# will a cage like this be ok?



## evansrabbitranch (Feb 8, 2011)

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Level-Rabbit-Guinea-Pig-Cage-/150559508692?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230e0bc8d4

I'm talking to the seller about a cage like this only it will have 3 stories instead of just two. It will have a purple flooring :biggrin:. I think the color will contrast with Chinny's silvery chinchilla color nicely. Will cost $150 for a 3 story cage like this. I'm just wondering what to use to cover the floor, I worry that as is it will be too slick. She loves to run around in and out of her cage so I do not want her to hurt herself sliding around.

I am also looking into all kinds of toys and chews and stuff for her. Recommendations are heartily welcomed. It has been a long time since I had a rabbit that was completely mine and a pet. I was taking in rabbits in need and finding them homes, then spent some time trying to breed. Neither really worked out for me. So now I am adjusting to having a full time pet rabbit. I think this forum will help alot. Thanks all!


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## Ponyta (Feb 8, 2011)

That cage would be perfect, and plenty of room for one. In fact, you could bond your baby and still have plenty. I didn't know anyone sold these... Hm. You could make one for half the cost, but I don't think you would get the awesome colored corrugated plastic. 

I want that floor. If my Lily didn't eat everything I would pay extra for a yellow one, and stick pink daisies on the outside.


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 8, 2011)

Thanks  Actually I priced driving around from where I live to get the parts and with gas as high as it is now it would end up costing the same or more for me to make myself so it's a good deal for someone like me who lives in the boonies. Glad it is a good cage. My little girl is currently 3 months old and about 2 lbs. Her parents weighed 7 and 6 lbs, mom full grown dad still growing. Dad was a Flemish cross so she may end up good sized. Thus my looking at 3 levels for her, not to mention how active she is. I can not wait to get her cage and deck it our with toys and stuff. I just hope I do not get toys that could hurt her or something. I will ask on here before I buy anything I am unsure of.


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## maxysmummy (Feb 9, 2011)

to be honest you could ake your own for WAY cheaper.

in my mind it looks a little small... doesnt look wide enough and doesnt have enough headroom (remember your bunny needs to be able to do 3 consecutive hops and stand up and periscope!


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## maxysmummy (Feb 9, 2011)

edit: the reason i said you could make your own for much cheaper is this seller has just used NIC cubes. look around the housing section for NIC tutorials and pplaces to buy NIC cubes. (often called wire storage cubes and available at kmart and target etc)


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## funnybunnymummy (Feb 9, 2011)

Yep, I gotta agree with Holly. That cage looks pretty slick, but the price tag is a bit much. I built Gus a NIC cage for about $75 including the flooring. They're really not difficult to build. (My kids helped me!)

Here's a really great step-by-step video tutorial:

http://www.rabbitcondo.com/videos

Hope that helps!

Rue


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## maxysmummy (Feb 9, 2011)

funnybunnymummy wrote:


> Yep, I gotta agree with Holly. That cage looks pretty slick, but the price tag is a bit much. I built Gus a NIC cage for about $75 including the flooring. They're really not difficult to build. (My kids helped me!)
> 
> Here's a really great step-by-step video tutorial:
> 
> ...



ya, i have one four or five times the size of that and paid around $100...


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## maxysmummy (Feb 9, 2011)

also in my opinion the best rabbit toys are carboard boxes and tubes that you can get for free.

old books and phone books are also fun for the rabbits. 

if you wanna buy stuff,

hard plastic cat balls with bells in them (cost like 75c from our pet shop) and tiny wooden chew sticks for $2 are also good.

i've bought wooden blocks used for bird toys (off ebay) and have them hanging from the roof using a bit of shoe lace/ strewn around the floor

untreated wicker baskets/flax mats are also good for chewing on


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## funnybunnymummy (Feb 9, 2011)

Grapevine wreaths and willow balls (also untreated) are good too.

Gus's favourite toys:

His cardboard box "house" they boys made for him. He's actually in need of a new one as one wall is only about 3/4 the original height and it has a habit of falling over on him.

My slippers. I dunno what it is with my slippers, but he digs them, chews them, and picks them up and tosses them. He also has a thing for socks. Crazy rabbit! 

His food dishes. He likes to pick them up and toss them onto the floor of his cage where they make a loud "bang" when he wants attention or food. Usually food.

His "tinkle ball" cat toy. He nudges it around with his nose and sometimes picks it up and chucks it. He seems to like chucking it right out of his cage and onto the bathroom floor when the door to his cage is open.

The plastic lid from a bottle of fabric softener. He likes to chuck that one too.

Newspapers, flyers and junk mail. He'll shred these for HOURS! He can make a real mess, but it makes him happy.

The most expensive of these toys: His .50 cent tinkle ball.

Hope that helps!

Rue


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 9, 2011)

Ok so this cage sucks, lol.

Can I build my own with wood and wire? What would I use for the floors? Stick on linolium or something? There are no places that sell NIC cubes anywhere near me that I could make an NIC cage cheaper than this. Unless you know a site I can order them with FREE shipping? Exactly how big do I need to go? I have limited space and this cage WAS perfect until I showed it here and asked.

