Brand new bunny mom seeking advice

[Cloversmom]

Hello everyone. I am a brand new first time bunny mom to clover the 8 week old female Netherland Dwarf. Unfortunately I’m afraid I made a poor habitat decision.
I wanted bun to have lots of space and at my local bunny shelter they had a 4 ft by 2 ft pen. I have tile floor so I thought it would be perfect. I asked the guy at the shelter if the spaces between the bars were too big for bun. He assured me it was fine. So I set the pen up and the next day I bring bun home. Then seeing actual bun in the pen I realized she would be able to fit her head through it. So I freak out trying to figure out what to do and start doing research. I came across the idea to cover the pen in wire mesh. As I’m doing said research bun sticks her head through the space and to my surprise the rest of her body follows. So paranoid new bunny mom that I am is extremely concerned that she could’ve hurt herself squeezing through such a small space. Is that something I need to be concerned about? She’s acting normal. Flopping and binkying. I’m just paranoid because it was an awfully tiny space. So that’s my first concern. Next is that I go to Lowe’s get the mesh and attached it. Bun is safe and secure. But I’m concerned because the edges of the mesh are sharp. And while I made sure none are protruding and it is wrapped around the outside of the pen not the inside I am concerned especially when bun comes out for play time she could poke or scratch herself. Is there anything I can do for the sharp edges? I had someone tell me to cover it in electrical tape but I think bun would eat it. I would be so grateful for any suggestions I just want bun to be safe. Thanks so much in advance!

[LBJ10]

If the head fits, the rest of the body will follow. Bunnies don’t have collar bones, so the only thing they have to worry about when fitting into a small space is the size of their skull. I’m sure she’s just fine.

[Boymom4]

Chances are if the wire is just short stubble she will poke herself once or twice and then simply avoid it. If it sticks out enough to snag an eye or skin then I would be worried. A pair of needle nose pliers may help in that situation. Because they have such a small nose on them you can grab the end of each wire and “curl” it until the point is in an unreachable location. It does take a bit of work but might be worth the effort. Many of those tools also have a built in wire cutter that will help you get a close nip on anything that sticks out.

[ThorBunny]

I’ve successfully used electrical tape and duct tape to seal off sharp edges like this. But then, Thor doesn’t tend to eat or chew on many things she is not supposed to. You could always give the tape a try and keep a close eye for chewing!

[Cloversmom]

Thanks everyone. I’m going to try the tape first and if she chews we’ll do the pliers.

[Kazzaklyzm]

I like dollar store cooling racks for tightening up my kiddie gates and blocking off certain areas. They don’t have any rough edges and are uniform in appearance. You could also ‘sandwich’ the wire edges with cardboard or toilet paper tubes and use zip ties or binder clips to secure them in place. The pliers idea mentioned by boymom4 is the most certain, you could even fold the wire down and back on itself too.

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