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Cheap/DIY rabbit tunnel

isabelle18

New Kit
Hello :wave:
I've been reading up about rabbit runaround tunnels and I'd love to give my bunnies (which I don't yet have as I'm waiting on an RSPCA home visit) to have the opportunity of a run around as I think they concept is going to mirror their natural environment really well. They will have free rein of the garden when supervised as it's bunny proof and I do have a 6ft run I intend to keep them in most daytime so they're not massively in need of the additional space. But I still love the idea of of the runaround tunnel because it's stimulating for them too.

I do adore the ones they sell from this site- https://www.runaround.co.uk/ but for the size I'm hoping for it's going to be £85 purely for the piping, without postage, as I'm currently between jobs I can't really justify the cost. I do have DIY tools and some skills so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas to reduce the cost. I've looked at an old thread on here and they said about a duct hose and had a link to a seller but after trolling 2000 products they aren't selling them anymore. I don't know if it was just a usual duct piping or if it was thicker than the common ones used for tumble dryers.

I'll continue to research it further, any ideas in the mean time will be very appreciated.

If it's not possible I'll just have to save up or wait till my birthday in November hahah.
Thank youuu :love: :D
 
You can usually get offcuts of land drain pipes on ebay or local contractors, which are what Runaround pipes were based on. They come in different diameters (so check what size you need for your rabbits) and either smooth inside (double walled, unperforated) or perforated (ridged inside)

I also found these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Plastic-...hash=item416606d468:m:mWT4P5Yg0yKGebuYbvAbegA
https://www.draindepot.co.uk/225mm-i-d-x-3m-un-perforated-twinwall-pipe.html
https://www.draindepot.co.uk/300mm-i-d-x-3m-fully-perforated-twinwall-pipe.html
 
I have used ‘flexible, perforated, land drainage pipe’ that I got from a local builders yard. I got an off cut for £5 - which is exactly the same as the one that runaround uses. My rabbits love it!
 
Woooww no way!
I'm a 100% gunna have an ask around then,
What size did you manage to get cause I'm finding 8" ones really hard to come across.
 
Thank you for these links they're really helpful. I looked so much but just came across really badly put together websites that I didn't really trust with my card details.
My rabbits are currently babies so I'm thinking going bigger to stop myself from having to rebuy in a year.
 
I DIY'd a rabbit tunnel with land drain pipes a month ago for when we're at the holiday house with the bunnies, they love it! Just make sure that they're perforated regularily and that they aren't exposed directly to the sun. And avoid metal as much as you can since these can have sharp edges, rust and get really hot. Speaking of sun exposure and high temperatures, I had trouble finding a good place to put the tunnel, so I finally dug a trench, put the pipe in it and covered said pipe with dirt, now they've got a 9ft long "thermally insulated" tunnel in their outside pen!
 
Wow that sounds really good, do you have a picture? We're moving the run soon to another part of the garden which currently needs filling in and I think an underground tunnel sounds really fun for them

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
 
It is probably OK for guinea pigs (mine use some old downpipe, which is very similar), but you need a bigger diameter for rabbits (at least 6" for the very small breeds). Land drain pipes come in bigger sizes, and you can often get an offcut (try ebay, or a builders merchant, or a building site).

The pipe you listed is also very smooth on the inside, so it would depend on the length of pipe and any gradient it was on as to whether a rabbit could happily hop through it.
 
It is probably OK for guinea pigs (mine use some old downpipe, which is very similar), but you need a bigger diameter for rabbits (at least 6" for the very small breeds). Land drain pipes come in bigger sizes, and you can often get an offcut (try ebay, or a builders merchant, or a building site).

The pipe you listed is also very smooth on the inside, so it would depend on the length of pipe and any gradient it was on as to whether a rabbit could happily hop through it.

Oops! Yeah sorry I was supposed to have shown the 6" pipe, must have clicked the 4" pipe by accident. Seems like the largest land drainage pipe is also 6"

However to do have this twinwall pipe https://www.easymerchant.co.uk/twinwall-drainage-pipe/perforated-pipe-x6m/ this one is perforated too. I think I'll go and pop in there and see if they have any off cuts as you suggested. Or atleast so I can see the size.

Thanks!
 
Hi AT uUild, I've used offcuts cadged from roadworks sites for mine: both as 'play' tunnels and for connecting areas. I've both twin-walled and single, and mine are fine with all. The 6" ones are different sizes, you can fit some inside the other, but both my buns (2.5kg each) are fine with them. I don't have perforated ones. Here's some of them:

11143511_10101897520886728_4138833607129386864_o.jpg
 
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