Rabbitopia anyone?

Just saw a link for this, it has some good features. thought others might be interested.

http://dunsterhouse.co.uk/rabbitopia

they do look quite good, aren't the levels a bit low though? dont give much room for stretching upwards?

Sorry, I think it's awful!! I don't think it has enough sheltered indoor space so there is enough sheltered room for sleeping, snoozing, eating, litter tray etc, and the outside space on the smaller ones isn't big enough to be a proper run. But the way it's configured makes it look as if it's meant to be the entirety of the rabbit's accommodation, and the run area just isn't big enough to allow proper exercise. For that price you could buy something significantly larger and better, in my opinion!

Santa said:

Sorry, I think it's awful!! I don't think it has enough sheltered indoor space so there is enough sheltered room for sleeping, snoozing, eating, litter tray etc, and the outside space on the smaller ones isn't big enough to be a proper run. But the way it's configured makes it look as if it's meant to be the entirety of the rabbit's accommodation, and the run area just isn't big enough to allow proper exercise. For that price you could buy something significantly larger and better, in my opinion!

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Have to agree with this. You could get something much better for not even half the price :?

Santa said:

Sorry, I think it's awful!! I don't think it has enough sheltered indoor space so there is enough sheltered room for sleeping, snoozing, eating, litter tray etc, and the outside space on the smaller ones isn't big enough to be a proper run. But the way it's configured makes it look as if it's meant to be the entirety of the rabbit's accommodation, and the run area just isn't big enough to allow proper exercise. For that price you could buy something significantly larger and better, in my opinion!

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Yup, I agree. The height makes it look misleadingly large but that doesn't look like nearly enough space.

Have to agree - watching the video didn't make it seem any better! Only a tiny area 'indoors' unless you get the shed extra for another £400... :|
Also says at the bottom of the page "Suitable for all size rabbits up to 4kg" so it wouldn't even be suitable for my bun Flo! :?

Wow, it's a lot of money. :shock: I appreciate the builder's sentiment, but I would prefer to buy a Duchy with a larger indoor area I think. The sky tower is cool though!

I actually quite like it in the larger sizes with the shed attached and I think it's good to get the concept of larger accommodation specifically for rabbits out there. I do agree that it's expensive though, especially when I consider that my 12ft x 12ft aviary is bigger than their largest size, but was half the cost.

I didn't realise they did little versions. The 2m square and up ones look fine, but the 1m ones, particularly the smallest couple are too small for my liking. I like the 'interaction shed' style ones, that looks a nice design.

They do see a bit pricey tho - they aren't vastly different to the dog kennel/runs that are popular but they cost a lot more. I suppose some of that will be the smaller mesh and they just won't be selling as many to bring the prices down.

I do think it's extremely pricey for the size but one thing I like about it is that it's more open looking than the wooden dog kennel set ups I see. And I like the sky tower too but it does look too small for shelter from uk winters.

Still, if I got a rabbit aviary it'd be a nice big chainlink dog kennel that I can get for a fraction of that price (not that I could've ordered from the uk anyway)!

I'd have liked that 'den' area at the very top to be a lot higher for them to stand up in properly, the smaller enclosures to be advertised as runs for a lone dwarf when attached to another run, but overall I love the idea. Also the prices are very high but that is what you pay for good quality metal and wood and whatnot.

If I had to make changes, I'd use the top area a storage box and enclose a space at ground level as a 'den', personally.

Isn't it just a posh aviary with something to climb in?
I like how the mesh can go under turf panels - that's a good idea. And the 16g mesh.

And agree it's no use without the shed bit. Might as well just get a shed+aviary?

Hi All,

Great to see people discussing our new product line. Our M.D. has 10 rescue rabbits which he loves dearly and he’s spent 3-4 years perfecting the design that we have literally just launched as Rabbitopia after the founder of a Rescue Centre he had adopted rabbits from encouraged him to do so. He nearly didn’t launch because he knew to do it right it would make the product a lot more money than traditional cheap hutch/runs but he went ahead anyway and we proudly launched 2 days ago.

I thought I’d try and reply to as many of you as I can Some of you have mentioned it’s cost so I’ll address that first as it’s something that Alex, our M.D. was always conscious of. Rabbitopia isn’t made of cheap, low-grade, thin timber but large section, chrome and arsenic free, pressure treated timber meaning it should last 10+ years without the need for treating. It has a lot of features that simply add up the cost but in turn ensure the safety and comfort of rabbits.
The SkyDen at the very top of the tower is insulated with Polyurethane making for 50mm composite walls and ceiling to reduce heat loss and also to aid keeping a cool environment in summer. This Den alone is nearly 10ft x 10ft! The tower itself, which we call SkyBurrow has shelves which, with the SkyDen, create 4 metres square of floorspace on a single square metre of ground space but also allow the bunnies to be up high safely and get a good vantage point. We don’t use a cheap mesh on Rabbitopia but 16g, 20mm x 20mm, galvanised weld-mesh as this will keep predators at bay, it’s also quite an expensive mesh though. Having the fox guarding around the bottom of the Rabbitopia also adds to the cost but means that your beloved buns won’t be face to face with a nosey fox or cat.
Also, cloaking the sides of the tower in timber isn’t inexpensive but makes for a good shelter from the elements for rabbits. The interaction shed for an additional £349 is equally made up of quality materials designed to last and has a low maintenance plastic roof so you don’t have to keep re-felting it at additional cost every so often. All this aside though, Alex is as much interested in using our Marketing budget to educate people upon rabbits needs as he is into selling the product which is why he encourages people to build their own setups if they have the ability in his videos. Rabbitopia is for those who don’t have the skills or time to make something suitable for rabbits. He’s simply sick of seeing rabbits in unsuitable accommodation and tried to do something about it.