Starting to think she should just stay in what she is in now.


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 9, 2011)

Went and did some research this is what I came up with:

1 box = 16 cubes

3 high, 3 wide = 9 each side = 36 just for sides

9 for floor, 9 for roof, 8 for mid level = 26 to finish

Total of 62 pannels 

16 in a box so would need 3 boxes to build with left overs.

3 boxes would cost = $83.97 (27.99 each box) plus tax, plus either shipping 
or gas to pickup, plus something to be the flooring inside the cage, 
plus cable ties to hold it together. Would cost AT LEAST $110 for a 
two story cage. I want a 3 story cage. Any ideas?



Using 3 pannels up and down for the wall I can attatch the mid level in the middle of the middle pannels will make the levels taller than the one on ebay. She would then be able to stand up without holding her ears down probably her whole life. Would have to almost double this to get the cage I want for her. I will talk with my husband and see what he thinks. Its not just up to me.


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## Mrs. PBJ (Feb 9, 2011)

If your comfortable with that cage I would go ahead and buy it. For a 7 pound bunny it may be a little small but with three stories and plenty of run room like time out of cage. It could be fine. 

I wanted to add no one was trying to say that cage is horrible they where trying to save you money. But if it saves you money to buy it I would. Also remember you can cage that cage once you buy it if you would like. Although it designed in that shape if you see another shape you like you can easily change it.

I would personally go four by two it you can. There will be enough tiles. It would measure four panels by two panel and two panels high. The cage you want to buy would have enough tiles. 

I hope you understand what I am saying. Enough though the layout it 3 x 3 x 2 you can change it after you get it. 

The cage will come apart and you have to put it together anyway.

Hope that helps
Kat


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## naturestee (Feb 9, 2011)

You can make that exact same cage for yourself for MUCH less. You might be able to buy the coroplast from a local sign company. The grids are found at Target, Shopko, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, and a bunch of other places and there are instructions in the Library here and all over the web. It's pretty easy. I made one similar cage and several pens out of these grids.

If you do make this cage, I would make the 2nd floor smaller. You want more space where the rabbit will be able to stand up all the way, which is more than one grid height even for small rabbits.


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 9, 2011)

Oh yeah that makes sense  I could start with it as is and modify it later right? Oh that takes a load off for me really it does. The hardest part for me would be finding the flooring. If I get the 3 level from them I can get a box or two of cubes later and modify it to be taller on each level. Whew! I really like this cage too!


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## naturestee (Feb 9, 2011)

Yes, being able to modify it later makes it very convenient. The cage I made eventually got ripped in half and made into part of a pen instead.

You can call around to sign shops for coroplast (or see if you can get those big political signs after the spring elections), or check out different instructions (often called NIC cages or cube cages) for different types of flooring that are used.


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 9, 2011)

Nearest sign shop that carries Cloroplast and will sell it plain is further from me than my "local" target so getting this cage to use as a start and a way to easily get the floor works out great for me. Soon as I can get to Target I can pickup more pannels to make the sections taller for her. Thank you though!


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## funnybunnymummy (Feb 9, 2011)

Definitely was not trying to say that cage was no good. Just that most people can build their own for cheaper. However, if that's not the case for you, then go ahead and buy it!

I do agree with naturestee, though, to make the top floor smaller. Bunnies need enough head space to stand on their hind legs. As it is currently configured, this cage doesn't allow enough space for that.

Also, wait for the NIC panels to go on sale. $27.99 for 16 panels is a bit steep. I think I paid 19.99 for the same number on sale.

Hope that helps!

Rue


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 9, 2011)

Thanks for the tip, 27.99 was the cheapest I could find, others were 34.99 and up  When I get the cage I will see if moving a couple pannels from being floor pieces to support pieces will give her more stand up room. I'll play with the design


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## maxysmummy (Feb 9, 2011)

evansrabbitranch wrote:


> Went and did some research this is what I came up with:
> 
> 1 box = 16 cubes
> 
> ...



Hun you can buy nice cubes much cheaper than that. Someone posted a link recently where an online store was selling them at around 80c per panel... So a box of 16 wouldn't be more than $16 (plus shipping) just search through the threads xx


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 9, 2011)

I've been searching and searching and I can not find the link for the cheap online pannels  If someone can help me out I would be so happy! I will keep looking though.


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## Ronin Shinobi (Feb 9, 2011)

Have something like this for Thor. Its pretty roomy. he can actually stand on his hind legs inside it.

http://www.bunnyrabbit.com/equipmentpix/60279WelcomeHomeHutch42in.jpg


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 9, 2011)

Its cute but its too small. The size I expect her to get, once I have the necessary equipment in there she would not be able to lay down in there. She is a very active bun and can not have free reign. I would love it, but we can't as we rent. Honestly we are lucky we are allowed to have her at all. The landlords considered not allowing ANY pets when they bought the place from the old landlords but so many already had pets it did not seem to make sense so they charge pet rent instead. Luckily caged critters don't get charged for just ones that roam the house like our cat. So I have to have a cage for her and it needs to not be teeny. She's 2 lbs now, but is part Flemish Giant so who knows how big she will get.


