Bi-level condo from dog crate

[CheriB603]

 

Hi all!  This is Jo-Jo’s bedroom.  I hesitate to say “cage”, because she only sleeps here and is out from 6:30 a.m. to about 10 pm.

I wanted to show other folks how you can turn a dog crate (which I find to be a heavier gage wire and a little bit more sturdy than NIC cubes) into a bi-level condo.  This is the largest crate I could find – 48″L x 32″W x 36″H        As you can see, I found a piece of scrap 1″ thick plywood in my garage that was already cut into this rectangle shape, I glued on that brown crate pad that my puppy outgrew, but you can use felt, carpet, linoleum, tile, whatever… drilled a hole in each corner and attached sturdy eye bolts. Then went to the hardware store and selected thick chain and had them cut it into 4 equal lengths. (MEASURE BEFORE YOU GO!) I secured the chain to the eye bolts and to the cage bars using those carabeaner (sp?) thingies.

Then, to make sure it didn’t sway, I screwed one eye bolt into each of the two sides touching the crate and secured to the bars with the thingies. It’s VERY sturdy and holds my growing Flemmie easily.  I put her bed (dog bed) under the shelf for privacy and her litter box in the opposite corner. I have that tray under her litter box and food dish because, though she has always peed in her box, she likes to poop while eating and the tray contains it until I can get in there and toss it in her box, which she seems to appreciate the twice-daily maid service but seems to not catch on to the whole pooping in the place you pee concept. (Any suggestions greatly appreciated!)    This is in our off ice which is off the living room and Jo comes and goes as she pleases. And she pleases.     Hope this is helpful to anybody and please let me know of any improvements I can make!

Oh, and that little carpeted cat hideout is a place for her to hide and a step to use to get up on her shelf, which she only needed for a few days, now she just  hops on up…and she doesn’t eat the carpet so it works, but a wooden hidey box would be a good step too.

[Chronicambitions]

This is really awesome. I use a dog crate as well and always considered putting on a shelf but was never sure how to do it.

[Julezypie]

That is awesome! My neighbor has two bunnies and he sort of has the same thing, but his male has two cages he combined somehow lol. Thanks for the inspiration!

[CheriB603]

Thanks! And of course the shelf can be any size or even an L shape.

[Sarita]

The only problem with a shelf is that it is not going to allow a rabbit to stretch upwards fully at 13 inches..especially for a large rabbit like a Flemish Giant.

[CheriB603]

I don’t expect her to use the shelf to stretch upright… Though there is actually 17 inches of space (the cage is 36″ tall and the shelf is positioned about half way) and right now, at 13 weeks she CAN stretch up, It’s pretty much a snoozing shelf. She can stretch up in the other side of her condo, and she’s only in there for 8 hours overnight. . She has the run of the house the other 16 hours. For a smaller bun this would be a nice big house, which is why I wanted to share the concept.
I think the photo is deceptive… Looks smaller than it actually is – i’ll try to get a pic with Jo inside.

[Sarita]

Well ideally you want your rabbit to be able to stretch upwards in an enclosure – I understand what you mean on the other side allowing that – but ideally on any surface it is better to allow them to be able to stand up on their hind legs and fully extend themselves. This probably works fine for now and for small rabbits but eventually it won’t allow her much space.

[CheriB603]

[MoveDiagonally]

I like it, it’s a neat way to put together a level in a dog crate for sure.

It is on the smaller side for a Flemish Giant. I agree with Sarita, as she grows she will likely need something a bit larger. I think the recommended minimum for a single giant breed is 4′ X 4′. Another way to “measure” is that a rabbit should be able to hop three times in one direction without having to turn around.

[Julezypie]

Posted By MoveDiagonally on 07/07/2013 04:37 PM
I like it, it’s a neat way to put together a level in a dog crate for sure.

It is on the smaller side for a Flemish Giant. I agree with Sarita, as she grows she will likely need something a bit larger. I think the recommended minimum for a single giant breed is 4′ X 4′. Another way to “measure” is that a rabbit should be able to hop three times in one direction without having to turn around.

I was trying to remember the rule of thumb for how many hops! I think jack and Fiona’s cages are a little small right now (he can do 2 jumps) but the housing is temporary for the next month.

 

cheri, I was wanting to do something like what you did for jojo, but my husband wanted the NIC cube condos. Since he was the one doing t (I’m not handy like you are), I let him decide lol .

[CheriB603]

Like I said, this is where she sleeps and there is plenty of room for now. My goal is to let Jo just have her litterbox (you should see the size of the humoungas corner box for when she’s bigger – I can bathe a labrador in it!), food, hay, water and dog bed open in the office and just close the door to put her to bed at night.
Then I can sell the crate to someone who has a great dane.

[CheriB603]

Here is Jo on her shelf. (Taken last night when she went in for bed.)

Still tons of room.   Keep in mind she is as big as an average cat – that tells you how big this crate is.

Just wanted to clarify.

[Sarita]

She looks comfy! What a cute photo. She does look like she has plenty of room…seeing a photo does help!

[CheriB603]

Thanks, Sarita!! Have a great day!

[Julezypie]

Wow, that’s so much larger than I was imaging! Love the pics!

[Baxter n Boos Mom]

3 hops is such a cute rule of thumb. Our condo definitely doesn’t qualify – but since they’re never locked in, I guess it doesn’t matter? Really nice way to convert the large dog cage for your bun!

[Author]

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