New setup idea. . . opinions?

[angoralvr]

I am planning on making a new cage for Henri and Acorn now that they are living together full time. I was thinking that I will move them to the basement because I have a big carpeted room down there so they would be able to have more room then they currently do upstairs. I usually keep my house at around 67 degrees upstairs which means it may be as low as 65 in the basement but that shouldn’t be a problem for them should it?

I was at Petsmart this weekend talking to the local HRS people and one of the women there called one of the local rabbit savvy vets for me. The vet she called is going to give me a great deal on both of my boy’s neuters since they are getting done at the same time so that’s exciting because it was going to cost me over 600 dollars at the other vet. Anyway, we were talking about the post surgery care the boys will need and I know I might need to seperate them for a few days afterwards so I was thinking that maybe an L-shaped setup would serve my needs best? I could do it in the corner and then post surgery, I could rig it up so each boy has one side of the L. Do you guys think that makes sense? Or should they be even more confined then that directly after? (like Acorn in his crate and Henri in a small NIC enclosure?)

I was planning on making them a large cage and then an enclosure around it like I have upstairs. The biggest issue I see coming up here is out of cage time. If I set it up like planned, I was going to make it so that when I opened the enclosure, they had acess to the stairs to come upstairs if they wanted to. Do you think that it is a bad idea to let them come up and down on their own though?

Also, not a cage related question, but when I take them to the vet, should I put them both in my larger carrier or have them in their own seperate small carriers?

[Suzanne McCarter]

I don’t know if I can address all of these as I feel sure others may be more qualified, but thought I’d add a few words =)

From all the reading over years and with having 5 bunnies of my own over the past 5 years now, I know they are very social creatures. They may not always want to interact. but they love to watch and feel part of the family even when they have a mate. Do you often visit the basement? or would they be down there most of the day alone? If alone, I’d feel they may not be as happy. Of course I’m taking a lot of guessing here, but wanted to mention it =)

For stairs, … The bigger bunnies I have had didn’t mind a bit running up and down stairs alone. They loved it! Most of my bunnies now are smaller (lion head and holland lop) and have not tried the stairs when loose and near them. You may want to give that a try to see, as it may depend on their size/confidence?

The times I have taken my buns to the vet I kept them in their own carriers. I don’t know which would be best, but just what I have found best for me. Maybe you can ask your vet what they prefer you to do? When mine came home after neutering they were a bit out of sorts and it seemed easier and more comfortable (I think) for them to have their own carrier space.

Good luck with it all. I’m glad they have bonded! Henri is one of the cutest bunnies I have ever seen! Makes me want to get one myself! lol (but I don’t dare with 4 inside already!) Keep posting the photos tho, as I sure enjoy those! Let us know how everything turns out.

[Beka27]

i agree with what Suzi said!  as far as i remember, Henri has never been housed in the basement, i think he’d really miss the interaction of being upstairs.  i would, if at all possible, try to keep them both upstairs.  you may need to move things around a bit… but i think it’s worth it to have them feel more a part of the family. 

[angoralvr]

I actually have my computer in the basement now so I will probably be spending about as much time down there as I am upstairs. Especially since I am starting back to classes next month so I will need the computer quite a bit.

As far as the stairs go, they have both gone up and down them on their own a lot. In fact, I had to block them off recently because they kept going downstairs to explore. So if I do move them downstairs, I wouldn’t have a problem giving them access to the stairs so they could come up whenever I am up there.

Honestly, one other reason I was thinking about the basement is because I am sick of hearing Matt complain about Henri tracking hay around the living room. With Henri’s fur, there really is no way to keep him from tracking stuff around the house. I didn’t mention this one before because it is like the least important issue as far as I am concerned. The basement does have really low pile carpeting though so it is much easier to sweep the hay up down there then upstairs and my vacuum keeps getting cloged if I don’t sweep off the carpet first. He does have a point though. . . . you walk into my house currently and look around and see hay everywhere, it makes the place look really messy!

[angoralvr]

Oh yeah, my other good option (as I see it) is to move their cage into the sunroom. This would also give me the opportunity to make them a bigger cage and actually, the room itself is about 7ft by 7ft so I could give them the whole room as the enclosure I would just have to put the baby gate in the doorway. The biggest problems I see with this room though are; It is very drafty so I would be worried about where I put the cage and the temperature in the room. There are a few places that the carpeting is coming up a little in the doorway which I already know is a rabbit dig magnet! So I would need a good way to cover that up. And finally, right now, my kitties pretty much view the sunroom as “their” room because I commonly leave the shades open for them to look out the windows, I would be somewhat concerned that the cats and Acorn might have a little bit of a territory war if I moved them into this room.

[Suzanne McCarter]

Sounds like moving them to the basement is a great idea then! Sounds like it will benefit all involved!

[Beka27]

well that sounds like the basement could work then… i was just concerned because i know some people don’t really use their basement often.  let us know what you decide to do!

[Scarlet_Rose]

My vote would be for the basement, hay complaints aside, so long as you will be speindng time down there with them and they have access to go upstairs and explore.  The temperature and drafty condition of the sunroom do not sound right for rabbits so I would skip that.  Can you make them a run in the basement rather than the cage or even a cage with a run attached?  I think they would really like that and if you end up being detained at school for a group project etc, they can still have a bit of exercise and you guilt-free for the most part.

As for the neuters, thats great you’re getting a good deal! I would take them together in one cage and pick them up in two separate ones. As for the post neuter cages, don’t make them too small but keep them to one story and wait a while before letting them out to explore.  Be sure to have some fragrant yummy greens ready like cilantro, mint and parsely ready too. : )

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