Cage size for two bunnies

[MarkBun]

As I have to leave for work and leave my bunny unattended.  And since she’s such a michief maker, I have to cage her when I am not observing her directly.  I was thinking about getting a second bunny to keep her company but my apartment is kinda small.  I currently have a single cage that seems like it might be able to house two bonded rabbits, but I wanted to ask if you felt that I was putting a horse in a shoebox.  The two rabbits would be dutch dwarfs and here is the cage – dimesions 40"Lx18"Wx20"H.  I really can’t set up an x-pen either due to size constraints.

http://www.petco.com/product/10638/Super-Pet-Extra-Large-My-First-Home.aspx

Part of me is thinking that I just need to get rid of my bed, sleep on the couch and give the bunnies the space.

Oh, I should note that I would temporarily inconvience myself with additional dwellings during the bonding process but I don’t think I could live tip-toeing over cages for the next 10 years.

[Toki+Pumpkin+Elmo]

If you’re limited by space, you can build a cage youself that will suit your limitations. I would build one with same dimensions as the one you have (40″L X 18″W) but just higher. Probably 2 or 3 stories. That way, it doesn’t take any more room than it already is and give more room for the buns to hang out.

[wendyzski]

Seconded – those wire-grid cubes make awesome bunny-condos, and if you can’t go out you can go up!

[MarkBun]

Yeah, I thought of those, however it would need to be a free standing within the space I mentioned above (currently it is at the end of my couch, not against any walls).

Maybe I needta look at rearranging my furniture. Not that I have alot of places for it to go but again, bunnies before beauty.

[Scarlet_Rose]

The cage you showed looks OK for a while but would likely need to be upgraded for a potential pair. NIC cages are free standing and do not need to be against a wall, or are you thinking that it would be invasive to have it sticking up and not next to the wall? Oh heck, just give the bunnies your apartment and keep the cage for yourself!

I’ll search for the specific dimensions recommended for bunnies.  I know someone posted it a little while ago, but I am having trouble finding it.

 

[Toki+Pumpkin+Elmo]

Do you have a free-corner in your house? You can also make a L-shaped cage if you dont want it to be invasive like ScarletRose said. You can make it fit to the corner instead of a regular rectangular cage.

[MarkBun]

I want to thank you all for your suggestions. I do a great deal of model and sculpting work at home so my walls are lined with shelving that holds my various plaster molds and other crafting items, so there isn’t any wallspace available. These are also the reason I can’t let my rabbit free without my supervision. Even with putting up fencing in front of the shelves, she still finds ways in if I’m not watching. That’s why I am looking for a free-standing solution. It wasn’t a joke when I said that I’d get rid of my bed for the rabbits as that is currently my only solution and I do love the buns.

Another thought that occurred to me last night was that I could cut my living space in half by moving my couch. Although it would be a little more cramped, I could then put the cage against the back of the couch instead at the end and thereby give them all that room for a NIC cage.

[osprey]

Here is an example of something similar, an XPen enclosure behind a couch.

This comes from the San Diego HRS chapter’s page about pen living

[Scarlet_Rose]

Wow. You would really do that for them? My word.  My apologies, I honestly thought you were kidding.  That is one disadvantage to reading typed text, that it is hard to tell when someone is teasing and when they are not.

How big of a footprint do you have available for a cage where you can still get around? Is there a table under which you can place a cage? I am still looking for the minimum size for a cage and may have to put in a call to my fellow community leaders on this one. So thank you for being patient!

[MarkBun]

Basically, the footprint that is comfortable is the one that is the same size of the cage mentioned above – 40″x 18″. I live in a one bedroom apartment that has, I think, about 440 square feet. Not much room (a queen bed takes up half of my bedroom space). I am going to have to weigh alot and see what I can do. I would like to get a partner for my bunny but I am afraid that the room just won’t allow it.

Guess it will be a rearranging weekend for me.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Awe you a just too sweet! Oh wowee that is a tight space! I think that you’ll be just fine with the 40" X 18" cage, is it tall enough to put a shelf in? Or does it come with one? Something I’ve seen is using the bunny cage also as a coffee table too by placing a solid board on top in tight spaces. I was just thinking something multi-level since outside time is limited and jumping up and down several floors will provide good exercise.  Another option to look into are the wire dog crates as well.  That was my "starter" condo for my two.  I got one with a side door and placed one shelf in the corner up higher and one depth-wise a little lower.  My two 9 pounders did great with it, of course it was fairly large. I converted to the NIC condo as I’m at work most of the time as well and I know they’ve got plenty of run space.  In fact they love it so much they hardly come out!

[osprey]

Do you have any vertical space where the pen is to be placed?  You could make a 1×3 panel NIC cube condo that would have a foot print of 14" x 42", and build up and make some extra space that way.

