# A rabbit home DIY!



## Isadore (Oct 21, 2011)

So, I'm getting sick of looking at Piper's boring cage. She's a simplistic rabbit, she doesn't like her space crowded, she's perfectly happy with her litter box, her food and water bowl, and her blanket. But I'm not. Because she was an unexpected addition to the family, I had to make do with a dog crate my neighbor had lying around. She loves it, but I feel like I want to add more to it. So, I have the bright idea to add a second floor onto it, complete with a ramp, so that she can have more room without me having to spend hundreds of dollars on a bunny condo 

Here's what I'm working with:





(I told you she's simplistic! She doesn't even use her blanket half of the time...)

The only problem is, I'm not really sure how to go about it, and I'd like some ideas from you guys. If you notice, there are 4 horizontal bars going across the cage. Should I set the platform on the second or third up? How much of the cage should it cover? I don't want the ramp to be too steep, but I want her to have some room to binky around  What material should I use? I was thinking wood, so she could gnaw on it... what kind of wood is safe to use? Any other suggestions you have on how to improve her space would be greatly appreciated as well... and if you have pictures, show me your multi-level bunny palaces!


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## Nancy McClelland (Oct 21, 2011)

I'd go second from the bottom so the next level will have more head room and need a shorter ramp.


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## Watermelons (Oct 21, 2011)

Id put it on the 3rd from the bottom (so theres 1 empty horozontal bar above the shelf) so shes still got room to stand up underneath it.
Maybe 20" wide?
Wheres her hay go? You could fit a nice hay rack in there.
IMHO I would ditch the plastic dish. Too easy for them to toss around, and any scratches that form in the bottom of the bowl are a breeding ground for bacteria and plastic, even in the dishwasher doesnt come perfectly clean so bacteria sits in there and when they get the last out of their bowl their rubbing thise nose against the bottom, this can lead to skin problems around the face, respiratory issues, etc (alot more common in cats and dogs with fattyer foods but still a possibility in bunnys)
Go ceramic (or metal but metal is still light enough to toss around) but be sure to toss the ceramic bowls the moment you see the glaze start to crack. And find a good non-leaky water bottle and teach her to use that  But a water bowl is just as fine too.

You could add some hanging toys once the level is installed.


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## Acacia-Berry (Oct 22, 2011)

I'm not sure if NIC cubes would fit in there for the level, but if they do you can just fasten them with cable ties. I scrapped my dog crate altogether and made a whole NIC pen when Acacia was just under a year. Ever since then I am a firm lover of NIC for their durability and endless possibilities. 
A rattle or something you can adhere to the bars might spike her interest in toys. My old mini-rex Akina was never a big toy player for her 5 yrs. I always kept rattles and cardboard in with her though. She liked rolling up in blankets (think Garfield) so she always had some to choose from. 
Bunnies get bored, even if they just lay around and act like they don't care.


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## Isadore (Oct 22, 2011)

thanks for the suggestions so far guys! i think i will go third from the bottom, before she started neglecting boxes, she enjoyed the height of the boxes i gave her. plus for the hanging toys that would be the perfect height. watermelons, she doesn't have a hay rack yet, she is still very young and i am just now starting to wean her off of pellets  but the hay rack is a very good idea! i also agree i need to get rid of the plastic dish, she pushes it around when it's empty and it's annoying... haha  as i said before, she was kind of dumped on me unexpectedly and she had nothing with her... so i had to make do with one of my kitten dishes i hadn't used in a while. no scratches on the bottom yet though, she doesn't really scratch the bottom of the bowl, so i think the plastic bowl will be fine for now until i can go on my bunny shopping spree  it's a work in progress, i can't wait to show off her new enclosure once i get it all set up!


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## Watermelons (Oct 22, 2011)

*Isadore wrote: *


> watermelons, she doesn't have a hay rack yet, she is still very young and i am just now starting to wean her off of pellets  but the hay rack is a very good idea!


What do you mean wean her off pellets?
She should be on pellets for life. Alfalfa hay and Alfalfa based pellets until shes 6 months old, then slowly switched over (1 month ish) onto Timothy based pellets and Timothy or any other kind of hay OTHER then alfalfa. Once she is 6 months then you will measure the ammount of pellets she gets per day (less then 6 is free fed) and she will always get unlimited access to hay.

As per dishes scratching, it happens over time, she hasnt been using it nearly long enough for something like that to happen.

IMO I love the dog cage better then my NIC pannels, my NIC cage makes me want to toss it out the window.


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## OneTwoThree (Oct 23, 2011)

Ditto watermelon, bunnies NEED hay, unlimited hay, for life. I put mine in the literboxes, and in a basket in Samsons pen because he's litertrained enough. Any dish is fine, I don't even use a dish I scatter pellets or put them in a Slimcats treat dispenser so she can "forage" for her food. 
Buns up to 6 months get unlimited pellets, and then after than it's 1/2 cup per 6lbs. Timothy or Orchard grass hay are great, there are others too, just no alfalfa after 6 months.
You can (and IMO should) also feed a daily salad, here's a good list of safe veggies, https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Diet/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx. I started with romaine at 5 months, then added more variety slowly.


