Does anyone know if storage cube bunny condos are sturdy enough for households with dogs?

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This topic has 6sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 2 months ago by fefe.

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- 05/30/2018 at 5:42 PM
  fefe
  Participant
  3 posts
  I wanted to build my rabbit (holland lop) a new cage as he has outgrown his old one. I saw people using dog crates but im worried his head might fit through the bars of larger crates. I thought using the storage cubes to make a rabbit condo would be a good idea. I intended to make it 3 grids long 2 grids wide and 2 grids high. I also intend to use the grids to make a base and top and 2 grids to make a platform for his bed. I was going to use both the plastic connectors and zip ties to connect the grids and line the bottom and platform with plywood wrapped in fleece. We live in a place that is one story and the only place the rabbit cage can be is in the living room. We also have 2 dogs. A 35lb boxer mix and a 55lb lab mix. Neither dog bothers the rabbit while it is out in its playpen. But the dogs do like to play in the living room because of all the open space. I would put the cage against the wall but my boyfriend thinks that if the dogs bump the cage it’d collapse. Does anyone know if thats true or not? Or if there is a better option? Im sure a dog crate would be sturdier but im worried about the bar spacing being too wide, being too pricey, plus with a cube cage i cpuld make it even bigger if we move into a larger place.
- 05/31/2018 at 7:25 PM
  Azerane
  Moderator
  4689 posts
  Hi there I don’t have dogs but I do have a cube condo. It’s 5x2x4 and is very sturdy. I would skip using the connectors altogether and only use cable ties. I have two cable ties along each side along with 2 at each corner. The condo is very strong. It has been lifted, pushed and pulled and also had my niece hanging off the side and pulling at it. If assembled well they are very strong and certainly don’t collapse if bumped. I would recommend a larger size than 3×2 if you can though, as that is quite small.
- 06/18/2018 at 2:58 PM
  fefe
  Participant
  3 posts
  oh my gosh i actually meant six grids long lol but still probably only 2 or 3 grids wide bc the less it sticks out the better from the wall the less likely the dogs will bump it. They are bunny friendly and theyre never around him unsupervised so i didnt think itd be a problem but they do get a little crazy when they play together. but if a kiddo could hang on it i feel like it can take a dog booty catching the corner. My bf was concerned that the longer i make it the more unsturdy it would be and that maybe the top would collapse. But he doesnt have any c&c cage experience while i used to have guinea pigs in a c&c cage and that was plenty sturdy even without zipties. so i personally felt like with zipties there wpuld be nothing to fear. Do you have any suggestions of making doors for it?
- 06/18/2018 at 11:49 PM
  Muj Mom N Bun
  Participant
  352 posts
  Hi, I have used NIC grids, the storage cube grids, to help bunny proof my living room and make gates and doors etc in our living room where BunBun also has her crate… they are prone to falling over especially if you don’t overlap them at certain juncture points… like instead of binding them with the zip ties on their final row edge, overlap by 1 square and zip tie them on the edge and on the inside. It makes the joined edge far more sturdy. For even more support, I would recommend that you also have wood slats at every corner creating a skelelon kind of foundation going up the full length of the corners as well as a wood frame base, with slats going around the entire bottom as well. It sounds like a lot of work, but it’s not too bad, especially when it’s about making it safe and sturdy. You can then zip tie the joined grids to the wood frame, nice and tight…
  
  Hope this helps a bit
- 06/18/2018 at 11:57 PM
  Muj Mom N Bun
  Participant
  352 posts
  As for doors, with zip ties, they are pretty easy because joined edges still have some movement to swing open and closed! As for locks? Binder Clips! The black metal paper fasteners with the two usually silver metal sides that you flip over and squeeze to open the black clamp… Gosh, these bad boys have been used in dozens and dozens of the most unplanned for ways… some of which is locking grids. Just make sure that you get a size that fits inside the grid squares so that they can go around the bar of the square you want to lock and the bar of the underlying square you want to lock it to.
- 06/19/2018 at 12:01 AM
  Muj Mom N Bun
  Participant
  352 posts
  And I agree with Azerane, toss those plastic connectors… they are flimsy, and also leave a little extra space that can be a bit of an issue with tiny bunny feet and teeth… and also agree in regards to size
- 09/06/2018 at 2:00 PM
  fefe
  Participant
  3 posts
  Update: I forgot my account info but i just remembered it. lol. I just wanted everyone one to know I did end up building a c&c cage. It is 2×4 grids. 2 levels. and i built a play pen with the leftover grids which can attatch to the cage. So i usually wake up get hid breakfast and attatch the play pen and its basically like if he had a small room of his own to run around in. I just put him away at night. I reinforced every grid with zip ties and it is crazy sturdy. Ive had it for months and no issues what so ever!
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