Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

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.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

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.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HABITATS AND TOYS I’m Done With Cages!

Viewing 18 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • mocha200
      Participant
      4486 posts Send Private Message

        So by the title you can tell, I am SICK of cages! They are SO annoying! My bunnies are free range in a room therefor don’t need a cage. They need a space to call their “own” but I will get back to that in a second. So the main resone I can’t have one is a medical problem. early this spring I popped my knee out a few times, after the last time I couldn’t walk. Turns out I just tore some stuff and I could have surgery but it would cause more pain in the long run…. ANYWAYS! Because of that it is EXTREMELY hard to squat or get up and down from the floor. Some days its fine, but others it just hurst and clicks and locks. Therefor I can’t clean it, give them hay, or water very well. 

        My dad said I could build a little shelf for them by the window for them to lounge in, and then in the corner have a larger space for hay, water, and litter boxes so I don’t have to bend to get them. Since their free range I don’t need to make that space large. 

        The reason for this thread is just to confirm that this is ok for them. I think I’ve seen other bunnies (including BB setup) Without cages but I just wanted to make sure. 

        Also I need ideas! Tell me your dream thing you would build for your bunnies home if you could! I would love to here it!


      • Monkeybun
        Participant
        10479 posts Send Private Message

          Your buns should be fine with no cage. I wouldn’t worry

          About your knee, though… If it stays as is, it will get worse. I would honestly think about the surgery. You’re still young, so should heal from it quickly, whereas if you leave it, it will continue to degrade. Talk to your doctor more about it, I am sure they could answer more of your questions about it.


        • LoveChaCha
          Participant
          6634 posts Send Private Message

            I ditto Monkey. Get the surgery done because it may cause you major issues in the long run. My boyfriend had knee issues after an accident and he had pain. He got surgery and has been fine since. He bounced back quite fast.


          • peppypoo
            Participant
            1945 posts Send Private Message

              Your bunnies will do just fine without a cage, and your setup sounds like a great idea .

              I absolutely agree that you should consult with a doctor and re-consider surgery if your doctor recommends it. Think about it this way – you’re young right now, so surgery might put you out for a little bit but you’ll heal faster. On the other hand, if you don’t have surgery you may be able to make do for now but the abnormality will only damage the joint more over time, and when you’re older healing won’t be as fast or easy, not to mention that the injury will be worse.


            • mocha200
              Participant
              4486 posts Send Private Message

                Thanks guys! I am thinking they wanted to wait because they don’t think I am done growing yet so I could develop more bone or something like that. My doctor said that I will have to do these exercises the rest of my life either way, if I get the surgery or not. Both of my other sisters knees have popped out many times and have had trouble although I am the only one who hasn’t been able to walk after. I am TERRIFIED of surgery and can’t even think of having it done!


              • Monkeybun
                Participant
                10479 posts Send Private Message

                  Surgery isn’t that scary. You’d be out for all of it The docs train for years for it, they know what they are doing


                • FrankieFlash
                  Participant
                  1710 posts Send Private Message

                    If it was me I would wait on surgery. I had my first knee surgery at 18 (I’ve had 3 overall). Now I can’t do most normal young people things and it hurts more than it doesn’t. You’re right about the exercises- you’ll have to do them either way. And depending on the type of surgery (I’m assuming it’s similar to mine because I suffer knee dislocation issues too) I just found out the main surgery most doctors use to resolve this issue has been found to have about a 10 year life span. Shorter than a knee replacement. Which none of us can have because we’re too young
                    I didn’t mean to hijack your thread or the point of your thread. Feel free to message me if you would like details. I’m happy to share my experience with others. I can even name all the procedures they did (I’m pretty proud of it because it involves some big words )

                    As for no cage, As long as they have a hidey house and a place to be a bunny I’m sure they’ll be fine without a cage. Ours basically don’t have one since it now has no way of being shut (they wanted a new door so I built them one but its basically a giant hole.) And their cage is never closed anyway.


                  • Stickerbunny
                    Participant
                    4128 posts Send Private Message

                      Mine haven’t had a cage since the first week Powder came home. They use a closet with blankets in it as a hidey spot. There may be some litter training issues when you first remove it.

                      Hope your knee gets better.


