Do they always need a cage or X-pen?

[bunnyfriend]

Hi everyone (:

Okay so I have some questions about housing.  First, should you always have a cage for your bunny even if you have a bunny proofed house?I let Wilbur run around my room during most of the day, I put her in a kennel at night or when I leave the house. So my other question is will she be safe if I let her have run of the whole room with the door shut while I’m gone or at night? I don’t really know exactly what I’m worried about since the room is bunny proofed, I guess it’s because this if the first time I’ve had a young rabbit . I originally planned that I would keep the kennel for when she reaches maturity and goes crazy ;P, then when she recovers from her spay in a couple months I would eventually take away the kennel and let her have run of the full house, but keep her in my room while I’m gone or at night. The kennel is plenty big for her now but if I do have to have a cage for her when she’s fully grown then I would definitely need to make her a bigger one out of N.I.C cubes or buy an X-pen. 

 

[Sarita]

Well, it really depends. I’ve had several rabbits who I trusted to run around the house without supervision when I’m not home.

Of course my worry is always what if something happens like a fire or someone breaks in…but that could have serious consequences either way that I can have no control over.

I also worry about apartment complexes where the maintenance person can come in.

[peppypoo]

Both Tammo and Remi were/are free-roaming bunnies 24/7, but Peppy has destructiveness problems (heh) and Milo has occasional peeing problems, so they share a spacious ex-pen. Of course, you’ll probably need more litterboxes for a free-roaming rabbit, and for Remi we kept his cage so he can have his own “place” where there’s always food and water, except the door is open all the time.

I would wait with a younger rabbit…like you said, there’s always the possibility of suddenly developing unwanted behavior as they mature. Maybe you can slowly start giving her some unsupervised freedom a month or two after her spay, if her behavior is good..but of course, there’s no reason she can’t run free now when you’re around.

[Stickerbunny]

When I am home Powder has full run of the house and when I leave I put him in a 3-room area (his room, my room and the bathroom) which I know is 100% bunny safe, even without supervision. I would wait on after the spay as well though, all the damage Stickers did to my house was before her spay after her hormones kicked in.

[Beka27]

If she’s unspayed AND young, I would wait til after the spay and after she has matured a bit… about 1 year old.

[LoveChaCha]

I agree with the others – waiting until she is older may help. I didn’t allow my bunny to go free range until a few months ago. She is almost 2, but has shown that she just sleeps during the day. She is really lazy. It depends on the personality and if they are destructive or not.

[bunnyfriend]

Okay, sounds like it will be a good idea to wait and see how she is after her spay and once she’s mature. Thanks everyone for the advice! (:

[brittbritt]

My two have no cage at all. They are both spayed/neutered and bonded. I have a very tall gate in my hallway so they can’t get in our bedrooms. They are free range in the rest of the house. I keep their litter boxes in the corner of the living room and their food/water bowls in the same spot all the time. They like to hide/sleep under my guinea pig cages on a platform my husband made so it can be rolled around easier.

Gabby came to me after living in a tiny pet store cage all alone in the past owner’s garage during the winter. I vowed to myself that if she could be I would have her free range and never be caged again.

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