 jessica2Federal Way, WA
18 posts  | |
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| 08/03/2007 06:06 PM |
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I have built my bunny condo ..and i went to target to buy the cube storage shelves, and to my amazement they had target brand for 9.99! and they had a TON of squares inside them, lucky me!
My question is..i am going to build little "shelves" for my bun to sit on, at least 3... do i need to build ramps for them or do you think he can jump to them? And if he can jump..how far apart should I make them?
I've looked at the pictures but if someone can give me an answer in inches, that would really help me out. Doesnt need to be exact, just accurate. I would love to get this done tonight if i could so he can live in his new home.. let me know! Thanks all! |
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 ospreyLos Altos, California
2093 posts  | |
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| 08/03/2007 07:50 PM |
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Hi njcopeland05,
My daughters and I recently built a set of NIC levels to add to our buns X-Pen enclosure. We also used the Target branded ones, as there are lots of them available this time of year for back to school. We did not put in any ramps, and our condo is 3 cubes high. Our smallest bun is a little 2.5 pound dwarf, and she can get up one 14" jump and two 8" jumps just fine. We made a couple of shelves/landings for them, covered in faux sheep skin (the plastic fiber, rubber backed stuff). The buns have no trouble at all jumping from the floor of the pen up 14" to the second level. Ramps look cool but take up a lot of space, and I read someplace that having shelves was good for the buns to exercize their jumping abilities. Good luck, building the cubes is fun.
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 (dig)x(me)x(now)San Diego, Calif.
2527 posts  | |
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| 08/03/2007 09:06 PM |
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My bun has no problem jumping up to the second story. It's as tall as one of the cubes - so 14 or 15 inches for him is no problem. He's about the size of most regular house rabbits. |
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 Rachel & Frankie |
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 jessica2Federal Way, WA
18 posts  | |
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| 08/03/2007 10:10 PM |
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Well I've finished building the bunny condo, my hubby is making a plastic pan type thing to go in the bottom since Sam isnt quite litter trained yet. It appears as though Sam is terrified of the top levels though, maybe it will just take some time for him to get used to and become adventurous.
here is the finished product, i am so pooped now. time for bed! |
184105395371.JPG
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 sevynOntario, Canada
72 posts  | |
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| 08/04/2007 04:43 AM |
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I wouldn't be too concerned, he's probably just unfamiliar with his new cage for now. I did the same thing for my bunny - set up a three level cage that requires two 14'' jumps to get to the top - and she was shy at first, but she got the hang of it really quickly. And she's a fairly small bun too, probably not more than 5 pounds or so. If he's wary or doesn't seem interested, just give him time to get to know his new surroundings and I bet he'll be jumping in no time. I also have to agree with osprey - I tried to make a ramp once when I wasn't sure if she would get the hang of it, but it took up almost all her floor space (once you consider toys and her litterbox!) so I took it out and hoped for the best. Good luck! |
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 Scarlet_RoseColorado
4371 posts  | |
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| 08/04/2007 05:02 AM |
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Wow that's a GREAT deal!!! Sorry I went to bed early and did not see this post. My ramps are approximately 28 inches in length and 7" wide. You can go up to 30" in length. I went 7" wide, because that is 1/2 the width of the NIC panel and my bunnies and their large heinees can get by on the floor it is resting on. My two were also afraid of the height and also since they are getting older I installed them looking ahead at their old age and they were no longer afraid of the height. They still get plenty of exercise running and jumping around outside of their cage too, just in case you were wondering so they still get that jumping in. They have a little one-step plastic stool they like playing "king or queen" of the mountain on. 