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## Isadore (Oct 23, 2011)

well i meant more like weaning her off of a pellet-only diet. i'm trying to incorporate more variety right now, adding some timothy, carrots, lettuce, etc to her dish. right now she's not too big on the timothy, haha.


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## OneTwoThree (Oct 23, 2011)

I don't know how old she is, but I *really* recommend you read this-http://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/Diet/tabid/60/Default.aspx and then this
http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#babies if she's under a year.


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## Alek (Oct 24, 2011)

I have a dog kennel like that for my rabbit as well- although my angora has gotten quite large for it. I'm going to attach the kennel opening to my new NIC cage I'm building to provide more room. Although it will be sort of mismatched.
You could do the same if you wanted some more room for your bun to run. I attatch the opening of the kennel to the side of the NIC cage with removable metal ties.
As far as the concern of bacteria growth in the kennel. Sanitize with a mixture of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water and wipe down kennel. Set in direct sunlight for 1hr then rinse and air dry. My kennel manager does this for all my dog pens as sunlight and the correct mix of bleach is excellent for ridding bacteria- even from small crevices, better then scrubbing.
Switch your bun to metal dishes instead as plastic fosters bacteria growth, many animals has a sensitivity to plastic and it can cause acne on the animals chin.
For hay you can just use a box with some holes cut and fill it with hay. My rabbit likes working to get the hay out. I usually prefer to use a timothy vitamin pellet instead that can replace hay since my mother has an allergy to grasses.


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## MikeScone (Oct 24, 2011)

Personally, I'm a little skeptical about the strength of NIC panels when used horizontally. I'd go for a wood floor for the second level, with an old terrycloth towel or a piece of fleece stapled over it for comfort, as I did for Scone/Natasha. You'd be working with an existing tall cage, so you wouldn't need to add the shelving as I did, but you can see the general construction here:






If you have access to a table saw, it would be easy to make the floor about an inch wider than the cage, then cut 1/2" deep notches for each vertical bar on each side. That would lock the floor in place nicely. Alternatively, you could mount a piece of angle iron or a couple of L-brackets to the side of the cage and support the shelf on that, as I did on the "L" shelf edge.


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## funnybunnymummy (Oct 24, 2011)

You've obviously never tried NIC panels for shelving, Mike. 

If you put two NIC panels horizontal, then attach one vertical to the top, it is very sturdy.

Like this:






Just use enough zip-ties and make sure they're cinched tight and the shelf should be rock solid. Use either plywood covered with sticky tiles or wallboard designed for bathrooms on top. Plus fleece blankies for traction.

Hope that helps!

Rue


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## MikeScone (Oct 25, 2011)

*funnybunnymummy wrote: *


> You've obviously never tried NIC panels for shelving, Mike.
> 
> Just use enough zip-ties and make sure they're cinched tight and the shelf should be rock solid. Use either plywood covered with sticky tiles or wallboard designed for bathrooms on top. Plus fleece blankies for traction.


Well, then, that's a wooden shelf covered with fleece, just as I said. You're just using NIC panels as hangers and support brackets.


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## Watermelons (Oct 25, 2011)

I agree with you mike. 
HOWEVER
I am currently using just NIC pannels as a shelf for the demons, 4 pannels (square) nothing else supporting them other then the sides of the cage. I am using the connectors to hold them together with some wire as a "Just incase", there a little give and bounce to the middle of the level but I think they like it. 

However in the case of the OP
Wood shelf all the way 
I will take some pics of our cats outdoor kennel, its got some home made brackets for the shelf in there that would work prefectly for a bunny shelf.


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## funnybunnymummy (Oct 25, 2011)

Haha! True enough. Though the shelf doesn't add any strength, just makes a solid surface so the bunny doesn't put its foot through the holes in the NIC panels. Some people use cardboard or mats or towels, but I don't like to risk bunnies catching their legs and injuring themselves.

Either way, I think we're both suggesting a similar solution. 

Rue


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## Acacia-Berry (Oct 25, 2011)

You should always feed real hay bc they need to trim their teeth. When I got my mini-rex she had come from a no-hay house and developed life long issues with her molars. She developed retrobulbar as a result, had a tooth extracted and lived with recurring abscesses. . . 
The blocks and supplements in my opinion are not a good alternative to the chewing of hay.. 

I apologize if I read that wrong since you mentioned they like to pick out hay from boxes :/

(*PS- I'm not used to how "multi-quoting" works here but my response was directed at someone on page 1 who uses timothy supplement blocks bc her mom is allergic*)


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