Acclaimatising to a new cage?

[Ed68]

Hi,

Hope all is going well on here.

I've not been on for a while since I was last after advice

Our boy (R-fur) spends up to 12 hrs a day during the week in his cage. During winter he's happy to 'hide' in his igloo keeping warm. Over the last couple of weeks he's kicked this over as he likes to lie out flat.

We've now bought him a much bigger cage (Ferplast 100 two tier) so that he can have his night time sleeping place and a daytime 'lounging' area.

When we're not at work he has the run of the house and can always hop back in for the toilet or whatever he needs.

We've built his new home and are leaving him to get used to it - there are a few treats to entice him in but whilst he's taking an interest (smell of choccy drops etc) he's not been in on his own yet - I did put him in much earlier and he did manage to get out.

What do you experts think? Shall we just leave him until he's happy with the new home by himself or should we 'force this issue' and just replace his old home with the new one.

Oh, whilst he was in there he did use the toilet so he's christened it and hope it smells like home :lol:

Any advice would be much appreciated

 

[Hanlou]

Ok I'm going to be totally honest here - I do not think it is at all acceptable for a rabbit to be shut in a 3ft cage for 12 hours a day.

The basic 'minimum size' rule for a hutch is a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft hutch with attached 6ft x 4ft run. For an indoor bun; a 4ft dog crate is a good alternative but for that amount of time there should always be a dog pen attached to allow the rabbit to get the exercise it needs.

Jack hates being shut in his 48" crate even for an hour or so (I have to shut him in when I'm cleaning other pets out etc) - generally he gets free range of the room with a baby gate keeping him in the room.

Those so-called 'rabbit cages' aren't suitable for rabbits at all in my opinion and certainly not as a stand-alone cage with no pen attached.

Far better to make a large cage out of NIC grids or use a 48" dog crate with an attached pen.

I mean no offence, but I have seen these cages and I cannot imagine a full grown rabbit being even slightly comfortable in one.

 

[Ed68]

Ok I'm going to be totally honest here - I do not think it is at all acceptable for a rabbit to be shut in a 3ft cage for 12 hours a day.

The basic 'minimum size' rule for a hutch is a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft hutch with attached 6ft x 4ft run. For an indoor bun; a 4ft dog crate is a good alternative but for that amount of time there should always be a dog pen attached to allow the rabbit to get the exercise it needs.

Jack hates being shut in his 48" crate even for an hour or so (I have to shut him in when I'm cleaning other pets out etc) - generally he gets free range of the room with a baby gate keeping him in the room.

Those so-called 'rabbit cages' aren't suitable for rabbits at all in my opinion and certainly not as a stand-alone cage with no pen attached.

Far better to make a large cage out of NIC grids or use a 48" dog crate with an attached pen.

I mean no offence, but I have seen these cages and I cannot imagine a full grown rabbit being even slightly comfortable in one.

Fair enough - I respect your opinion but I'm happy that he's happy.

If it makes any difference he's a particularly small dwarf and only stuck in there that long for a max of three days. He spends nearly all day out on 4 days a week.

Anyway, that's enough of me being defensive

Any comments on how we can get him used to his new bigger home?

 

[Hanlou]

I'm sorry but I'm guessing most people on here will say the same thing. I've never seen any 'set-up' pics from anyone on here with a cage like you're describing. No-one would use a 3ft cage for a rabbit, no matter how small. He should have a friend anyway so any accommodation should be big enough for two.

You asked for opinions and advice but don't seem willing to listen when it isn't the answer you hoped for.

I'm sorry but as someone who has been on this forum before I struggle to understand why you would buy a cage like this. It's too small. :?

 

[Ed68]

I'm sorry but I'm guessing most people on here will say the same thing. I've never seen any 'set-up' pics from anyone on here with a cage like you're describing. No-one would use a 3ft cage for a rabbit, no matter how small. He should have a friend anyway so any accommodation should be big enough for two.

You asked for opinions and advice but don't seem willing to listen when it isn't the answer you hoped for.

I'm sorry but as someone who has been on this forum before I struggle to understand why you would buy a cage like this. It's too small. :?

I asked for advice on acclaimatisation however you don't seem to be willing to offer advice on what I'm asking about

I have considered your opinion on something I didn't ask about. Whilst I won't doubt it's what you believe and indeed you may be correct however I'm happy with the housing as he seems to be.

I'll leave it here though as your comment above (in bold) and the answer to a different question makes it appear that you're not listening and I don't want to bring strife to a friendly forum :wave:

 

[w1lll]

Hi,

Hope all is going well on here.

I've not been on for a while since I was last after advice

Our boy (R-fur) spends up to 12 hrs a day during the week in his cage. During winter he's happy to 'hide' in his igloo keeping warm. Over the last couple of weeks he's kicked this over as he likes to lie out flat.

We've now bought him a much bigger cage (Ferplast 100 two tier) so that he can have his night time sleeping place and a daytime 'lounging' area.

When we're not at work he has the run of the house and can always hop back in for the toilet or whatever he needs.

We've built his new home and are leaving him to get used to it - there are a few treats to entice him in but whilst he's taking an interest (smell of choccy drops etc) he's not been in on his own yet - I did put him in much earlier and he did manage to get out.

What do you experts think? Shall we just leave him until he's happy with the new home by himself or should we 'force this issue' and just replace his old home with the new one.

Oh, whilst he was in there he did use the toilet so he's christened it and hope it smells like home :lol:

Any advice would be much appreciated

I'm afraid that the cage is not quite big enough as there is not really enough room to move around in (as the ramp takes a large amount of floor space away). The cage is also not big enough for a bunny to periscope in, as the ceilings are too low. It would, however, make a good base in a room if he was free range 24/7 in there. Do you have a spare bedroom or similar that you could 'bunnyproof' so he could have space in there all the time?

 

[w1lll]

I think I've found a pic of the cage you are describing- it's the Ferplast 100 double tier thing isn't it.