                    • mocha200
                      Participant
                      4486 posts Send Private Message

                        FrankieFlash: Yes! Thats what I have heard about it! You can’t do as much! I’m not even out of highschool yet and I would not like that at all. I already had too quit Dance because of it and I’m not willing to give up anything else! Haha! About the cage, thats what I have right now, a NIC condo that never gets shut (although I had to shut it last night because of some construction because I didn’t want them to ingest the plastic and carpet shreds that were all over the floor. I might take it down today…. just have a temperary place in the corner for their water and litter boxes.


                      • Svandis
                        Participant
                        442 posts Send Private Message

                          Sounds like a great plan!

                          sry, non-related: did you delete your “moving with buns” topic? Would love to see how the bun-room turns out when it’s finished, also your room


                        • mocha200
                          Participant
                          4486 posts Send Private Message

                            No, I didn’t delete it but I also didn’t upload any pictures I don’t think…. I will have to do that!


                          • zoologist
                            Participant
                            270 posts Send Private Message

                              playing roller derby I’m no stranger to knee injuries now. Luckily mine haven’t been too severe. EVERYONE I know who tears something in their knee and needs surgery gets the surgery. No one wants to give up this sport prematurely because of a silly knee injury. Do you wear a brace daily to keep some of the strain off of your knee? And do you take meds to keep the swelling down? I had a very minor tear in my knee (although it hurt like a beotch… I could barely walk!) and went to the university’s health center. He gave me a brace and anti inflammatories and told me to stop skating for a week. I nearly cried! But I didn’t stop skating and now I get really worried about falling and twisting my knee because I’m pretty sure it hasn’t healed/ hasn’t healed right. Anyway….

                              I would LOVE for Finn to be cagless! However I don’t trust the little brat when I’m not around. He loves to chew this one lamp cord and dig up the carpet in one spot. In fact I just lost a lamp to his because I let him out and went back to sleep. As it is now his cage is his home. It’s left open whenever we’re home and he’s allowed to stay out if I’m running errands that will last less than an hour. He voluntarily goes back into his cage to sleep, poop, eat, whatever. The real fun begins when it’s time for him to go in the cage for the night and he doesn’t want to. It’s fun for him, not us, as we chase him around the house listening to him thump.

                              You said you had a NIC cage and a handy dad. Can you refashion the NIC cage to sit on a table and build them a ramp? That way you won’t have to bend over and you still have a cage/hidey spot in case you need one.


                            • BinkyBunny
                              Moderator
                              8776 posts Send Private Message

                                As long as your dad builds a shelf that has sides (and be ready for replacements if they chew), and and makes it easy for them to go up and down on, then it sounds like a good plan. Vivian still goes up up to her lounge shelf/box by the window, every single day. She soaks in the sun and takes in fresh air from the cracked window with weather permitting. I did make sure to give them a hidey box up there because I was concerned that something would scare them — a bird or whatever and in a panic, they would jump off instead of taking the ramp down. I tested this out by approaching the window from the outside, as that scared my bunnies. They definitely hunkered down in the hidey box and then waited for an opportune time to make a break for it down the ramp. I am not sure what they would have done without the hidey box – I wasn’t going to test that out.

                                As far as your knee issues and possible surgery options, it’s always smart to get a second opinion and then weigh it. I know that after two knee surgeries (one that was just to repair a stretched ACL and then later to get a replacement ACL and repair muscle tears), my leg definitely lost some muscle, so you have to be sure to be VERY diligent about Physical Therapy right after — and it can be painful, at least it was with mine, because they don’t want to rest your leg for too long or too much scar tissue will develop causing mobility issues. My leg got stiff rather quickly and to avoid long-term stiffness, those Physical Therapist worked my leg hard, and it hurt really bad at first – something about breaking up the scar tissue that had already developed in such a short amount of time. However, this was 10 years ago and for something different. I don’t know what the process is for your leg and you have a good point about “still growing”. I have no idea how that works with surgery. Which is another good reason to get a second expert opinion if you can. Good luck with that!


                              • mocha200
                                Participant
                                4486 posts Send Private Message

                                  Thanks guys! Yeah my doctor pretty much flat out told me not to do it. There isn’t really a point. If both my other sisters can live with it, so can I! As long as it doesn’t effect my horseback ridding, I’m good! haha!