[MooBunnay]

Good luck with your rearranging this week! It looks like you have probably covered all of the possible options. If you do decide to start bonding, I’d definitely recommend taking your bunny on bunny “dates” to minimize the amount of time that you will have to spend maneuvering around TWO cages. Also, have you considered blocking things OFF that your bunnies could damage rather than penning them IN? E.g., blocking off under the bed, or the couch, or whatever it is that they do damage too? Then you wouldn’t need a cage at all.

[MarkBun]

Thanks for all the suggestions and help with this.

I went to the house rabbit society for some dates with my bunny (turns out she hates females but is a bit of a debutante’ with the men – have 4 potentials that we’re going to see again this Sunday) and talked to them about cage size.  They say a good rule of thumb is one cubic foot per pound of bunny.  It isn’t a hard and fast rule but a good one if you aren’t sure.

After looking over my apartment, I have found a corner that I might be able to do the "L" shaped cage thing.  I’ll need to move about 300 pounds of plaster molds into the bedroom, and move my bed (and everything stored under it) to another part of the room – but it is doable.  It should give me about two of the cages I mentioned at the beginning of the thread (there is a shelf in the cage albiet a slightly ‘cramped’ one but I find my bun often lounging up on it) – so it should be plenty of space – not to mention a good setup for the ‘close but seperate cages’ portion of the bonding process when we eventually reach it.

I would LOVE to have them out all the time, but my Maryann is just too crafty for her own good.  Everytime I feel I have bunnyproofed something she has to go and prove me wrong.  I will probably look at being able to extend a fence around the new cage area (making the L shape into a square) so that they’ll have more play space outside of the cages when I’m not around.  It really isn’t that I don’t trust her, I just know me and my untidy ways.  Too many times I have found her chewing on something that shouldn’t have been left on the ground.  Would hate for her to have hours to consume something like that.

I know, bad human – no rasin.

[Scarlet_Rose]

That’s great Markus. So she’s a bit of a debutante, that’s too cute.  What do her potentials look like? Any particular ones you are fond of? Thank you for the info on cage size! I will add that to my own FAQ list. Wow, 300 pounds of plaster molds, that is going to be one iron-man workout. well you’ll have biceps as huge as Arnold S.!

The L-shaped cage sounds great and the eventual square, even better when they bond.  We each create a safe-haven for our bunnies according to our lifestyles as well and what you’re doing is great. Sometimes having them limited to one area spares you from worry and having to potentially rush them to the vet. Let us know when you bring a beau home for your belle!

[MarkBun]

Well let’s see, Maryann had dates with the following fellas:

First was Jeremy – an albino rex. Maryann and him basically ignored one another. They made some nose to nose contact and I think each thumped once during the 10 minute date. The interesting thing was that Maryann got into the litter & Hay box and it seemed that she kept Jeremy out of it.

Next was Conner – a spotted rex. This one decided he wanted in the box as well and Maryann didn’t seem to mind. They also put their chins on the ground and touched nose to nose for about 45 seconds without moving – neither wanting to groom the other first. And Maryann seemed very intrigued with his backside.

Then came Buddy who was an all black rex that seemed to have something trivial wrong with his left eye duct (they said it was nothing – just a slight bit of missing fur). Well Maryann hopped right over to him, groomed the area around the eye and then chinned his head. I thought it was love at first sight but Buddy was a little high strung and began jumping away and then circling – causing Maryann to get a bit worked up.

We then tried two female bunnies just in case but Maryann hated them – even biting one on the side (all fur, no flesh).

We were going to try another spotted rex named Buster but she was so worked up that I just took her home.

We will be going back this Sunday to sit her down with the four boys and possibly a fifth I just found on their site (the Richmond House Rabbit Society). She’ll get two more dates after that and then we’ll make a decision.

[Gravehearted]

at my house I call it the bunny zone! if I (or anyone else) leaves something in the bunny zone and it gets chomped, it’s our own darn fault, ha ha. We have a very crafty bunny who gets into EVERYTHING too.

it can take some time to find the right match, but it sounds like you’re being patient through the process. I do hope she’ll find the bunny of her dreams 🙂

[Scarlet_Rose]

Well best of luck on the next bunny dating day! Let us know how it goes.  It sounds like it might be a bit tough with the choices with no grooming happening.

[BinkyBunny]

My very first bunny found his the love his life at the same HRS! I didn’t know so much about body language at the time, and they could quickly access the no go’s, the maybes and the “more likelys” Some bunnies wanted to kill him, others he didn’t like, and I thought, maybe he was a solo bunny, but then he found a “more likely” and they bonded within three days, and were inseparable. Though I know most don’t bond so quickly, it sure made it easier to go through the process you are.

GOOD LUCK! Keep us updated

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