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## Ronin Shinobi (Feb 9, 2011)

If it 's a Flemish Giant cage would be very small for him. Thor is a Dutch so its perfect. For a Flemish Giant,think rabbit condo on video is best.


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 10, 2011)

Well, she is a hodge podge of breeds. Her dad was a Flemish giant/New Zealand/Californian cross. Mom a New Zeland/Dutch cross. So I have no idea what to expect from her size wise. Her back feet are the widest I have seen on this young of a rabbit, but her ears are more like a dutch's I think. I really have no idea how big she will get.


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## maxysmummy (Feb 10, 2011)

evansrabbitranch wrote:


> Well, she is a hodge podge of breeds. Her dad was a Flemish giant/New Zealand/Californian cross. Mom a New Zeland/Dutch cross. So I have no idea what to expect from her size wise. Her back feet are the widest I have seen on this young of a rabbit, but her ears are more like a dutch's I think. I really have no idea how big she will get.



oh lawd shes going to be huge. i seriously reccomend making a huge bunny condo (even if it means paying a bit more) rather than buying a too small hutch and having to throw it away


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 10, 2011)

I'm finding components towards a cage all over the net and will buy and piece together here at home lol. I will pay the shipping and try for free or reduced where ever possible lol. Much better than driving all over to get stuff. Thank you for all the help! Once I get stuff together for building the cages I will probably ask for advice. And yes I said cages, I found out someone lost their power in the snow storms and is desperately seeking a place for their French Angora to go. I pick it up in the AM. Not sure if it is permanent yet, will know tomorrow.


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## JadeIcing (Feb 10, 2011)

What about just a pen? Would that work?


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 10, 2011)

I am actually considering it, I would just need to get one of those plastic carpet pads folks use for computer chairs on carpet, because our whole place is carpeted and Chinny has shown a liking for peeing on carpet if I don't watch her. Now I have a French Angora to care for too! He was in need of a home due to weather issues and he is here now adjusting to being warm again. I have him in a room with a window to keep him from getting too hot. I plan to clip down his belly wool to help keep him clean easier, will trim his nails and treat for ear mites to be safe as they had had issues before. Other than that he looks good, no snot, no sneezing, just needs a good brushing. Will get pics soon.


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## Ronin Shinobi (Feb 10, 2011)

Heard people using kiddie pools also. You could go that route also. The use something basic to fence him in.


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 10, 2011)

Just found out my local feed shop offers cage wire for a really good price by the foot. I also found corregated (sp?) plastic sheets locally, I'm told its not quite the same as coroplast. These with some Jclips or cable ties should give me a good start on a couple of nice cages for my pair. If I get my money tomorrow I will have stuff to make a couple of cages by nightfall.


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## missyscove (Feb 10, 2011)

Sounds good to me. Just make sure your second level is well supported if you use one. (I use wood dowels in my cage). For my flooring I use sheets of wallboard I got at home depot. They came in 5' by 8' sheets I think and are made to cover walls in a bathroom. They're a little textured, but also plastic so it's easy to wipe up.


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 10, 2011)

I was actually thinkin of using dowels  I will get pics up when I have something ready  Thanks everyone!


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## Nela (Feb 11, 2011)

With a pen, or even a cage, you'll want to keep an eye out for possible spraying, especially if they aren't sterilized. You could always tarp up the sides from the exterior if necessary. Might not be too too pretty but it'll keep carpet and furniture safer. 

When I rehomed Smores with my sister-in-law, I had her do it because he wasn't yet neutered and he was right beside her couch.She's taken it down since his neuter.

When I built my cages, I also put in a border using that basic rubber band that people use as baseboards... I don't know if I am making sense... Ah this:

http://pro-fix.net/photogallery/PICT0018.JPG

It's easy to attach with cable ties and kept a lot of the poop and pee from flying out. The only thing is you need to be careful with them chewing it so I applied it on the exterior and if using wire, just check that they can't chew it from the inside as well. 

Just a few suggestions in case it can help anything. Best of luck with your cage! :biggrin:


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## evansrabbitranch (Feb 13, 2011)

I spent the last day going to about 8 different stores and got so mad at how things went I ended up just getting 2 x-pens and 2 carpet guard mats, the mats are those plastic ones people usually put under their computer chair to protect the carpet from indents and to make it easier to move the chair around. I got 4 large litter pans that take up half the space, will shrink down the litter pans as they do better with them. I got dishes that attach to the bars of the pens so they can not be thrown, and each rabbit a rope toy to toss around. I duct taped the mat to the floor then the pen to the mat so its stable. I setup Chinny first since she was here first. I have to do some furniture moving before I can set up Blue Dragon's pen. Yeah that is the FA's name, Blue Dragon. The people I got him from swore he is a blue point but I am now being told by some good rabbit folks that he is smoke pearl. Eh, he's cute and as a bonus I get some wool to play with! Will get pics soon!


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