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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HABITATS AND TOYS First, second, third time’s the charm…?

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    • Beka27
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        Here in the Habitat forum, we get so many awesome threads and posts about different housing options, along with lots of pics, and questions about what the “best one” is… The “best” varies from family to family, and what works for one bunny might not be the ideal choice for another.

        There are many options for housing including:

        pet-store cage
        wooden hutch or cabinet (indoor use; manufactured or DIY)
        dog crate
        NIC condo
        NIC pen
        xpen
        free roam 24/7 (I know this isn’t an actual habitat, but for some people it is the final choice and should be counted…)

        AND there are variations that include combinations of the above (for example: a pet-store cage with an attached xpen).

        A poll is included in this thread, and the question is pretty simple…

        I want to know how many *separate* set-ups and set-up combos you have gone through, but also if you are HAPPY with the current set-up (meaning: you are not changing it for the foreseeable future, besides minor renovations/additions).

        If you are NOT HAPPY with the current set-up, and you will likely change it in the future, please select the “exploring” option…

        I know there are different variables when dealing with outdoor > indoor transition, but seeing as this is a house rabbit community, we’re only counting the habitats you’ve gone through since your rabbit has been indoors… (I listed “wooden hutch” as an option above because some people DO use a hutch inside the house).

        If you have bonded rabbits, things can get even more complicated! A temporary housing situation during bonding does not count. We’re counting the housing types you have considered permanent… even if you eventually changed your mind and decided to upgrade to something better!

        Habitats may change often, but the poll is for the number of major habitat changes, not minor renovations/additions. If you have changed your NIC condo ten times with different shelves or a larger/taller space, that still counts as one “type” of habitat, a NIC condo. However, new combinations of two different habitats should be counted… (for example: you started with a NIC condo but then added an xpen…)

        Do we got it?!  

        Here is OUR brief housing history:

        1) Started with an XL “Marchioro” plastic-bottom cage when we just had Meadow.

        2) This transitioned to a combo of the XL cage with NIC grid pen attached.

        (When we adopted Max, we switched to two side-by-side xpens, but I’m not counting this since it was only temporary during bonding…)

        3) After they bonded, the two temporary xpens were merged into one giant, permanent, 4×8 foot “super xpen” and we’ve been happy with it ever since!

        (Even though Max has since passed, we have not considered reducing Meadow back to one xpen, she’s used to the extra space and I don’t feel as guilty if we have a crazy busy day and she has to stay penned inside…)

        So for MY choice, I pick “three and happy!”

        After voting, feel free to comment and detail what your transitions were, and what you chose and why…

        And if you’re still exploring more options, what options are you considering and why?

         


      • bpash89
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        307 posts Send Private Message

          I guess I only have 2. I started with a plastic exercise pen but the slots were too big for my little houdini so she was constantly breaking out of it. I tried a few different things to make the existing cage work but she’s just too damn smart. That’s when we learned how to live free roam and aside from some missing wallpaper and sad-looking chair legs, I think we are both pretty happy with the current, and most likely permanent, set up.


        • Sarita
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            For my 2 remaining rabbits I haven’t gone through too many options.

            Bogie who is probably 11.5 years old is pretty messy – mainly I think because he’s not as mobile as he used to be which makes him pretty messy. I have him in an x-pen and I think that works great for both of us. I’d love love love to let him be free roam with Bobby but he’s just messy and I’m afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle the stairs either.

            Bobby initially came in a crappy pet store cage he was dumped in – luckily he’s a tiny little rabbit so he had enough space (somewhat) but once I was able to give him free roam I did. He’s very nimble and can go up and down the stairs no problem and he’s good with his litter box.

            I do have a very very nice 3 story Leith Pet Condo that I highly recommend to anyone – it’s pricey for sure but I’ve had my current one for 10 years – it’s not good for large rabbits though – they don’t fit through the ramp holes. I think I’ve found a good home for this one finally too – Bobby sometimes goes in and out of it but it’s not a necessity for him. I had Peaches & Peppermint (and then just Peppermint in it) until they passed away and they fit it perfectly. I’ve actually had many of these that I’ve eventually gave to rabbit friends once the rabbits that I had in them passed on.

