DIY Second Floor?

[Marshall91]

Peppy’s cage is about 18″ x 36″.  We added a shelf tonight, to give her some more usable space in there, but now it looks a little crowded to me.  She got on the shelf to eat her veggies and seems to otherwise be ok with having it in there.  Would you keep it?

 

[dahowlers]

I would keep it, she still has space to stand up on her back legs when she’s in there, so I don’t see a problem with it.

[mia]

No, the cage is already too small and doesn’t look like she can sit up on the 2nd floor. Wouldn’t even keep the cage except for backup purposes.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Most commercial cages end up being far too small for 99% of buns, and this cage seems to be no exception.  How about trying an x-large dog crate, or an x-pen, or a NIC cube cage?  All 3 are actually CHEAPER than a commercial cage, and will offer more space!  

[Marshall91]

I hope to get her a condo at some point, or add another level with NIC cubes, but my bunny budget is maxed right now. A permanent x-pen enclosure would have to go in a more out of the way spot, like the laundry room or garage, and I don’t think the family would willingly spend very much time there. This way, she’s in my daughter’s room and gets more interaction. We give her as much supervised out-of-the-cage time as we can, but more freedom will have to wait until after she’s spayed and litter trained. FWIW, the shelf has been removed.

[jerseygirl]

Oh well, it looked like it sparked her curiousity for the time it was there. Does the top of her cage lift up at all? I was thinking you could attach a row of grids with a roof to the cage sides to increase the vertical space. Even use the existing cage top as the roof if it’s removable. Then you could use the shelf again. This might be an interim thing to try that would be low cost and not take up floor space.

Edit to add: Sorry, i just read you already wrote you’ve considered this.  Keep watch for NIC grids for resale. Some people have even managed to pick them up free.

[Marshall91]

She’s a climber, so I think a multi-level cage would suit her.  I didn’t think about the cubes being available second hand.  I might hit the local flea market tomorrow and see what I can find. 

Thanks to all of you for your input.  I’m a little stressed because I’ve gone out with the very best intentions and bought the wrong cage twice.  I’ll keep working on it, though. 

 

[mocha200]

I found some cubes at garage sales!

[Stickerbunny]

Garage sells are big atm because of summer coming up – if you find a family with kids going away, or college students in need of more space you can usually pick up the cubes CHEAP! Craigslist sometimes will return people wanting to get rid of them. Or even drive by the local student housing areas and sometimes they put them out by the dumpsters.

I have that cage and it is too small, my minirex was really happy when I got her out of it (she came with it from the foster). Good luck on the cube hunt and don’t feel too bad… there isn’t that much information in some areas about bunnies and pet store employees are useless 90% of the time – good for you for looking for more information though and trying to get her the best habitat you can.

[Queensbun]

In addition to craigslist, you can post a “Wanted” notice in Freecycle and see if anyone responds…..

[Marshall91]

No luck finding them second hand, but I found them at online Walmart for a reasonable price. I’m busily looking at other people’s cage designs while waiting for them to be delivered in about a week. We’re going to try removing the top pannel of the cage, adding a ramp, and building another level on top.

[mocha200]

I would ditch the old cage and make a wider and longer cage. 1 rabbit should have a min. of a 2×4

[Bax&Ben&Jack]

I have the same cage as you. I needed some extra space so I found an identical cage at a garage sale. If you look at the sides, you can take the sides apart by taking off the little hooks and flipping it upwards. I did the same thing to the other cage I bought at a garage sale and pushed the two cages together. I just made sure that the two cages are secure and now Benny has double the space. I also might make a top level too with another cage by cutting through it, but this might make the cage hard to clean. Hope I helped and that made sense.

[Sarita]

Hi Jolie, thank you for the information however this post is 2 years old and we ask that members do not reply to old threads.

I am going to lock this thread.

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