Play space and flooring questions

[JackRabbit]

I have three bunnies (Kieko is a dwarf rex @ 3 lbs, Marlee and Moshi
are Holland lops @ 2.5 and 3.5 lbs) that I’m in the process of bonding.  Kieko has a 3-story condo (4×2 NIC) and
Marlee and Moshi each have a large dog crate. 
The dog crates don’t offer much run around room so my husband is going
to move them to a larger room (incentive – he gets to have his own game room to
play Xbox as long as he shares it with the bunnies!) and build a second
condo.  We’re hoping to connect the two
condos at some point, but I’d also like to attach an x-pen to them to provide
open run/play space.  Right now they only
have a large run area during play time every evening and Moshi (especially!)
has energy to burn.  Our house is
carpeted and all three try to unravel the carpet so . . .

If I put a sheet of vinyl flooring down for the new condo
and play area, can I put it directly over that part of the carpet (too
squishy?) or do I need to glue it to plywood and make it like a platform?  Will that be too hard and make their feet
sore?  Will vinyl be too slippery?  Is there another bunny-proof material I can
put down to cover that large of an area? 
Last of all, what is the shortest area that still allows appropriate run
space for these size bunnies?  (Still have to leave *some* room
for the Xbox!)

Thanks!

[manic_muncher]

Hi JackRabbit. We currently have unfinished floor in our house, and Bumpy did not like the slippery floor. I ended up putting down a shower curtain and covering it with a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet in his space (picked up at Lowe’s for like $18). He loves it and the carpeting is tough. He isn’t a digger though, so not tested on HOW TOUGH! Shower curtain has done it’s job on allowing spot cleanings as needed with vinegar and water mix, without harming the flooring underneath (even though the subfloor isn’t a big deal, I wasn’t sure how LONG it would be until permanent flooring is put down).

Now that Bumpy has mastered -his- space, he has no problem slowing down to travel around the rest of the house, with the occasional wheel-spinning at bunny500 start-ups!

[Deleted User]

Except for the bedrooms which are carpeted, the rest of my house is vinyl, so Henry had no choice but to embrace it when he was first welcomed into our home. I’ve heard many stories of bunny despising hard flooring to the point of some having play time on a small rug and not even their cute fluffy butts hit the hard floor. Sooo funny!
Being free range Henry gets the best of both worlds, but I have to admit his zoom zoom and binky time goes from the bedroom out to his house (dining room) and back again – on occasion he takes a sharp right at high speed on the vinyl and will slam into a wall or door. Except for the embarrassment, he gets over it and gets into it again. Dumb bunny! But I have to be honest – it is funny to see/hear (thump!).
When we made his house we put (yes you guessed it) leftover vinyl on the bottom of his floor. It is so easy to clean – dust pan and brush and a wipe over with a damp cloth weekly (his toilet is seperate) and he lays on it happily. I do wonder cause of how fussy some buns can be….. is it just what they are used to and take a liking too? If your bun’s don’t mind – go for whatever is easiest for you. But, if fussy – do what bunny wants! ha ha hah!

[manic_muncher]

haha AndHenry… don’t we usually do what they want?

#bunnyslave4life

[Deleted User]

ALWAYS! ha ha ha ha ha hah!

[m0ka0nly]

Hello Jackrabbit,

I can’t answer your question about the vinyl flooring over the carpet. It sounds like it may curl on the edges if not glued down with adhesive. I was thinking about putting vinyl directly over slippery hardwood but I haven’t done it yet. I am currently using children’s foam mats and it is working very well for my bunny. I bought a package of 4 squares from walmart for $10. Once I put them together it covered an area of about 4 feet by 4 feet. She has enough room to run around until she learns to walk on the hardwood. I’m not sure if your bunnies will chew up the foam but it is very soft on their butts and feet. It’s comfortable for me to kneel down on as well.

Please let us know if you decide to use the vinyl, it sounds like a good idea.

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