# Cage Cams!



## Saudade (May 16, 2009)

Who has them? I posted mine in my introduction but here's the link again. Cam Here
Post some links if you have one set up. 
If people would like I could include a guide on how to set up one and pictures of my set up, I've found mine quite handy, I use it to check if my mother has put lucy out when i've forgotten, to check on her if I'm over at a friends place, or just to show her off to my friends. It's unobtrusive and she barely notices it.

So yeah! If you have a cage cam set up and want to share the link!
Include pictures of your cam and how you set it up if you like.


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## Elf Mommy (May 16, 2009)

She is so adorable!!! I love how often she telescopes and wiggles that curious nose!


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## BSAR (May 16, 2009)

Those are so cool! I want ones for my rabbits! That way I can see how Sippi gets out of his cage!! lol!


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## Saudade (May 16, 2009)

Thank you! She's really inquisitive, I guess because I've never scolded her or tried to hide her from new things.
She'll usually be on cam from 8am GMT till 2pm GMT. Her latest hours will be 4pm GMT and on friday and saturday nights she'll be on from 10pm GMT till 12pm GMT.


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## Saudade (May 16, 2009)

Okay so here's my little mini guide on the physical setting up of the cage cam.

Step 1.
You need to go out and buy a webcam, you don't need anything fancy and I suggest that you don't exceed a budget of $20.
My little cam is one I've had for close on 7 years now, but i could just have easily bought a new one.
Try to get one with a detachable base and a body that looks like it's easy to secure. So something like mine in the picture below is your best bet.







As you can see it's nothing fancy, but it is easily secured to the cage walls.

Step 2.
Find a place in your cage where your bunny can not get at the cam, one of the lessons I have learnt is that if a bunny can get to something in their cage they will investigate it. I'm lucky in the fact that lucy isn't a big chewer and that there are toys spread throughout her cage.
Try to find somewhere up high that will have a good view of the entirety of your cage, so as to give you the best view of your bunnies.
Mine is up in the middle of the cage as seen below.





Step 3.
Secure your cam to the INSIDE of the cage by running the cable through the bars from inside. Secure it using stickytape or rubber bands. I used sticky tape because it was the closest thing on hand and I can undo it and redo it quickly. The more securely you fix the camera on the less likely exploring noses will bump it in the wrong direction.
Make sure you adjust the angle so that you can see the whole cage, i suggest plugging the cam in and making sure the angle is right before you secure it.




As you can see in this picture mine is taped in securely and the cable is away from gnawing teeth.

You now have a functioning rabbit camera, we'll go in to uploading it to a website and live feeds later.

To head off a few questions at the start, here are some basic things you should know.
(Q) What sort of cage is best for this? Is my cage good for this?
(A) Any cage is good for this as long as you have a place to run the cable out from, everything else can be worked out along the way. I found my cage (pictured below) to be the best suited for this, however NIC cages are most probably better.





(Q) My computer is nowhere near my cage! HELP!
(A) You can get extension leads for USB cables, they should be cheap but if you go over a certain distance you need to buy a little device to amplify the signal halfway.

(Q) My rabbit is a big chewer what can I do?
(A) Smearing the side/face of the camera with a foul tasting chemical works great, there are many out there on the market, I used them to stop Lucy from chewing on wood. They are odorless and will not affect your camera.

So have fun setting up your cams, if you have any questions don't be afraid to post them here, when i update this post again I'll put how to stream your cam to a website.

A reminder from Lucy, as you watch her...




She watches you!


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## kirbyultra (May 17, 2009)

Oh! Lucy is ADORABLE! I love that last pic of her. "Ms. Bun is watching you!"

I have a webcam on my rabbits too, but my husband bought me a *ridiculously* expensive webcam that is in a class of "security camera" all its own. It comes with webserver built-in so you don't need to hook it up with a computer. Just plug in the power and the network cable and you're online. From any browser, log into the webcam's webpage with a password and you can get to the streaming video and the control panel.

The camera is so expensive because it can zoom, tilt, pan, take still images, automatically FTP images to some other backup system, etc. I don't use all that fancy security stuff but I just love following Kirby around all day when I am at work. I can zoom in on his private time lol The camera panning and tilting ability is great because now I have a 2nd rabbit in a neighboring pen and I can just move the camera back and forth between the two. It has a built in speaker so I can hear them if I wanted to, but rabbits don't make noises. lol If I hooked it up to a speaker, I could talk to them but I haven't done that yet. Sometimes I think it'd bea good idea. Especially when I see Kirby chewing on some newspaper in his litter box that he knows is a no-no.

