Welcome here. Before you do any modifications, I’d suggest you reevaluate the housing. A petstore cage, even with two levels, is typically not large enough for two rabbits to share. The footprint of the cage should be at least 4×4 feet, not counting levels. Many people will use a metal dog exercise pen (which is 4×4 feet), or will build their own condo using panels from metal storage cubes (NIC cubes). Fortunately, it’s still early enough for you to return the petstore cage and go a different route.

Cage size has been addressed, so i’ll just comment on the wood…

A lot of people I know use plywood (make sure it is UNTREATED!) with tile or linoleum covering it (linoleum should be out far enough over the edges they can’t chew it). Or coroplast (the sheets of plastic they make signs out of it) which can be found at any sign store and sometimes home depot. I put down a big soft beach towel over the slick plastic, but my rabbits aren’t cloth destroyers. Some people use fleece blankets. Or you could buy grass mats and cut them down to size and replace as they get destroyed, a toy and a floor all in one.

Welcome Laura. It’s great you’re getting well prepared ahead of their arrival !

With solid pine, it is considered a safe wood to use though as you noted, it can still have a scent. Some rabbits are more sensitive to this then others. As shavings, the phenols are much more readily released so they are considered unsafe.

So other woods you can use are things like birch, aspen, poplar, ash. With wood though, once it is peed on it can be harder to keep clean and likely rabbits will pee where there is urine staining over and over. So if you use wood, look into covering it with something waterproof like vinyl or tile. Or just use an alternate material to wood like coroplast as Stickerbunny suggested.

A small tip; I would not worry about bedding straw. Being indoors, it’s probably not necessary but also, the rabbits will likely toilet on it so it would make it trickier to litter train them. Mats or towels would do (though they can be peed on too!) but you may discover the rabbits actually like the plastic flooring.

Im from the UK and we got our cage from B&Q….its EXACTLY the same as the NIC cubes….£22per pack and we bought two packs You should go for that as an option as you can build it whatever shape you like, with as many levels as you like..

If you do keep this current cage, you wouldn’t necessarily need to remove the wire second floor. You could always cover it with linoleum and lots of fleece blankets!