Dog kennel as a cage?

[HappyHollandDays]

I’m trying to decide the best cage for my bun. I love the idea of nic condos and ex pens, but the problem is the footprint they take up. Especially ex pens. I have a small apartment I’ll be moving to in August when I get my bun, so I don’t have much room in my bedroom (where the cage has to be kept as per my roommate) so I’ve been back and forth on it. Then I thought of using a dog wire kennel. I will most likely get the 42″ one used typically for lab sized dogs and larger. I’m wondering if this is large enough? The nic cage I was planning on making was going to be a 3x2x2 grid size. So also 42″ long. I will add a second level I’m the crate using the divider included in order to increase the square footage and exercise jumping muscles. It will be taller than the nic condo too. The reason I’m leaning towards the dog crate is then I don’t have to make a base for the cage because it comes with a liner already that is waterproof. I only plan on having the cage closed when I’m not home until I can trust my bun to be free range. does this sound okay for size? My schedule is such that the longest I’ll be away from my apartment is 9 hours on any given day. So the bun will have lots of floor time. I’m getting a Holland Lop, so he/she will be small. Thanks for your help! I just want to make sure I can give my bun the best care possible.

[HappyHollandDays]

I ended up buying a XXL dog crate. It’s 48″ long, and just plain huge, I plan on adding a second level still for more square footage. I am so excited to bring my bun home!!

[JackRabbit]

The 48″ one is fine. We did the dog crate thing too with our lops. If you make a second level, I would only have it be about half the crate so that your bunny can still periscope in the single level half. Don’t know if you’ve considered this, but once she’s spayed and litter trained, you could attach an xpen to the crate during the 9 hours you’re away from home even if it takes up all of the floor space in the room since you won’t be there during that time anyway, and just take it down when you get home. That’s the nice thing about xpens, easy up and easy down.

[HappyHollandDays]

As soon as he/she is potty trained, so most likely after neutering/spaying, he/she will have free roam of my room all day. Although I may do an ex-pen before then, I hadn’t thought of that! I’m planning on lining my room with rubber weight-lifting pads (I’ll have blankets down to prevent sore hocks!) so my carpet doesnt get ruined, and it’ll be waterproof and the bun can be out on it. As for the second level, that’s exactly what I was thinking! Plus I won’t put it up very high (paranoid bunny mama already) so he/she will be able to periscope of both levels! (It’s a really tall cage)

[JackRabbit]

FYI, 1 inch dowels or 1×2’s zip tied to the crate work well as supports for the 2nd level.

[HappyHollandDays]

thanks so much for the advice! I plan on enlisting the help of my father to build a second level, he’s a woodworker! I just want August to be here so I can get my baby!

[JackRabbit]

That must be nice! I was at the mercy of my hubby and his desire to use his power tools!

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