My advice would be to watch your bunny, they should be just fine jumping up and down all the levels, ramps can be installed at any time and I've also seen where "steps" were made using a NIC panel 1/2 way up to the upper level it iwas leading to. I haven't done this so maybe the members here can clue you in as to how that was done (and me too). |
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 GraveheartedCampbell, CA
2444 posts  | |
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| 08/05/2007 11:37 AM |
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your NIC cage came out so cute! with your design i don't think you'll need the ramps. one of my bunnies just took a week or so to get used to the different levels. now she hops to all of them, so hopefully the same will be true for your Sam too. |
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| ~ bunny mom to to HRH Hareiette, Viktor the crazy Krum and Pandora, prima binky ballerina ~ Save a life, Adopt! |
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 jessica2Federal Way, WA
18 posts  | |
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| 08/05/2007 02:21 PM |
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Well sam loves jumping UP to the top shelf, it just seems like he is a bit timid to get back down again. He loves his condo so much that now when i leave the door open to come out and play he just hangs out in his cage.. he might come out for a second but then back in he goes to hang out again.
Hopefully he will start getting a bit more brave and try to come down once he's gotten up =) |
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 Scarlet_RoseColorado
4371 posts  | |
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| 08/05/2007 03:15 PM |
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Awe, what a sweetie! It'll take some time, you can try to tempt him back down with a goodie so he knows it's safe and can get used to it too. The cage you made looks great! Yeah my two, they love thier NIC cage so much they love hanging out in it too. I helped make one for a friend of mine as well (her bunny is a single bunny) and we put a plexi glass mirror in his cage too and zippy tied it to the side after drilling some holes in it. He was so cute admiring himself in it! |
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 maghy7Denver - Colorado
69 posts  | |
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 (dig)x(me)x(now)San Diego, Calif.
2527 posts  | |
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| 08/06/2007 06:39 PM |
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Wow, maghy, that looks like quite the happenin' habitat! |
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 Rachel & Frankie |
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 GraveheartedCampbell, CA
2444 posts  | |
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| 08/06/2007 09:57 PM |
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maghy7 - those are some spacious bunny digs! very cool :-) |
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| ~ bunny mom to to HRH Hareiette, Viktor the crazy Krum and Pandora, prima binky ballerina ~ Save a life, Adopt! |
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 Scarlet_RoseColorado
4371 posts  | |
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| 08/07/2007 07:59 AM |
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maghy7, Cool habitat! Question though, did you need to support those balconies in any way? I'm afraid if I tried something like that my rabbits would cause it to collapse. How much does your weigh? |
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 skunklionshowCity of Brotherly "Shove"
1237 posts  | |
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| 08/08/2007 05:16 AM |
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I have a dwarf and I definately toyed w/ the ramp issue...however after I saw her jump on top of her original dog crate, I knew she didn't need any ramps.
I love your cage maghy! Your buns must be soooo happy!
I agree w/ what everyone else has said...since I built Jessi's cage, she prefers the cage over the outside world. She comes out for an occasional hop, but seems to prefer jumping around in her cage! She especially likes the bunny bed on the top shelf.
Now that she's bonded w/ Leo...they take turns laying in the top bunny bed. Sometimes the both lay in there---which is sooo freakin' cute. But I can tell that sometimes Jess doesn't want to share. We will be adding an addition to the cage soon, now that Jess & Leo are bonded. |
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"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Ghandi
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 maghy7Denver - Colorado
69 posts  | |
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| 08/29/2007 07:39 AM |
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Sorry Scarlet Rose for not replying to you before, Yes I did use the same plastic tie things you use to attach the walls together, I tied them really well and it holds the outter cubes in place, they don't move at all, my bun weights a little over 5 pounds and he loves, loves! staying in there, he likes the one above better than the one below, I guess it is because he doesn't get a nice view like he does upstairs! hahaha |
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 maghy7Denver - Colorado
69 posts  | |
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| 08/29/2007 07:44 AM |
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hey guys, what are the bunny beds? I want to get one for mine!  |
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 Scarlet_RoseColorado
4371 posts  | |
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| 08/29/2007 01:42 PM |
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Oh no problem maghy! OK then, well, I know that they could not support the weight of my two, bummer. They are at 9 pounds each and both have a tendency to lay together. Thank you for the info though! |
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