                                  I will have to post a pic of my set-up I have right now…. Lulu keeps peeing outside of her box though, which is driving me insane!

                                  I also just got home and I get greeted with a growls, biting, and boxing…. Bunnies have an attitude problem and keep fighting!


                                • Quantum
                                  Participant
                                  286 posts Send Private Message

                                    Weighing in on the knee issue (who knew bunny lovers all have such rotten knees? ): go to an orthopedic surgeon–ask your GP for a referral if necessary. Having had crappy knees since about age 28, 1 arthroscopic surgery on the left, 4 on the right and an “OATS procedure” on the right, trust me on this. Had I had more than running repairs done early on, the chances of me winding up with arthritis in both knees would have been seriously minimized. The chances of my having to have the OATS done, would have been next to nil and I’d have actual cartilage in my knee instead for 4/5 little planted patches of it. Instead, every time the weather changes, I feel it coming. Every week, I’m gulping aspirin, ibuprofen or whatever else will reduce the swelling and pain. Go and talk to someone who deals with knees for a living–it will not magically get better on its own and, trust me on this, surgery and the associated pain are limited; a future with no running, no skiing, minimal bicycle riding or hiking is no fun.


                                  • BinkyBunny
                                    Moderator
                                    8776 posts Send Private Message

                                      Posted By mocha200 on 12/28/2012 05:45 PM

                                      I will have to post a pic of my set-up I have right now…. Lulu keeps peeing outside of her box though, which is driving me insane!

                                      I also just got home and I get greeted with a growls, biting, and boxing…. Bunnies have an attitude problem and keep fighting!

                                      The fighting — so is this a change in their environment and/or your own scent — if you have been some place else for awhile or petting other animals.  A change in environment can cause them to reestablish some “ground rules” with dominance etc.  

                                      Lulu peeing outside of box — is she the only one?  Is there only one box — if so, is Mocha in the box when she’s pees outside of it.  If they are fighting, he might be bossy over the box and not letting her in as much or chasing her out, which may make her decide to to do what causes less conflict — which may be to pee outside of the box.   Jack used to do this all the time to both Rucy and later Vivian. I ended up having to give them two boxes. 


                                    • mocha200
                                      Participant
                                      4486 posts Send Private Message

                                        BB: I am pretty sure they were upset by my smell. I had just been ridding horses and around goats and other cats and stuff! :p They seem to be fine now.
                                        About the peeing. I do not know for “sure” its Lulu as I haven’t actually seen her do it, but I do know Mocha is extremely territorial of the litter boxes and chases her out every time she is in there. I had 2 litter boxes for about a year now and just in the last month have given them 2 more so I now have 4. They are all side by side though so maybe putting them on oposite sides of the cage bottom would help a little. I am also going to try and put a xpen wall with blankets pined on, around the cage bottom so that it feels nice and cozy like a cage but easily opened for cleaning as I have heard rabbits like a cozy private spot for their box.


                                      • Binx86
                                        Participant
                                        144 posts Send Private Message

                                          My aunt messed up her knee pretty bad in high school, she was 16, tore some stuff up pretty bad and had to have surgery. She’s had 4 since. Waiting until your done growing might not be a bad idea, but you’re not going to know unless you have a deep conversation with your doctor about it, and maybe even get a second professional opinion.

                                          As for the buns, there’s also an idea of having their liter boxes/water/food somewhere where you can sit and fill and clean things. My fiance has back issues and I kind of made our setup so it would accommodate him in case I couldn’t take care of them. I have a shelf, which consists of two milk crates that they can hide in, with a covered board over the top of them. The litter box is under the shelf and the food and water is on top, but the level is also right next to our bed so he can sit on the bed and reach everything he needs to take care of them. Our boys are free roam in the bedroom and living room. I imagine that would be better on your knee too than crouching! But it could be just a chair instead of a bed. I saw your other thread about building with bunnies so I know they have their own room, but a chair or something down there so you can hang out with them would be cool.


                                        • angelforeverfilms
                                          Participant
                                          1 posts Send Private Message

                                            I always wanted a too layer cage for my baby bunny (sorry i dont want to tell her name) because her old cage sucks :'(

                                        Viewing 18 reply threads
                                        • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                                        Forum HABITATS AND TOYS I’m Done With Cages!