Cover for my pen (ideas?)

[Antar The Bunny]

Hey there! Some of you may have seen from another post that I’ll be picking up my first bunny on Saturday, and I’ve been keeping busy researching and setting up his things. Initially, I plan on keeping him in a pen while I’m at work, and I have a larger foldable x-pen that I’ll use to give him more space (eventual goal is to let him free roam after he gets neutered, litter trained, and comfortable with the space). 

I bought a great pen, but the mesh top that it comes with isn’t very good. It looks like the mesh was made for an older version, so I’m returning it and looking for my own alternatives. Some of the Amazon reviews suggest getting lattice fencing to zip tie, but that’ll be difficult to remove for cleaning. I’ve also seen a number of people who simply put a blanket or cardboard box on top of the pen, but not sure if this would be good/scary for my bun.

I’ve attached a picture of the pen and linked it above for reference. Thanks in advance.

[Bunny House]

I think those pens are so cute but too low for bunnies so they can jump out! Is there anyway you can just use a regular dog pen instead of having to make a top for your current one for the housing? That’s what I use for mine. Dog pens are often too tall for bunnies to jump over, unless yours is a New Zealand like mine is, but yours is a lop right?

[Antar The Bunny]

I’m not able to get another pen now, but possibly in the future. I did purchase a foldable dog pen for him to get more room but it’s not something that I can keep out permanently because of space in my apt, it’s also the same height (24″).

I ventured over to Home Depot and found vinyl lattice that I’m thinking of using as a topper, it’s very affordable, easy to clean, and will still have openings for him to get fresh hair and light.

[graysonbun]

Hi! The vinyl lattice sounds like it could work fine, not sure how heavy it would be though? In my experience, the weight of something going on top has made a difference, but if it works I would say go for it. I have two ex pens for my two boys and we use binder clips to attach a white bed sheet over them when we’re not home, it has always worked fine, and it still lets plenty of light through it. If you wanted to try, I would just suggest going to a local thrift store (unless you have some you’re not using already) and buying one – you could just cut it to the size you need. i.e – a little bit bigger than the pen so you have something to clip on the side.

looking at your photo now though, I’m not sure how you would attach it as it looks like thicker plastic, you might have to be a little more creative than me lol! hope this helped you!

[Daisy]

That’s such a cute pen! I’m understanding correctly it’s 60 cm/24 inches high? Honestly if you want to live without a “ceiling” on your pen it needs to be at least 100 cm (39 inches) because if you got a jumper/escapist, they WILL jump very high! I say if because not all bunnies jump pens. I’ve had 2 in my life who would jump pens and for them the height doesn’t matter. They will even climb parts if they need to haha. My other 4 buns never even tried jumping and were perfectly fine even in low pens.

That being said, if you happen to have a jumper a ceiling will do more than increasing the pen height unless you make it ridiculously high (read: Very ugly to have in your house haha). My pen is 27 inches/70 cm and I have a jumper right now. I use fleece blankets with clothespins as a ceiling. Works great! Even though she could jump right through it if she wanted to (because the clothespins are not that sturdy at all and my jumper is quite strong and big), the blankets give her the illusion that it’s a ceiling they cannot get through so she stops trying to jump. My jumper will reach up to it and you can see her thinking “oh welp darnit nevermind”. :’)

[Asriel and Bombur]

Let me know how you like this pen! I’ve been looking at other ways besides the xl cages I’ve had for the past year and a half and I hadn’t seen this yet.

[Antar The Bunny]

Alright, a quick update on the pen situation for those of you wondering. 

I went to Home Depot to purchase a piece of vinyl lattice as a cover. Luckily the guy helping me was kind enough to measure it out (35.25×35.25) and cut it for me. I also bought velcro straps to secure the top to the pen, but still allow me to easily remove it for cleaning. Once I got home I tried it out and the top fit perfectly!

The only issue, as you can probably see, is that the plastic band at the top is a bit too thick for the velcro straps to properly fit. I wound up exchanging this pen for the previous model which will make it much easier to wrap the straps and secure the top. I’m setting everything up tonight and will be picking up my bun tomorrow. I’ll try to update with a picture of the final set-up.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Also where’d you get that bath mat? I absolutely love this set up!

[Bunny House]

I love it! He’ll love it.

[Antar The Bunny]

Thanks! The mat is the perfect fit for the pen, it’s washable and has a waterproof bottom. You can purchase them on Amazon, super affordable. Here’s the link – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B…&psc=1

[Author]

Messages