I bought a camviewer app for my iphone ($6) and now I can see my buns wherever I go! It's so good because I can't stand being away from them and I can see them at work, on vacation, waiting on line at the supermarket, etc. 

We bunny moms really have an addiction problem :biggrin2:


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## Elf Mommy (May 17, 2009)

wow! what company is it? that sounds amazing!


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## Saudade (May 17, 2009)

you know when you finally get little poe you'll have to set up a cam for us! he's so **** cute from the pics.


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## MyLOVEABLES!! (May 18, 2009)

Can someone explainw hat a cage cam is for??
or how it works?? and how i can watch??


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## Saudade (May 18, 2009)

basically the link at the top of the page is a live camera feed to my rabbit's cage in my room.
I'm putting lucy in there in about 2 minutes after this post. Just click it now and you should see an empty cage.


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## Luv-bunniz (May 18, 2009)

Thanks for the how to!! I am about to go off and try find the software for my webcam, and but it over "Casper's room"!! 
Is ustream free to sign up?


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## Saudade (May 18, 2009)

Yeppers!
Just make sure you post the link in here so we can all watch!


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## Luv-bunniz (May 18, 2009)

Will do...once I actually find the webcam. Argh. You can always find something when you don't want it, but as soon as you need it its like it never existed lol.


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## kirbyultra (May 18, 2009)

*Elf Mommy wrote: *


> wow! what company is it? that sounds amazing!


Is that question for me, Minda?


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## BethM (May 19, 2009)

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> *Elf Mommy wrote: *
> 
> 
> > wow! what company is it? that sounds amazing!
> ...



I'm not sure about Minda, but I really want to know more about your webcam! With Nick being sick now, I am really wishing I had a way to check in on him while I'm at work, or see what he does at night. I now plan on installing a camera of some kind in my new rabbit room after I move.

Your webcam sounds amazing, Helen, and I'd love to have something with similar features.


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## kirbyultra (May 19, 2009)

*BethM wrote: *


> Your webcam sounds amazing, Helen, and I'd love to have something with similar features.


Hi Beth. My webcam is a D-Link DCS 6620. It's a webcam that is meant to be a security/surveillance camera. We got it on super sale like $479 I believe. Retail price is really much higher, and I'd recommend shopping around online. It's a phenomenal camera, worth every penny, so easy to use. It's a hefty price for buns. But it's very important to me to be able to see them during the day. I can't keep sane at work if I don't see them... :expressionless


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## BethM (May 19, 2009)

*kirbyultra wrote: *


> *BethM wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Your webcam sounds amazing, Helen, and I'd love to have something with similar features.
> ...


Thanks, Helen! I don't think I will be able to spend that much on a camera, but I can check out the specs on that one and start shopping around. I would LOVE to be able to keep an eye on the furries when I was at work.
Thanks so much!


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## sharper (May 20, 2009)

were there any links posted of live web stream that we can watch?


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## Luv-bunniz (May 20, 2009)

OK, so, I got the camera set up. Its fine on the software thank gawd, BUT on Ustream I have started broadcasting butI cant see the video, its just blank? but as there is none of the icon things I am wondering if it is because of my computer just not loading it?
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Casper-Cam


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## Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears (May 22, 2009)

*Luv-bunniz wrote: *


> OK, so, I got the camera set up. Its fine on the software thank gawd, BUT on Ustream I have started broadcasting butI cant see the video, its just blank? but as there is none of the icon things I am wondering if it is because of my computer just not loading it?
> http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Casper-Cam


Did you get your cam figured out? Would love to see Casper


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## Spring (May 24, 2009)

She's on!  I always miss the broadcasting! She's so sweet.. looks like she's waiting for someone hehe!

Way too cute!


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## Saudade (May 24, 2009)

Sorry bout the bad camera angle i'll fix it now


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## Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears (May 24, 2009)

I love looking at Lucy. And give Dave a hard time but the camera


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## Saudade (May 24, 2009)

angle fixed come and drop in to the chat along with it.


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## irishbunny (May 24, 2009)

Aw what a cutie! I'd love to do this but my bunnies live in my shed.


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