total over 8 square foot in a 4'x2' cage.

If you wanted to do something similar to the CC cage but with a bit more strength, you could try making a frame from plastic pipe fittings and then using either the grids or mesh panels (3'x2').

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Im sorry I know I sound silly but I dont know what you mean about the plastic pipes do you have any pictures?

Silly question but do the dog crates flat-pack?


I'm very happy right now, hoping to sign a contract next weekend! Finally found a bunny-friendly house for next year! Just hope noone gets there before we do! Looks like he might be able to free-range the kitchen and hallway when we're out too, as long as he gets over his fear of lino :lol:

nessar said:

Silly question but do the dog crates flat-pack?

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Yup! And if you do the joist and shelf approach then it's easy to take the shelf out after.

nessar said:

Im sorry I know I sound silly but I dont know what you mean about the plastic pipes do you have any pictures?

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http://www.rattycorner.com/gallery/yourcages/billscage/index.shtml
http://cockatiels4u.tripod.com/alsworkshop/PVCcage2.gif
http://www.therabbithouse.com/indoor/rabbit-cage-plans.asp

They are used for all sorts cats, rats, lizards etc. you just need slightly stronger mesh for rabbits.

Fear of lino?:?

twobunnies&apony said:

Fear of lino?:?

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Yes I've taken him into our kitchen at the moment that also has lino so I could keep an eye on him when cooking and he just crouched down and refused to move. Now I put him in the carpeted hallway, and he refuses to come into the kitchen, even if there's yummy vegetables on the floor!

My NIC cage is 5x2x7 and solid as a rock (supporting various weights, but 6 bunnies in total). We use a lot of support posts and never use the connectors, only cable ties. I think me and my dad made ours so solid it would withstand a bomb. :lol:

Sky-O said:

My NIC cage is 5x2x7 and solid as a rock (supporting various weights, but 6 bunnies in total). We use a lot of support posts and never use the connectors, only cable ties. I think me and my dad made ours so solid it would withstand a bomb. :lol:

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do you by any chance have any pictures of this mega-cage?
what weights of rabbits do you have in it?


also I may have been wrong about his weight, last time I was told 4.7kg but this time I was told 4kg so we weighed him again and still just over 4kg and Im so sure he's put on weight, he has neck fat now. So he might be lighter, which is good for the shelving.