Almost done with NIC palace!

[msarro]

http://www.twitpic.com/blp6

Thats my girlfriend and I building the cage – sorry for the lack of quality, I’ll take a better picture when its finished. It is 5 shelves (2 on each side, plus a larger one in the center to make sure that if she falls from the very top its never going to be more than a 7-14 inch fall. Across the top two shelves there is a piece of concrete form tube which she can use as a tunnel. Each shelf is made of 2 NIC panels covered by a piece of pegboard with fibrous side turned upwards to make it easier for her to sink her paws into. The final dimensions will be 58″ long, 42″ high, and 28″ deep.

Right now I’m just stuck – to get the center shelf to fit in a stable way I had to put a floor on the cage made of NIC cubes (plywood and other board types were prohibitively expensive at Home Depot). So, I need something that I can cover the floor with which will keep Layla’s rear paws/legs from getting sore and injured. What is the cheapest thing that will be safe for her if she chews on it? She never chews on the chews i buy her, but shreds everything else she can get her teeth and paws on. I was thinking maybe carpeting? I’m concerned about threads getting caught in her belly if she happens to swallow some of the threads.

I can’t really use linoleum since the dowels soaked up my budget 48$ for all of it since they charged by the foot).

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Sounds great!! Signboard or choroplast is the cheapest easiest flooring you can buy!

[FergieJen]

Good question – I’ve wondered the same thing. Right now I have my foster buns in x-pens, but I want to make a condo. What is signboard?

[Beka27]

that is for one bunny?! whoa. great job. i can’t wait to see finished pics of it all together. i second the choroplast idea. you can cut it to size and drill little holes along the edge about 1 inch in and ziptie it to the shelves. cover it with rag rugs or cheap towels that can be thrown in the wash as needed.

[msarro]

Ok, I’ve called around to the local sign stores and all charge about 30$ for a 4×8 sheet, and without getting it printed they won’t cut it down to size

Argh! Gonna keep looking – was hoping to get it today so I could finish the cage this evening… only things left to do are put in the floor and latch down the tube and Layla can move in. At the moment its for one bunny until I can get Layla altered – then I’m probably going to rescue one or two more.

[Beka27]

is she littertrained? you could try cardboard, and ziptie rag rugs over the top…

[msarro]

I’ll say she is quasi-litter trained. Normally she will only use her litterpan until its been there for about a day, and then she shreds up whatever paper is around and starts using that. My guess is she just doesn’t want a dirty litter pan. If I change it every day she never goes outside of it.

If I could afford to buy a ton of litter it wouldn’t be an issue to change it daily, but at the moment I’m stuck at every 2 days so its like one day yes, one day no

On the upside, she’s only ever had a single accident outside the cage besides the one or two little droppings here or there. I imagine she’ll be completely trained once she gets fixed.

[Beka27]

can you use less litter? they really only need a very very thin layer.

[msarro]

Thats a good idea… I always try to make it about 2-3 inches deep but I’ve noticed that she never really tries to cover anything like, say, a cat would. For some reason I never made the connection in my head, lol.

[Beka27]

all you need is one inch at the very most, esp. if you dump everyday.

[msarro]

Well, after being told the same price with every sign store I contacted, I gave up and just swiped a box from work. The only issue I ran into was a) she’s chewing on the cardboard (not a big deal) but worse, she’s peeing on it, pretty much everywhere. This would be less an issue if it wasn’t running off the cardboard on to the floor around the cage. I’m guessing its from marking territory (she isn’t fixed yet), so in the meantime I put a washable towel in the corner she seems to be using the most. It’ll have to work until I can get either a larger litter box, or a second corner box for her to use.

In the meantime… bunny pics!!!!!

looking around the new cage:

 

The bunny mansion (A.k.a: Chateau Bunn, a.k.a. the bun cave, a.k.a. Stately Rabbit Manor)

Posing near the tunnel:

Layla played with this small bit of hemp twine for more than 3 hours. I made a rattle out of apple wood sticks and twine, and had a bunch left over. So, I ran it through the peg board above, tied it in place, and let it dangle. She is obsessed with it.

 

PS: The mansion pic was before I loaded in things like her litter box, the towel, and some other bunny essentials. I just wanted to get bunny approval before I fully moved her in

Think I have room for another bunny or two?

[msarro]

I figure while I’m at it I may as well include a pic of the final product… here it is! Food on the top left, litter on the bottom left along with her hay traugh and towel. Also a bunch of toys throughout the bottom. On the right second shelf is the twine and rattle, and top right is just a grass mat I found for 2$. If you can think of anything else please feel free to let me know!

 

[RachelF]

that is amazing! your bun must be in heaven!

great job. I LOVE the big tunnel at the top, does she?

and the twine thing is funny. she’s “obsessed” eh? funny how they acquire a little attachemnt to the weirdest things. My bun had a bunny “kabob” with a bell at the end and wooden blocks attached. when she finally tore the things to pieces, she attached herself to the metal bell. I had to take the little chain and part that hits against the side of the bell out so that she wouldn’t hurt herself, but she plays with the actual bell piece for hours!

also, my bun has the same carrot toy. she trys to eat the end of it though. poor starving rabbit.

[msarro]

She adores the tunnel – in fact its where she slept last night. The hole in the top of it is for when she tries to hide if she accidentally hears the word “vet”
I just think I need some more toys, etc. Totally have room for another bun once I get her fixed!

[KatnipCrzy]

One thing to check into to cover the floor with might be in the commercial lighting department at a home improvement store.  I was there buying light diffuser (also called eggcrate) to use in our saltwater tank to hold corals.  And I saw that they had plastic sheets that are used as a light cover for the sections that have multiple light bulbs (like in a drop ceiling).  I bought a white one for about $8 maybe and put it under our cats litterbox to protect the hardwood floor.  It is a rigid plastic and I think a bunny would have a hard time chewing the edges as it is thin but hard and probably not likely to break off in large pieces.

I don’t know what the name of this “product” is called- but it would be by “eggcrate” and light diffusers that are used in commercial building.  It is sold as a standard sheet that fits a typical size for lighting/ceilings.  But I would think that you could trim it if needed- the one I bought is 2 feet by 4 feet.  Anyway- this might be a lead of how to cover the eggcrate with a solid surface.  Let me know if you have any questions or if it works for you!

[Beka27]

that looks great. the nice thing is cardboard is replacable, so you can do that until you have extra cash for signboard or something else, or until you come up with another idea. condos can always be updated, but i think you’ve done an awesome job.

as far as the litterbox, i agree that the corner box looks way too small. you want to have potty room, and lounge room and an extra corner for hay is helpful for potty training. i’d suggest a medium size cat box. they are much cheaper than rabbit boxes, much larger (the one i have is about 5x12x14 inches) and as long as you keep a very shallow layer of litter, it will work out fine.

when does she go to get spayed, have you made arrangments for this yet? she looks like she’s not a baby anymore… and she’s very cute!

[msarro]

Its in the budget for next month for her to go get her initial checkup which has to be done before they’ll do the spay. So I’m hoping around a month from now. Luckily they’re being really cool about setting up time payments for the surgury! Does it matter if it gets done before or after puberty? I know if I wait too long after puberty the behaviors will become habitual and I won’t be able to stop them.

[Beka27]

you don’t want to wait too long b/c like you say, more things will become habit and might be harder to break afterwards. most vets won’t do the spay until 6 months, so usually about 6-8 months works out well. that being said, it’s better to have the spay done after puberty than not at all with the high risk of cancer in females.

[Author]

Messages