Apparently you need 36 sq. ft. for a pair of bunnies? (cage)

[lifeasweknowit]

At first I thought my cage was roomy for 2 rabbits but now people are telling me that it is a bit too small for 2 medium sized rabbits.

My cage has 33.6 sq ft, in it and apparently that is not enough. I wish I could extend the cage but I can’t, I literally have 7″ of space left to go in and out of my closet door, and also someone told me that shelves don’t count when counting sq ft in cages. 

Is it really too small? Even though it is short by only 2.4 sq. ft? My cage measurements are 4.6′ x 7′ with a 4′ second shelf (for lounging or something – I plan on putting carpet up there, or should I use stick on vinyl tiles?) 

[zoologist]

They might chew/dig the carpet which is ok as long as they’re not ingesting the fibers.

as for cage size I don’t know what to tell you… your cage sounds huge to me! Finn is a decent sized rabbit and his cage is relatively small, but he’s usually out and about and only stuck in it at night. What about your bunnies? Do they get a lot of out time?

[lifeasweknowit]

Ah good point on the carpet, I’ll have to think about that some more. Also, after I bond my rabbits (won’t be for a few months but I really like to think ahead so I am prepared and not over whelmed) they will be out only when I am not home/ busy/ sleeping. And my schedule is usually pretty regular but there are days where I’m out till late in the evenings. On a regular day it might be from 10-12am-3-5pm the next day that they are locked up. Which I know is a long time, but don’t rabbits sleep during the night/ day? Around dawn / 5-7 would be when they are active but I am unfortunately, not able to take them out then.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

If its too small you’ll notice behavioral issues. Ideally its 4×4 sqft per bunny, which would be 4x8sqft for 2 bunnies. So 4×7 is a little small with the limited amount of time they get out of their cage.
I’m confused, they share the 4×7 space but aren’t bonded?

[lifeasweknowit]

Ah, is it still too small? Or is it okay? I mean, MAYBE I could make it larger, maybe, I will see. Probably not cause my room is VERY small. And no at the moment my little one is living in an XL dog crate while my older rabbit is living in the xpen I was talking about ^ but now it is in a square (4.6×4.6 feet) but I will transform it into a rectangle making is bigger. I’m going to see if I can make it bigger, I mean, I AM moving in a couple of years, but still a lot can happen in 2 years!

[mocha200]

This is Quoted from the House Rabbit Society.

One guideline to go by is at least 8 square feet of cage time combined with at least at least 24 square feet of exercise space, for 1-2 rabbits, in which the rabbit(s) can run and play at least 5 hours per day.

They say 8 square feet of a cage for 1-2 rabbits (aka 2×4). Then your rabbit should have a 24 square foot (aka 4×6) exercise space that they can run around in for at least 5 hours a day. So according to this I think your cage is fine. Although my personal opinion is that 1 rabbit should have a 2×4 cage and 2 rabbits should be housed in a 4×4 cage. Which means your cage is also fine. I trust the HRS.

But you also have to consider how big you rabbits are. Another quote from the HRS.

A cage should be at least 4 times the size of your bunny when he’s entirely stretched out–more if he is confined for a large amount of the day.

So if your bunnies are lager, they would need more space.

So all in all my opinion is that is enough space for both of your bunnies as long as they get lots of time outside of their cage. Here is the article that I was quoting from!
[code] http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/housing.html[/code]

[lifeasweknowit]

Thank you! I found that very helpful, well both my rabbits are holland lops – they are just bigger than average my male is 4.5lbs approximately, and my female is still a baby but you can tell she will be bigger than average, since she is sooo big for her age. So I’m assuming she will be around 5-6lbs fully grown. PS I always watch your videos

[mocha200]

Haha thanks! Mocha and Lulu are both over 5lbs last time I weighed them! Chubby bunnies!

[lifeasweknowit]

LOL they’re so cute though! Also, I am able to make the cage 56″ x 112″, howeverrrr I’m like positive that their cage (if I make it that size) would be bigger than the actual empty space in my room. Should I still make it that big? I mean I know that it is fine at 4.6 x 7 feet but I don’t know. I mean doesn’t it seem pointless to make the cage that big if there is more empty space in their cage than out? Also is it true that rabbits that have a lot space will become aloof/ not so friendly with you?

[lifeasweknowit]

Ugh it would be easier to just bunny proof my room but my rabbits often retreat back to their cage on their own to sleep and I think they would be happier/ less stressed out if they had their own “home” to retreat back to.

[mocha200]

I think I would let them have free range. Rabbits LOVE it! My bunnies seem to be more sociable free range then having a cage! I would have a spot for them still sort of like a cage so they have a spot to call their own. But if they are not going to be free range then I would make the cage as big as possible.

[lifeasweknowit]

Do they?? I want to but I’m worried about them getting on the bed and peeing on it which my older rabbit has a habit of doing, I suppose I could block off my bed but they like to run under it, and I have tried a plastic cover on top but he would just step in the pee and it was a HUGE mess. But my room is seriously so so so small. So they won’t become “wild” if I let them have free range?

[Sam and Lady's Human]

No they wont become wild My bunnies have free range for all but about 6 hours at night, I pen them up simply for my own comfort in case of emergency. Many here leave theirs out full time and that’s fine too. Bunnies actually flourish when allowed to live with people rather than mostly caged separately You could always bunny proof and have their cage open though, so they have the choice to go in or hang out

[lifeasweknowit]

Thanks, however after some thinking I don’t think I would be able to make them completely free range bunnies. BUT they will be able to go in and out of their cage as they please when I am home, which is pretty much nearly all day since I am on winter break. Do you think the cage I have in mind is suitable for 2 medium sized rabbits? 4.6′ x 7′ with a 4′ shelf?

[Beka27]

If that’s the space you have to work with, I wouldn’t worry about making it any larger. Your buns will have more room than the majority out there, so stop fretting about the exact dimensions. My pair has a 4×8 foot pen, but I don’t know if they’d miss one foot of length…

[Author]

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