Others have mentioned space to stretch on the shelves, no need to worry here, there is 2ft of height between most of the shelves for exactly the purpose of allowing a rabbit to stretch. Also, by encouraging jumping, the rabbits get needed exercise.

Someone mentioned the size of the smaller ones we sell, we completely agree that bigger is better and ideally we would not sell anything less than vast. Being realistic though, Rabbitopia is far better than the traditional small hutch and run as even the smallest Rabbitopia gives 5 square metres of floor space in only 2 square metres of ground space. We do state on our web page though that this particular model is a very small enclosure and we would encourage people to buy bigger if they can.

If anyone has any questions I’d be happy to answer them but thanks so much for talking about our new product, Alex especially is really pleased to be finally able to try to make a difference, you clearly all love rabbits as much as he does.

Sam

I liked the larger ones and it would suit mine as they rarely use the hutch and it can be roofed to offer some protection. I liked the sky shelves but agreed that they should be tall enough for rabbits to stretch. Was sad to see the smaller versions for sale

I think even the smaller ones are a lot better than the average hutch so whilst I'm not in the market for another hutch at the moment I'm massively excited to see a new (to bunnies) retailer acknowledging that bunnies need more tha a hutch and trying to develop a new product even if there are some tweaks that could improve then even more

I just watched some of the video. I think you can see the bunny knowledge in the design, lots of little touches I've not see anywhere else - like the corner shelf in the run which I bet bunnies would love to use as a look out and I've not seen insulation like that on anything else. The fine mesh too - I know it costs more than the 2" size you get on dog kennels. And I like the grass floor option.

It's hard to get across things like build quality online, I know people on the forum have had trouble with hutches that only last a couple of years and the bottoms drop out of the roof needs replacing. It's not a bad investment if it's going to last you your rabbits whole life - like the 10 year warranty!

I do think it will have a market even with the prices. If you look at the price of housing like the 'omlets' which are £300-400 and offered nothing like the amount of space/good design features/security.

I like the sky tower, although it goes up, which seems a bit illogical for rabbits at first, if you imagine it going down it's very burrow like. I also like square living spaces as they have a bit more elbow room. Usually the floor space ends up more than a long hutch too. I think having the bed area lower is good as it will heat up/stay warm better. With a shed, I always suggest something lower inside anyway or your heat goes up the top whilst the rabbits are floor level. That should be the opposite, warmest spot of the whole thing. Plus rabbits are designed for sleeping in low enclosed spaces, it's only an issue if that's all they get.

Might want to try poping your video on youtube or similar, I couldn't get it to play all the way though without freezing.

How much!!!!!!!

It's good to see a lot of effort being made. A lot of those would make very good bunny homes, although I agree a lot need more hidey space, that would be easy to achieve.

The lower panels of the run look like they could be chewed through from the inside, is there mesh to protect as well?

Really interesting seeing all this! It was rather strange to think of rabbits going up so high, but then some rabbits are often more than happy to fly upstairs at any opportunity, so perhaps that shouldn't seem so odd.

For me, I was concerned that the rabbits would have to jump from one level to another (I think that's right?) and whilst that's fine for fit rabbits, I think older or ailing rabbits would not be so keen to jump up/ down to use most of the structure. I don't know whether ramps are fitted or supplied as an option.

Rescue rabbits often have or develop health issues and require considerable adaptability from their surroundings - or perhaps it's just that I get the ones needing the most TLC!

MightyMax said:

Really interesting seeing all this! It was rather strange to think of rabbits going up so high, but then some rabbits are often more than happy to fly upstairs at any opportunity, so perhaps that shouldn't seem so odd.

For me, I was concerned that the rabbits would have to jump from one level to another (I think that's right?) and whilst that's fine for fit rabbits, I think older or ailing rabbits would not be so keen to jump up/ down to use most of the structure. I don't know whether ramps are fitted or supplied as an option.

Rescue rabbits often have or develop health issues and require considerable adaptability from their surroundings - or perhaps it's just that I get the ones needing the most TLC!

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I have never found this to be the case. None of my rescues have ever needed vet treatment apart from vaccinations, yet my breeder buns (bought before I knew about the amount of rabbits in rescue ) have needed dentals regularly, and on top of that I have just had one pass away without any signs of illness