Bunny cage advice needed

[GingersMama]

Hello!!

Thanks for all your enlightening posts… this site has been crucial to my new
Bunny momma adventure!!

My question is regarding housing.

Background: just adopted Ginger a few days ago. She’s a 6week old holland (I thought she
Was 8 weeks until I got her home and clarified her birthday… wish she stayed with mom longer). She’s doing quite well!!
I haven’t owned a bunny before, but had been a chinchilla momma for many years until my boy passed last year. Anyhow, I had gotten him a new cage just prior to his passing, so it’s in great shape and I wanted to use it for Ginger. It was a splurge for sure.

My long term housing plans are to have her modified free-run house bunny. I’d like to have a cage for her to be in while no one is home where she is safe from my cats and dog (which are friendly but don’t want to risk unsupervised accidents) and will let her free run while we are home and awake. I’m moving to a bigger place in June, so may replace the cage with an x-pen setup at that time, but we’ll see.

Anyhow, I want her cage to be comfy as can be and for her to have space. Since this one was for chinchilla it’s all about
Levels and height. I want to see if there’s a way I can make this work for bunny. I’ve attached
Photos.

So my questions are:

– she can’t jump to any of the shelves now or on top of her house. Will she eventually be able to as she grows?
– is this set up safe for her?
– would a ramp or ladder be a good addition between shelves, and what’s the max vertical distance I should leave between shelves before a ramp would be needed?
– should I just suck it up and get a different cage (not able to do x-pen setup until I ha e a bigger place where I can separate her from the cats)

Appreciate it everyone!!!

 [photos inserted by forum leader]

[Azerane]

Hello there It seems you have not attached any images to your post, let us know if you need help with that

Welcome to the new world of bunny ownership In most instances, a chinchilla cage will not be a suitable habitat for a rabbit. Mostly because chinchillas do use quite a bit of vertical space, leaping from ledge to ledge etc. While rabbits do appreciate jumping onto steps and levels, it is much more important for rabbits to have horizontal space to make the most of hopping along one length. It is perferable that additional levels be of large size rather than distanced apart to jump between (which could result in injury). While rabbits are adept jumpers, they are not always good at judging distances and do not have the best footing. I’m personally not a fan of ramps, though other people use them with success, they need to be long and shallow though, rather than short and steep.

Ideally a different cage would be better. You could use an x-pen set up now and use some of the panels as a lid for the pen and attach them all with cable ties, similar to building an NIC or C&C cage.

ETA: Check out the habitats page on the BB site here for some more ideas if you haven’t already: https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/GreatHabitats/tabid/229/Default.aspx

[GingersMama]

Hi got the photos added!!

[Deleted User]

That’s not really a bunny appropriate cage. They need room width wise, not height wise. They really need to be able to do 4 full hops from one side to the other side of the cage. They need to be able to adequately stretch out too, and as she grows that cage will definitely not suit her.

[Deleted User]

Maybe de clutter it and add some NIC Grids to it?
My Myrtle is in a temporary large dog crate until she is bonded with Finn. So I have had to leave it more or less bare so she has space.

[Heaven]

You could use NIC grids & zip ties to create an extension of the cage with a “lid” on so she’d be safe from the cats?

[sarahthegemini]

That’s massively inappropriate for a rabbit. It looks like she’ll barely be able to move in it? You’re going to have to suck it up and get something more rabbit friendly. Most pet store cages are completely inadequate by the way so a pen really would be best. You can put a roof on it to keep the cats away.

[jerseygirl]

Im sorry to hear about your chinchilla. Do share some photos of him, if you like. We’re always keen to see all the furbabies!

Do you think you will get another chinchilla down the track? If not, you may be able to sell this to another chin owner and put money toward the pen you like.

How tall is this cage? Does the whole top open?
Im wondering if you could use it on it’s side and make a floor for it. While your rabbit is so little, it might work for you that way until you move. Although the doors would not in ideal position…

[Author]

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