Housing for a nonlitter trained bunny!

[KytKattin]

So Hubble has been okay with his litterbox habbits, a little better recently, but he sometimes still has accidents. Right now he is in a Superpet cage that I modified a while ago to get him better at using the litterbox. The entire top opens for easy access. Before he would just pee and sit in it because I think he lost his natural desire to be clean. So I kept his area super clean and 95% of the time he uses his litterbox for pee. He is 100% on using it for poo. I wish it was the other way around, it is so much easier to clean up poo than pee! Anyways, the Superpet cage works because it is plastic and the pee can’t go anywhere. I put papertowel on the bottom so he has something to walk on with traction. I know the cage is a little small, but it works for him for now. Well if I get this thing sorted out with his teeth and rebuild Nova’s cage so they can live together what should I do for the floor? It is a laminate floor that is turned up at the sides so things stay in. Since it is in my closet it is literally built into it and not removeable with any ease. So if he were to pee it could leak out the corners and I couldn’t clean it because half of it is in a closet with walls on 3 sides (pictures below!). There is a litterbox on one side so it isn’t a problem there, but the cage isn’t big enough for two litterboxes and Nova’s toys (like the box you see). Or should I just buy more cubes, clean out my closet, take off the closet doors and make it bigger? Right now it is something like 10ft by 2ft. I could probably make it more like 15ft or 20ft by 2ft. Otherwise, any way to urine proof those corners?

 

 

 

[RabbitPam]

Hi,
First, I just love Hubble. He’s so adorable!!!
OK. Got that out.
Your cage set up is interesting, but that is a puzzle. If I’m getting this right, the turned up flooring is too hard to reach the corners, and therefore too hard to clean if he pees on it?
You could go into the Habitats section of this site and look at the various types of houses that others have made. It may give you some ideas on what to configure for him.
There might also be a long handled attachment for a wet/dry vac like a shop vac nozzle that would allow you to do a squirt of vinegar and water in there to wash it out, then towel or air dry it. Coroplast is used on the bottom of many NIC cube cages, so it may be moisture proof.

[KatnipCrzy]

The only thing I can think of would be to use Silicone to seal the edges.  You would only want to use a little and use only the stuff for Doors and Windows- that is 100% silicone- no added mold inhibitors.  I would use clear- not white- they might notice the white.

I have used Silicone to seal glass and it can be messy to do- but you can get a good result.  The bunnies will have to be out of the cage for about 24 hours for the smell to dissapate and the silicone to set.  It is possible that they still might dig at it- but if it is subltle and obvious the chances are less I would think.

You would want to run tape along the floor and wall- leaving a gap/spacing where you want the silicone.   Using masking tape like this makes for clean edges.  Squirt some silicone in the area to be done- and using a wet finger (keep a glass of water handy in a disposable cup)- run your finger along the crack spreading out the silicone in a thin sealing line.  The water prevents the silicone from sticking to your finger and makes it easier to work with.  The disposable cup (like a plastic gas station pop cup/or old margarine tub is convenient because you can discard and not have to try to clean any clear silicone out of a drinking glass).  Once you have the silicone in place remove the tape carefully- you have to remove the tape before the silicone cures/dries- otherwise it will ruin the seal by pulling it up.  But it takes a while for silicone to cure so there is no huge rush to get it perfect right away.

I have siliconed stuff for saltwater fish tanks- so I am pretty familiar with working with it and the safety of it (no mold inhibitors).  100% clear silicone is what is used in fish tanks- and although that is a terrible cage for a bunny it is obviously something that will not harm them.  Smaller rodents are more likely to chew out the seams.  You could use aquarium silicone but it is about 300% more cost wise.  And although the regular Home Depot/Lowe’s type silicone says it is not made for aquariums- it is OK to use- they just don’t guarantee it.

Or as another option you could buy some sheet vinyl- like from Joann Fabrics and cover the bottom and run it up the sides- you would have to determine a way to “seal” the corners- and the bunnies are more likely to chew the vinyl if there are any wrinkles in the vinyl.  I use sheet vinyl under my bunnies cage to protect the carpet- it is cheap, and as long as it lays flat they can’t chew any holes in it.  But I only use it as a flat sheet and do not have any corners that I need to protect from leaking.

[KytKattin]

Well the good thing is that I don’t have carpet in my room. The only thing i’m really worried about is that corner in the back behind the box because there are walls on 3 sides and I can not pull the cage out (it fits very snug). I suppose I could put a doggy pee pad under the laminate, as really I am just trying to avoid long term damage and am not worried about there being a huge build up of smell. I am worried that urine could leak out of the corner and get in between the molding and flooring. I really like your suggestion Katnip! It sounds like it would work perfectly and I will have a box or other toys in front of it anyways so they shouldn’t chew it.

What about traction? I basically used the laminate from when we got our new flooring, and Hubble hates it (If any recall the video of him dragging his back feet across the floor). Nova of course doesn’t mind it at all, but will chew rugs, and grass mats won’t last more than a week with her. I did see that one of the cages in the gallery had what looked like a black lego sort of flooring, but I don’t know what that is. Since it looks relatively flat I don’t think she would chew it. Worse case I’ll just let him learn to live with it but I’d prefer to make him more comfortable.

[Elrohwen]

Could you just get some type of tarp and put it under the cage so that it came up at the sides? Something waterproof like that should keep any pee from ruining your floors. I have a white vinyl table cloth under my bun’s xpen and it’s nice and waterproof.

[KytKattin]

Oh, that would be good in addition to sealing it Elrohwen! I will find a cheap one at a party store, plus I wanted something to come up the sides instead of that white (which when I rebuild will be on the outside of the bars so that it’s not as chewable and stays upright better). A nice green one would look sharp!

[KytKattin]

And I found out that I can get the cube things at Costco for cheap! Too bad they aren’t open on memorial day. After tomorrow I won’t be able to work on it for about a week due to my surgery on Tuesday.

[KytKattin]

Oh em gee, I looked at the cool habitat section again and just realized that I can just use an ex-pen across the front of my closet! Yay, and I already have it so maybe I can get that done tomorrow and use the old ones to line the back of my closet and keep them off the floorboards and from chewing my laminate.

[3crazybuns]

Well… I don’t know if your still looking for an idea or not, but right now I have my buns housed in XX-large Wire Dog kennels. Oreo’s has NIC cubes attached to the outside so he has a little “run” area. I have plans for the future to build some NIC Condos for them. My husband and I have been drawing plans, and looking on the internet for awhile for some ideas. I like the kennels though because they are super easy to clean, I line the bottom with newspaper, that way all I have to do is roll it up, and wipe down the tray. Oreo also has a “shelf” in his and he loves to lounge up their in the afternoons! TOO CUTE!!! Well, GOOD LUCK!!!

[KytKattin]

Yes 3 crazybuns, that is actually what I will be keeping Nova in while I redo her pen. My boyfriend’s neighbors had 3 of those nice wire crates sitting out front. Two were the small size that I use for my Chihuahuas (I had been thinking of getting another one too!) and the other is larger and appropriate for a rabbit. The pans were stained and it looked like they had some sort of small animal in them at some point. Nothing that a little soap and elbow grease couldn’t take care of! The only reason that I will not use them long term is because they don’t fit right in my closet and that is the only good rabbit place I have in my room. Hence why I need something that conforms to the actual space. I will be working in it today, or at least getting the other half of my closet cleaned out. If I do get it done I will have my boyfriend post pictures sometime tomorrow, otherwise it may be a few weeks before anything happens.

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