how to make an indoor set up more appealing u/d 28th

My rabbits have free range when I'm in the house but unfortunately due to Evan being poorly with chest and abdomen issues and being uber destructive he needs to be enclosed whilst at work so I have a double dog crate with an upper level and a run attatched which is an extra 6ft long by 4ft wide the crates are 6ft by 2ft thing is the set up is in my living room and its adequate for the 2 of them when I'm out but its pretty ugly. All wire and bit drab looking any ideas on how to make it more attractive ?

Does they need the dog crate, or could it just be a bigger pen? DO you have any photos of the current setup so we can see how it fits in the space - that might help with ideas!

Here it is its due a clean out but as you can see it just looks a bit if an eyesore

Are they chewers? Just wondered if you are handy with a sewing machine you might be able to make some sort of cover? Or would a that split bamboo stuff on a roll be any good, you could tie wrap it on to the wire, but I don't know if it is bunny safe I'm afraid. I'm not very inventive I'm afraid

Hang colourful bunny toys and baby rattles on the bars. You can use vegetable dye on sisal, then plait and knot it into shapes or thread it through the bars. A brightly coloured blanket over the top and down the backs of the cages will also make it more appealing and will shelter them a bit more so they feel safe :thumb:

I have childrens chairs in my hutch, they're wooden and painted brightly, but plastic ones work just as well and are easier to clean, I think some things to jump on would improve the place

You could put wood bits around the area, and the bamboo stuff is a good idea. If you've an artistic streak you could paint the wood with fancy pictures or grass... Or get bunny stencils instead

Ooo they sound like good ideas I may give the bamboo thing ago they only in it when I'm at work but ts a permanent feature in the livingroom

We don't have the pen anymore (totally free-range), but this used to be our setup:


I would think it's easier to keep a more open space tidy rather than having the dog crate dividing it up?
I also love the bamboo idea, but mine would just eat it!

Are you willing to spend much money on it? If so, something like this might work better: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Dut..._Steamers_Cookers_PP&var=&hash=item4ac6bc8a8d. Because it's one big enclosure, it'll make it look less imposing and a bit more cohesive.

What's the current size of the setup, and what's the smallest/largest you can fit?

Looks to me like it's 8 foot long (2 48inch dog crates) + about 5-6 foot deep? So 245ish cm by 152-182cm? These look fab: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.309266595853006.68615.274922292620770&type=3 - I'd definitely get those for indoors! They can look really cool.

Or otherwise, http://www.welfarehutches.co.uk/product/6ft x 4ft x 3ft high rabbit run should work well - you can get them to make one to your preferred size, you can ask them to put the door at the bottom so you can open it for bunnies, and I believe all the top panels are removable - so you can either choose to not have them on, or you can remove them easily for cleaning/access etc? You can always paint it white or something, so it doesn't look quite so much like a run!

With most of the above, personally I'd get a wooden base just bigger than the cage and lay lino over the top. Helps with cleaning and also makes it look a bit better too

Ooo I quite like the one from manor pet housing although I really just want to make their current set up more attractive
Hmm I've just measured the crate & run combo the crates come in an 7.5ft by 2ft and the run portion is 7.5ft by 3ft

willowflower27 said:

Ooo I quite like the one from manor pet housing although I really just want to make their current set up more attractive
Hmm I've just measured the crate & run combo the crates come in an 7.5ft by 2ft and the run portion is 7.5ft by 3ft

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Ah okay Personally what I'd do would be to make a floor in the shape of the accommodation, and put a border around the bottom. Plywood would work well for the base, and cheap skirting board from travis perkins etc for a border all the way around. That would take quite a bit of work and painting though, but it'd unify it all and help to make it be obvious that it's one enclosure. Even just a large square of plywood covered with lino would help to unify the accommodation I think!

I'd also be tempted to spray paint the silver panels black, but it depends whether your two are likely to chew it.

EDIT: I'd personally leave the newspaper out, as it looks like they love to dig it up :lol: I'd get a piece of lino to fit each dog crate, then use lino/blankets/a large rug to line the carpet for the puppy pen area.

I used to try and keep the food/water to the dog crates when I had an indoor setup. It was easier to keep the hay contained that way - I found once I started giving them hay in the puppy pen I'd find it in the cupboards and stuff :lol: So in your case I'd put lino in both crates then their litter trays and water, then use the outdoor area for play tunnels, a box to play with, etc You can get nice big rugs off eBay fairly cheap, and that's also good because it doesn't matter if it gets grubby - sod paying £150 for a rug just for the rabbits to muck up!

I'd personally use two or more of these in the puppy pen area too, to help contain the hay http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...r-own-lidded-litter-tray-outdoors-litter-tray - although I'm sure you could go for a bigger box in your setup since there's loads of space

Thank you for all the suggestions I'm still working on it but its already looking miles better I hope you agree

willowflower27 said:

Thank you for all the suggestions I'm still working on it but its already looking miles better I hope you agree

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Ooh yeah, looks great

I'm lucky that my two are outside now... doesn't matter if they make a mess, I can't see it :lol:

My two were originally meant to be going back outside as I have an 8ftx6ft shed with a 10ft run but they hate it Dana in particular is very much a house bun then Evan got poorly so inside it is I wouldn't mind if I could let them 100% free range but Evan is a disaster he always finds something to destroy so needs enclosed whilst I'm at work

You could attach a little wood plaque on the outside pen and paint your bunnies names on.
I find it just makes the whole thing look brighter!
Also maybe some colourful plastic mats? don't know how to describe them they're kind of table mats?
But I think your bunnies make everything look appealing anyway x

ps where did you get the outside pen thing?

Thanks for the suggestion I was thinking to build an outdoor shelter house for my pet, your suggestions are really great for me. I want a house for them which is very comfortable and also it's natural for them like their wildlife will never be disturbed by this.

The pen was a eBay find cosy about £ 15 all together including p&p

Here is a pic of my indoor set-up to show you what i did to brighten things up and make a dog crate fit a bit better into the home.

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I think your bunnies are lucky though and have a very spacious set-up

Ok here's how it looks now I've not done much more to the pen itself except add more boxes toys etc but on the outside and thanks somewhat to eBay I've added some ornaments etc