How To Set Up A Bunny Cage

Rabbits tin brand great pets. Earlier you bring your new rabbit home, you will need to set up a cozy domicile for it that will work well for a rabbit's unique needs. Learn how to set upwardly a comfortable, rubber dwelling house for your rabbit, with enough of room for it to stretch out, play, and huddle down for the nighttime.

1. 1

   Choose a cage or a hutch. Cages are better suited to temporary adaptation because they don't requite the rabbit the opportunity to hide. A rabbit that is constantly exposed to view on all sides will quickly feel stressed. Of course, it does aid to put a hide or box into the cage so bunny can have some privacy.

   • Yet, although a hutch may be amend, they are heavy and cumbersome and not well suited to indoors.
   • Traditional hutches are made from wood, with chicken wire mesh over the door and so the rabbit can see out. Wood remains an excellent choice because it has good thermal properties, keeping the wind, pelting, and chill out in the wintertime, just also providing shade in the summer.
   • A wire cage is fine for temporary accommodation, such as when bunny spends fourth dimension in the family room, but you don't trust the rabbit not to chew electric wires. When using a wire cage, make sure the rabbit has a hide or a box, where they tin become to experience safe when they demand to slumber.

2. 2

   Pick out a cage that is the right size for your rabbit. Rabbits vary widely in size from the tiny mini-lop that weighs just 1.iii kg (ii - 3 lb), to the huge Flemish giant which at up to x kg (22 lb). The floor expanse and elevation of the muzzle is going to vary depending on the breed of rabbit your select. When buying the muzzle, ever consider the adult weight and size of the rabbit.^[1]

   • As a dominion of thumb, the cage needs to exist tall plenty for the rabbit to sit upright on their back legs. The length should be greater than three bunny (adult) bunny hops, and the width two (adult) bunny hops.
   • Rabbits live in burrows and only experience truly prophylactic and let themselves rest, if they are enclosed, and preferably in the dark. Thus, information technology helps if your muzzle has two rooms to it, one of which offers complete privacy.^[2]
   • For two pocket-size rabbits the minimum recommended size is 150cm long by threescore cm wide, and 60 cm tall. If the rabbits are larger, this rises to at least 185 cm long by 90cm wide, by xc cm tall. Of course, always base of operations your calculations on the largest, rather than the smallest, rabbit.^{[iii] [4]}
   • If you are bringing home a infant bunny, take into account that it will grow over the next few months, and then choose a cage that can accommodate its adult size.
   • Many "rabbit cages" sold in pet stores are really much too small. If the pet store doesn't accept a proficient choice, bank check online or get creative and make your own.

3. 3

   Brand sure your muzzle has a solid flooring. Many rabbits suffer from a condition chosen pododermatitis, which is where they develop pressure sores on the back of the hind legs from sitting on hard floors or wet bedding. The wire mesh of a cage is totally unsuitable flooring and very uncomfortable for the rabbit.^[5]

   • If your cage has a wire bottom, you will need to cover this with something, such as a piece of plywood, and then cover that with bedding.^[6]
   • Pododermatitis affects the skin overlying the os of the hock, where information technology'due south in contact with the footing.

4. 4

   Choose a muzzle with sides made of wire. A cage with wire sides and meridian requite your rabbit enough of airflow and it'll exist quite easy to clean. Nonetheless, make sure the floor is not but fabricated of wire. Your rabbit should non exist forced to sit down or stand up on wire meshing for long periods of time.

   • Consider an open-pinnacle cage, similar a puppy pen. This will give the rabbit more freedom to motion effectually and will feel less confining.^[seven] Just make sure it is at least 35 inches (88.9 cm) high, so the rabbit cannot jump out.
   • If yous want to create an outdoor hutch for your rabbit, the specifications are different. See How to Build a Rabbit Hutch for more data.

5. five

   Make sure the bottom of the cage has a urine baby-sit. The bottom of the cage, the tray, should take high, solid sides. This is because rabbits tend to spray when they urinate.

   • This is also useful to stop the rabbit spreading straw all over the floor.
   • If your cage does not take a guard, and yous decide to improvise and brand your own, use materials such as cardboard, which won't hurt the rabbit if they chew on them. You will need to replace it oft but it will not make your rabbit sick.

6. 6

   Option out a rabbit litter box. Purchasing a litter box and training your rabbit to utilise information technology is very important if you are having your rabbit live indoors. A triangular litter box to place in the corner of the cage or pen is very convenient.

   • Your rabbit may non employ the litter box right away, then exist patient. You will demand to litter box train them. Eventually, it will larn to go there every time.

7. vii

   Purchase nutrient bowls and a water supply for the cage. Employ heavy flat-bottomed bowls for food that are difficult to tip over. Provide a hay rack but sit it equally low to the footing as possible, every bit rabbits practice not similar stretching their heads up.^[8]

1. 1

   Set up the cage in a well-ventilated surface area that doesn't go also hot or too cold. Don't use a dusty or dirty room such as an attic or basement, because dust aggravates the rabbit'due south delicate lungs.

   • The rabbit also needs natural light. Make sure the sunday does not pound them but get some diffused sunlight.
   • Exist enlightened that rabbits don't like loud noises or sudden movement, so setting the cage next to a tumbler dryer could crusade the rabbit unnecessary stress.
   • A spare bedroom would exist a good choice, as long equally you make sure to interact the rabbit on a regular footing.

