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mini lop housing

luke61188

New Kit
hi im new to this forum so i dont know if im posting in the right area.
im looking into getting a mini lop, what size indoor cages do they need?
also whats the best substrate to use?
thanks
 
Just bumping this up for a newbie.

Other than saying most rabbits need a pal (although some rescues do state that particular rabbits, after assessment, may be better suited being a single house bun), I don't know anything about indoor housing, bedding etc.

It's good that someone's looking at what's best before getting rabbits.

Can anyone help or add a useful link?
 
Firstly, well done for looking into it BEFORE you get a rabbit.

Secondly, is the bunny going to get any free-range time in your house? They can't stay in a cage 24/7 so its very important they get lots of space/running time.

:wave:
 
Firstly, well done for looking into it BEFORE you get a rabbit.

Secondly, is the bunny going to get any free-range time in your house? They can't stay in a cage 24/7 so its very important they get lots of space/running time.

:wave:

I agree with Graham.

Have you thought about having your bunny fully free-range? Then you wont need a cage, or you could have a smaller one. If they are going to be shut in the cage at all, it will need to lots bigger.

My rabbit has a 4 foot 8 inches x 4 foot 8 inches pen because he is shut in for 8 hours at night. But when I move house they will have a whole room and hallway at night and the whole flat in the day, so I will have a smaller pen just to put all his stuff in, but he wont be shut in.

Does that make sense?
 
Welcome to RU! :wave: I wanted to reply to this last night but had to go to bed, sorry.

If the bun is going to be in the cage for a few hours each day then I would try and make the cage as big as possible, I started with a Ferplast Casita 120 cage but I realised after a while that it was too small for her, especially as she was only free range when we got home from work and weekends, so I built my own really large cage using wire mesh panels and cable ties. See photos below. I wish I'd built it in the first place, can't believe my poor Peanut was in the old cage for so long. It would be really great if you're able to make something similar to this. :D

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IMG_5316.jpg


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If your bun is going to be able to free range all of the time then you can use a large rabbit cage or dog crate as a base for litter tray, hidey hole, resting area etc. just so they have somewhere to go that is theirs.

If you're interested in trying to build your own wire cage, let me know and I'll give you more details of how I built mine, I think others have built similar cages here as well.
 
thanks for all the replies people.
the bun will be in the cage for around 8 hours a day.
i was looking at a 4ft cage whats you opinions on that?
 
thanks for all the replies people.
the bun will be in the cage for around 8 hours a day.
i was looking at a 4ft cage whats you opinions on that?

Welcome to the forum :wave: The recommended size for rabbits is 6ft X 2ft X 2ft. A lot of cages aren't very tall so make sure you check the height of the cage too. The RSPCA also say the rabbit should be able to do 3 hops in any direction, stretch out fully and reach up on it's back legs without touching the roof I think. Glad to see you doing research into buns :)
 
thanks for all the replies people.
the bun will be in the cage for around 8 hours a day.
i was looking at a 4ft cage whats you opinions on that?

A four foot cage is too small for even the tiniest of rabbits.

The RSPCA recommend for outdoor buns a hutch which is 6 x 2 x 2 foot plus an attatched run which is at least 6 x 4 feet or larger. From this you can see why a 4 foot cage will be too small for a bun.
 
I've found the easiest way is to bunnyproof a room, that way you don't loose the space, you just integrate it so it becomes human and bunny space.

If you have to do a cage NIC cubes are great cos you can do it how you want it and the size you want it (have never seen a 6ft indoor cage sadly) and then if you do decide to bunnyproof they come in really handy.
 
if i got a baby bun would it be ok to keep it in a 4ft cage until it starts to get big and i have managed to toilet train in? then bunnyproof a room and use the cage just for bedtime?
i like the mini lops but if there was a bun of a diff breed that needed a home i would consider it.
im in gravesend kent so if anyone comes across one down this way that need rehoming please let me know.
 
if i got a baby bun would it be ok to keep it in a 4ft cage until it starts to get big and i have managed to toilet train in? then bunnyproof a room and use the cage just for bedtime?
i like the mini lops but if there was a bun of a diff breed that needed a home i would consider it.
im in gravesend kent so if anyone comes across one down this way that need rehoming please let me know.

Not sure about the first couple of questions sorry but take a look in the rabbits in need section on here, there will be details of rabbits needing homes and a lot of the rescues rehome to all places :) It really is best to get two rabbits, one neutered male and one spayed female, rabbits are very social animals and most generally prefer company of their own kind to humans.
 
if i got a baby bun would it be ok to keep it in a 4ft cage until it starts to get big and i have managed to toilet train in? then bunnyproof a room and use the cage just for bedtime?
i like the mini lops but if there was a bun of a diff breed that needed a home i would consider it.
im in gravesend kent so if anyone comes across one down this way that need rehoming please let me know.

Why dont you just get a pair from a rescue that is already litter trained? It'd save you a lot of time, money and a stinky carpet :lol:

Most rabbits can be littertrained but some cant, and some can only be trained to do most, not all of it in the litter tray. So if you can get a bunny that is already trained it takes a lot of the guess-work out of it. Most rescues will also neuter and vaccinate their bunnies before rehoming, so that will save you a lot of money and it means you wont have to put up with an agressive hormonal teenage bunny.

The problem with getting a baby is that most rabbits have difficulty with litter training until they are neutered. If you did want a baby though, lots of rescues have these too. Its just a bit more work for you :)

As regards the cage, do you mean 8 hours out of 24 hours or do you mean 8 hours in the day and in the cage at night too?

You could make something like this:
SAM_0763.jpg
 
just fr about 8 hours at night?
do does need to be fixed in order to calm them down or is just males.

It is recommended that does should be spayed because it stops aggressive or hormonal behavior, many does become grumpy if not spayed, stops phantom pregnancys and if does are left unspayed they have a very high chance if getting uterine cancer I believe.
 
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