            I like all 3 of these options – free roam (for the right rabbit), x-pens and the Leith Condo which is 3 stories so it doesn’t take up too much floor space.


          • manic_muncher
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              2… started with 3x2x2 dog crate… he was refusing to leave that space. After several suggestions here about the flooring, I got some indoor/outdoor carpeting and added an xpen to the dog crate. He went from having a tiny 6 sq ft to a much larger 28 sq ft space! He’s very happy and I’m happy for him. Once neutered I hope to have him partially free roam, with supervision, since we have the 2 dogs.

              Since I’m not entirely sure when his neuter will happen (soon I hope), I didn’t vote that I was exploring other options. Of course, we all know… this could always change.


            • MoveDiagonally
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                I’ve used three main types of housing.

                1. Indoor Hutches built by my husband for Dexter and Penny. Once they bonded we combined the hutches.
                2. X-Pen for Dexter and Penny while Monty lived in the hutch. After Dexter, Penny, and Monty bonded (Monty was in a temp X-Pen) we combined two X-Pens for all three to live in.
                3. NIC for Helo and Inara.

                My future 4 is going to be combining NIC and X-Pens for all 5 after they’re bonded but I won’t be 100% happy with it. My goal is to have them all free roam in the bunny room but we’re going to re-do the floors first because some of them aren’t good on carpet (and the carpet is in terrible condition anyway).


              • sleepy538
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                  when i first got cosie she was in a petstore cage for like a week, so i’m not even counting that! i bought an xpen and that was where she lived for her almost ten years. callie went right into an xpen when i got her after cosie passed.

                  i voted ‘just one’ because i quickly put cosie in an xpen and have used it ever since. it has been in different areas in my room, and now i’ve added a shelf as a half second level, but always an xpen!


                • LongEaredLions
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                    When I first got Bella, she was in a 4 by 2 feet pet store cage (only one I have ever seen). After a couple months, I wanted to go cageless so I gave my Bella bunny a room as well as a 2 by 6 nic pen just as a home base, never closed. Then of corse I brought Lionel home!


                  • Kayota
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                      I haven’t gotten my rabbit yet but the plan is to be caged while I’m out and free roam in the kitchen when I’m home. I’ll let you know how that goes.


                    • Amys Animals
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                        I’ve gone through a few setups. From dog crate attached to an x-pen to a condo to an extended condo with x-pen attached. Now they are just in pens (although, Olivia is in the condo). I need to make adjustments to the condo since they way I made it made it very difficult to clean.


                      • justwildbeat
                        Participant
                        257 posts Send Private Message

                          Two. I planned on using NIC cubes from the start but was ill prepared when I got my bun. So I made a temp one level cage with the cubes. A week later I made Yeti’s two story cage. Since then I’ve been made little revisions here and there. Overall the set up is the same. Just adjusted the height of the 2nd level for my bun’s growth and extended the attached xpen to give more room. The NIC cubes make it so easy to do this!


                        • Kbana
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                            I have a pet store cage with a playpen attached. I then bought NIC grids to extend the playpen and make it triple the size. What I’d like to do is create one really large pen using NIC grids to enclose the whole living area in our finished basement. (since we have a dog with a high prey drive upstairs ) So overall, we are both happy for now but I still want to give my fella a lot more space without going cage free.


                          • Ralphie
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                              I started out using the bottom cage of a three stacked high cage my boyfriend had made for my reptiles (bearded dragons) that I had, each cage was pretty big – The height of the whole cage was a little over 6 feet tall. I had to find them a good home because my mom does daycare and your not supposed to have any type of reptiles in the house. But I of course wanted to spoil my baby and get him something completely different. I searched online a bit and did some comparing with different products and websites. Ralphie now has Trixie's Rabbit Hutch with an Attic from PetSmart.com, it has an attic where I store some of his toys, food, and other supplies, an upstairs with a pull out floor to make it easy to clean and a downstairs that is wired all around so he is on my carpet, but I lay down a rug for him. It fits him perfectly since he is just the right size. Eventually, by no means does he need a bigger area but just because I would wanna spoil him and get him something new, I again….would start the process on looking at hutches again online or design one just how I would like it, to be built. Until that day, this is the perfect hutch for him!

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                          Forum HABITATS AND TOYS First, second, third time’s the charm…?