Need help with choosing appropriate height for xpen

[renaelock]

I am adopting (yay!) a 3 year old male checkered giant and want to get him an xpen for inside and outside (one pen for both).  I thought 30 inches tall would be good but don’t want to make the mistake and have to buy another one thats taller.  So I do have a picture of him in an xpen but I can only count 5 rows before the picture stops.  I asked his owner but she didn’t answer so I’m guessing she can’t remember (he doesn’t have the pen anymore so she can’t measure it..).  So, for those of you with checkered giants or a breed thats about the size of a cg, how tall should I go?  Part of me is thinking 36 inches now but I like the lower price of the 30 inch.  Any help would be appreciated!!!  Oh and I was thinking about getting the epoxy because it’d be safer for my birds if they for somereason landed on it or got their beak on it somehow (zinc is toxic to birds).  Could a rabbit easily chew up the epoxy?  Pardon me if I am being blond, I figure the epoxy is just a rubbery type coating over the wire – if it’s something else, my bad (hehe)

[jerseygirl]

It’s hard to say breed-wise whether they’ll clear certain heights or not. It’s really depends on the individual rabbit. I would just get one with a top or fashion a top for it with something else. Then you can buy the shorter one if you want. For outdoors, you really need to have a top on it. Not so much from stopping a rabbit jumping over but for protecting it from things getting in.

[renaelock]

Thank you for your reply! I’m hoping to stay away from a top but I could probably use the cubes as a top if needed…hmmm

[Sarita]

My pens are all the 36 inches high. I would not go lower than that. I just use the plain old electroplated gold ones and I haven’t had any problems with them causing any health issues.

Congratulations on your new bunny.

[Deleted User]

Mine is 42″ but I clip a sheet to the top overnight. I do not trust my rabbits at all. They have moved a box close to a very high gate once and then cleared that and went exploring in the middle of the night.

[MirBear]

nice story petzy that must of scared you in the morning

[Elrohwen]

My pen is 36″ high – I read that was a good height for almost all rabbits.

Though my rabbit doesn’t know he’s a rabbit and I could probably contain him with only 15-20″ of fence.

[Beka27]

I would not go shorter than a 36″. The taller ones are not *much* more expensive. It would be more expensive to get the shorter one and then end up having to buy a top, buy grids for a top, or buy a whole new xpen.

Larger bunnies tend to not jump as high as smaller bunnies. I think it has to do with just being heavier. But keep in mind that even if this bunny is not a jumper, this doesn’t mean you won’t someday get him a mate who does jump… or you may adopt another bunny later on down the line who is a jumper. You want to be able to use the xpen for a long time.

I would recommend that you get one of the walk-through xpens, that have a swinging door you can step inside for cleaning/feeding/bunny retrieving (if necessary). Some models only have a small square opening and people cannot get inside.

I’m not sure about the epoxy.

[renaelock]

Beka27 – thanks for bringing up the friend thing! I’ve thought about getting Polo a friend if needed but I haven’t considered my future bunnies jumping abilities -oops! I’m glad you brought that to my attention! I agree on the door, I will be buying a walk-through

[RabbitPam]

Beka & Sarita,
Good advice, guys. I just copied yours and emailed it to myself so when I see a sale and am tempted I can remember.

[Beka27]

They do make a higher xpen (42″) which is better if you have a jumper… but I like the 36″ b/c I can still bend over and give head scratches or treats when the buns stand up against the side.

[KatnipCrzy]

The epoxy coating is not “rubbery”- it is very hard and durable.

I had to go with the 48″ tall x-pen- and I wish it was shorter but Griffin, my English Lop was clearing 3 NIC grids high which is about 3 1/2 feet.  Griffin is a larger rabbit- and he is younger, approx 9 months old now.   But when he stretches up to beg for a treat he is probably close to twice the height of Schroeder (the Mini Lop housed next to him).  I miss being able to lean over and grab bowls, etc.

So it really depends on the rabbit- Griffin was always getting into everything and clearing anything we used to block the stairs until we got up to 4 feet tall.  But most larger rabbits are supposed to be mellow- and he is getting more mellow and cuddly over the past couple of months.

Just to make sure he does not try to climb or jump the 4 ft pen I have a piece of Coroplast on top- I was afraid it would make the pen dark (block light) but it really does not since the pen is so tall.  And ever since he thinks there is a “roof” to his cage I have not seen him try to jump or climb it.

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