Large Dog Crate as cage?

[bunnied]

Until I can get my condo built, I was wondering if for each individual bunny I could use an xlarge dog crate as a makeshift cage (of course each bunny would have a different crate) because I have to wait until after they’re all spayed/neutered to move them into it in the first place.

 Of course I’ll attach some grids or an x-pen to them to meet the requirements but I was wondering what to do about the fact that my bunnies aren’t litter trained yet (and I heard it’s pretty hard to litter train them before they’re neutered/spayed as well, but is it impossible?). I’m probably going to try and litter train them all anyway, even though I know I’ll probably just have to do it again after they get fixed.

 But until then, what can I do about the whole dog crate not having raised edges along the sides? Because then their poo, pee, and other junk will be all over the room :/ I was thinking about using puppy pads or something similar, but are those toxic to bunnies?

 Any ideas as to what I can use??

 

Thank you so much for any suggestions

[sleepy538]

about the litter training… i got callie when she was four months old, litter trained her in a wek or two, got her spayed at six months, and never had to retrain her. it’s definitely not impossible!

[bunnied]

Yay! That gives me hope

Though one of my bunnies is well over a year…so I hope age doesn’t factor in how easy/hard it is to litter train a bunny xD

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

When i got my bunny at 6 weeks old I just placed a litterbox with some hay and he didn’t have any accidents. I got him neutered and didn’t have to retrain him either.

[DUSTBUNNY-CLYDE]

I have 2 dog crates for my boys!! I went to a glass shop and they cut plexiglass for me for the sides, so the bunnies don’t kick out poo or litter out of the cage and so their little feet can’t get stuck between the cage and tray. they use their litter box most of the time anyways!!! I drilled little holes in the plexiglass and attached zip ties to hold them on. It works great!! clean up is super easy!!! I just use half strenth vinegar in a spray bottle and it wipes off real easy!!! good luck!!!

[BinkyBuster]

I don’t have sides on Buster’s condo. I wish I did, but I tried putting one in and it didn’t go so well. He’s litter trained, but hay still gets everywhere. Whenever I change his litter box I just do a quick vacuum and voila

Also, good luck with the litter training. I got him at 3 1/2 and he wasn’t litter trained, it literally took a day. He peed once, I picked it up and put it in his litter box and he never went anywhere else! Good luck.

[CharleyBunn]

I think they would be fine in the large crates, especially if it’s temporary and you’d give them extra room w/ the x pen or let them out to play.

Litter training is possible w/o a spay or neuter. From what I’ve read on here so far it’s usually not very hard regardless of age, so you shouldn’t be discouraged. My bun took to her litter box immediately when she was around a month old. She still isn’t old enough to be fixed yet. She still occasionally will mark a new area (if I move her free range from one room to the other or lay out a new sheet or towel on the floor) but then shes over it. And occasionally when I clean her entire enclosure out w/ a vinegar and water solution she will mark when she first goes back in. What I mean about mark is just a few poos here or there and maybe pee a tiny puddle. I think she just feels like I wiped her scent away and is reclaiming her stuff. But otherwise she is very tidy and will only use her litter boxes (she has 1 in her enclosure and 1 out for when she plays).

I would offer your buns kitty litter boxes. Put some type of bedding in them. Then on one side put a little layer of timothy hay on top. If you hang a hay rack place it over the litter box as well. Try to clean up any accidents and place any poo into the litter box to encourage them to go there. You can also clean up pee w/ a piece of tp or paper towel and then place it in the litter box.

Good Luck =)

[bunnied]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I’m taking one bunny on a time and right now it’s Bentlee’s turn. He is a handful, and I can tell this is going to be a really fun (see here: aggravating) ride! It’s like he knows I want him to go in the bin but won’t. I think it’s too small for him, so tomorrow I’m going to go out and see if I can get him a new one. -___-

Also, when he has accidents (right now I have some fleece blankets down that he seems to really like) should I throw away the blankets or can I just wash them and but it back in there? I know rabbit urine is really thick and I don’t want it to disrupt the litter training process…I know this is kind of a stupid question, because the scent gets washed away, but I was just wondering what everyone else did (that uses fleece). I’m going to go pick up some soy-based newspapers tomorrow, hopefully, if I can find some in my area ^^

[CharleyBunn]

I wash mine, but this can cause them to want to re mark them too. I read before some rabbits like to potty on soft surfaces. So per the advice id read, i removed it for about a week or two until i was certain she was fully potty trained.
In my litter box, Ive used small animal litter liners made for rodents and birds before….until mine discovered it and started nibbling the corners. It said on the package to use under grids so i figured it wasnt completrly safe to chew and quit using them. Then i used a layer of newspaper under my litter. But there was really no difference with or without it so i quit. I use aspen wood shavings for litter and the big bag is lasting forever and working great. I would try a cat litter box if the one he has now is too small. Some people even go larger using plastic tubs and bins (you may have to cut out a door).

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I recently got a 5 month male that never used a litter box. He is also hormonal and will spray occasionally but he only peed outside the litterbox once. I cleaned it up with a napkin, put it in the box, and wahla! Has yet to pee outside the litterbox except when he tries spraying my female bun lol he’s getting his man bits snipped this Tuesday, thank god lol and Sally is a 5 month unswayed female and it took her like 2 days to learn the box. I’m glad I had it easy so far.

Do we really have to retrain when they get desexed???

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I would take out the blankets until he at least gets the box down. The blankets are just too tempting to pee on lol plus, you can catch the puddles quickly and clean them up with a paper towel and put in his box.

[FooFoosMommy2]

Foo has a large dog cage. She’s never kicked her poo out, but I think we’re just lucky. Until we have more space in general, we plan on keeping her in the dog cage. We feel it’s fine, as the only time she’s ever in it is if we’re at work or asleep, or if she’s using her potty. She has on average 8 hours of out time during the day, more on our days off.

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