2. ii

   Make sure the rabbit volition exist rubber from predators. As well, take care that other household pets, such as cats and dogs, cannot worry the rabbit. Rabbits are a prey species and find the close presence of carnivores very unsettling!

   • If y'all take dogs, try to heighten the cage off the floor. The rabbits volition feel very intimidated past a canis familiaris sniffing round them on flooring level.

3. 3

   Choose a room where your rabbit can roam effectually. Rabbits should not stay bars in their cages all the time. You will need to let your rabbit out to get some practice. It is easiest to put the cage in a room where you volition not mind having your rabbit hop effectually and explore.

   • Brand certain the room is free of wires, abrupt edges, small-scale toys, and other objects that could harm your rabbit.

1. ane

   Line the cage with bedding. A rabbit needs a thick cushion of bedding to protect their legs from sores. The bigger the rabbit, the deeper the bedding.

   • Materials unremarkably used for bedding include harbinger, sawdust or hay. Of these, harbinger is all-time considering it is springy and soft, plus in winter it holds oestrus. Straw is as well safe if the rabbit chews it.
   • For a regular sized bunny provide at to the lowest degree v - 6 inches of bedding, more for bigger animals.
   • Although your rabbit may be house-trained, it's not appropriate to line the muzzle with carpeting, as this could cause a bowel obstruction if chewed.
   • Spot clean the bedding every day, past scooping out areas soiled with urine or pellets, then replacing with clean harbinger. Ideally, clean the cage out completely in one case a week.
   • Rabbits will chew a coating or bed, and so information technology's ameliorate to provide an specially deep and snuggly pile of harbinger inside a box or hide.

2. 2

   Fill the litter box with a layer of newspaper, nontoxic litter, and a top layer of hay. Alter out the hay daily, and alter the rest of the litter box weekly.

   • Do not use cat litter, especially clumping litter, as information technology can be fatal to rabbits.

3. 3

   Provide food for your rabbit. Grass is the platonic nutrient for rabbits, and hay is an excellent substitute. Where possible, feed your rabbit on hay alone, that manner their teeth will be kept in perfect order and they won't become overweight.

   • Requite a daily treat of fresh fruit or vegetables, but effort to give something unlike every twenty-four hour period to create a balanced diet.
   • If you lot take more than one rabbit, provide one bowl for each bunny, plus a spare. Situate the bowls around the cage and then that one rabbit cannot monopolize all the bowls.^[9]

4. four

   Provide h2o for your rabbit. Bowls of h2o can hands be tipped over or soiled with pellets, and so sipper drinkers are preferable. Change the water every day and so that it is always fresh. Also wash the drinker daily, and never use a drinker that is discolored by algae.

   • For more than i rabbit, provide a drinker at either end of the cage.

5. five

   Put some fun toys in the cage. Toys provide enrichment and entertainment for rabbits. Provide toys for the rabbit to play with, such as cardboard tubes or cardboard boxes with holes cut in them. Some rabbits will even play with toy such as a ball with a bong inside.

   • Rabbits beloved to chew and then provide some sturdy branches of orchard woods (apple, pear, plum, ruby) or yous tin can purchase commercial rabbit chews from a pet store.^[x]
   • When choosing toys, brand sure they are rabbit-prophylactic. A adept toy is a paper-thin box filled with shredded paper and dry hay. Your bunny would love to dig through that.

Add New Question

• Question

  Practice the h2o and feed need to be close to each other?

  

  Dr. Elliott, BVMS, MRCVS is a veterinarian with over thirty years of feel in veterinarian surgery and companion animal practice. She graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1987 with a degree in veterinarian medicine and surgery. She has worked at the aforementioned fauna dispensary in her hometown for over 20 years.

  

  Veterinarian

  Proficient Reply

  Not necessarily, equally long as the rabbit tin admission them easily. If you are using a h2o bowl (rather than a bottle sipper) and then it tin be helpful to have it a curt altitude away, so as to reduce the chance of contamination with kibble.

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• Practise not play with newborn rabbits outside of its muzzle for around ii-3 weeks.

• Many rabbits can be trained to be "house bunnies" and enjoy the freedom of roaming the house on their own.

• A good way to clean your cage is with white vinegar mixed with water. It is non-toxic, and gets the job done.

• Bunnies beloved bells, so try to provide them with some sort of bell toy.

• Be careful to apply a padded flooring on the cage rather than a wire. Wire hurts the paws.

• Yous should keep your rabbit in its muzzle for the first iii to 4 days.

• Add up how much it will price before you lot purchase it because it can become expensive.

About this article

Article Summary X

To set up a rabbit cage, kickoff past lining the bottom of the muzzle with a thick layer of straw, which will proceed your rabbit warm and comfortable. And then, place a rabbit litter box in ane of the corners so your rabbit has somewhere to salve itself. Likewise, put a food dish in the cage and attach a sipper drinker to the side of the muzzle so your rabbit can get water when it's thirsty. Don't forget to put some toys in the cage, like a cardboard tube or a brawl, so your rabbit doesn't go bored. To acquire what food you lot should feed your rabbit, whorl down!

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