picket fence enclosure?

[peanutsmom]

Hey guys,

I am looking into options for setting up Peanut’s area in my room.  Right now he’s in an enclosure I made from cube grids I had lying around, but I want something a little more attractive.  

I found this picture of someone’s guinea pig habitat and was thinking of using some fencing like this (except unpainted and with closer together slats).  http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzapg20KVk1qfqow9o1_500.jpg  Has anyone done something like this?  Do you think he would chew on the fence and would it help to put lemon oil or something on it?  I just really don’t like the look of metal bars/grids.  They make me feel like my bunny’s in jail or something.

Also, what about vinyl trellis material?  Is vinyl safe for bunnies?

-M

 

[Monkeybun]

I wouldn’t, its too easy to chew through, and would have to be a ton higher to stop from jumping over. Even with lemon oil or similar, some bunnies lvoe the flavor. best to go with a traditional metal pen.

[Beka27]

That is a very cute enclosure, but I think it would be more isolating for a rabbit, assuming they didn’t chew it to smithereens within a week anyways. In order to have the slats close enough together to be a safe space, the fence pieces would be making almost a solid wall. You wouldn’t be able to see in, and your bun wouldn’t be able to see out. :o( The nice thing about pens or grids is that the metal bars are very unobtrusive, but they are sturdy and safe.

[Sarita]

Adorable, but not terribly practical. I think you’d be much better off with an x-pen.

[peanutsmom]

Yeah I see what you mean. I might go with white grids and just have wooden hidey houses.

[Pandorachik]

better choice = xpen.. Lol

[kinggoblin]

that is cute, but rabbits like to chew and it would have to be way higher, like 40 inches tall higher

[HoneysBuns]

some of the pens at the House Rabbit Society in Richmond are made from picket fences. As long as your bun isn’t a chewer or a jumper it should be ok. My rabbits have never chewed anything wooden, so i would trust them with a picket fence.

[Eepster]

I’m pretty sure there is plexi-glass behind the picket fence and the picket fence part is just decorative. If you look carefully at the upper loft area (I think there are hamsters living up there) you can see the plexi-glass along the “open” sides more easily.

The reason that set up works well for piggies is b/c they don’t jump or climb so a very short wall is all they need. For a bunny, you would need a very high plexi-glass wall which would not be good for air circulation.

[peanutsmom]

Eepster – Wow, good observation. I didn’t even notice that.

HoneysBuns – That’s cool! I wonder how high they are? Are they untreated pine or painted? I feel like paint is not good for gnawing rabbits.

[peanutsmom]

Oh also can anyone tell me how much square footage the bunnies are supposed to have in their enclosure? Would 2×3 be enough? He’s pretty much only in there when I’m not home.

[Sarita]

Minimum would be 4 x 4.

[peanutsmom]

K. Any ideas on height? 40″ seems REALLY tall to me.

[Monkeybun]

Well, 40″ is recommended because anything shorter than that most bunnies can and will jump over

[Beka27]

The absolute minimum height is 36 inches. A lot of people (myself included) have 36 inch high xpens. The problem with getting a certain height right off the bat is that you don’t know if your rabbit is a jumper yet, so if they end up being a jumper, you need to start all over or devise some kind of covering for the pen. Generally, xpens are the perfect bunny habitat because they are large enough 4×4 feet and virtually indestructible. If you get an xpen, make sure to get a DOG xpen, not a “small animal” pen. Small animal pens are flimsy.

[Rei]

I would say the taller, the better. Molly loves my bed, but since she peed on it, I have blocked off her route to get up there (which was jumping onto something at the base of my bed, then jumping on my bed from there). Now she just jumps straight from the floor to the bed. I have a queen sized bed. Its really high off the floor, even for me and I’m 5’8″….idk how many inches it is off the ground but if she can jump right from the ground to the bed then don’t be surprised if your bun can jump over a pen “wall”.

[Rei]

http://www.jemarpet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=3681

I found that pen, which is much nicer on the eyes, seeing at that’s important to you, and I understand The only thing is this one is only 3×3, and its made of plastic…a bunny could chew through that if they wanted to, and I’m not sure plastic would be safe for them to chew on anyway. But this just gives you an idea of what is out there. Browse around the interent I’m sure you can find something that is safe, big enough, and is not going to be an eyesore for your home

[KytKattin]

Posted By peanutsmom on 02/21/2012 09:56 PM
Eepster – Wow, good observation. I didn’t even notice that.

HoneysBuns – That’s cool! I wonder how high they are? Are they untreated pine or painted? I feel like paint is not good for gnawing rabbits.

 

Acrylic paint that is used for childrens projects is fine for MINIMAL chewing. That is, use it for stuff that you would rather not have chewed (the walls, that fence thing, etc). It is not safe for toys that you give them that you intend to have consumed (willow balls, etc). I currently have a cardboard box painted on the outside, and Nova normally chews on the inside. Though any chewing on the outside would be fine as well, assuming she didn’t eat the whole box in a day. Just make sure it says non-toxic on the bottle. I get mine at Michaels and it is about $0.59 per bottle.

[Monkeybun]

Posted By Rei on 02/22/2012 08:20 AM
http://www.jemarpet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=3681

I found that pen, which is much nicer on the eyes, seeing at that’s important to you, and I understand The only thing is this one is only 3×3, and its made of plastic…a bunny could chew through that if they wanted to, and I’m not sure plastic would be safe for them to chew on anyway. But this just gives you an idea of what is out there. Browse around the interent I’m sure you can find something that is safe, big enough, and is not going to be an eyesore for your home

 

That pen is only 2 feet high, which any of my bunnies, including little Monkey, can easily jump over. Always go for a higher one.

[Mr.Buck]

Ok – I’m just saying that original picket fence idea in a room like that makes me want some pigs! I think it’s adorable! But – if you’re going to give them that much room anyways wouldn’t it be easier to just bunny-proof that room and litter train him so that you guys can share the whole room. Maybe it’s not an option for you, but if it is, I think it’d be easier, and a lot cheaper too.

[Rei]

Posted By Monkeybun on 02/22/2012 11:35 AM

Posted By Rei on 02/22/2012 08:20 AM
http://www.jemarpet.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=3681

I found that pen, which is much nicer on the eyes, seeing at that’s important to you, and I understand The only thing is this one is only 3×3, and its made of plastic…a bunny could chew through that if they wanted to, and I’m not sure plastic would be safe for them to chew on anyway. But this just gives you an idea of what is out there. Browse around the interent I’m sure you can find something that is safe, big enough, and is not going to be an eyesore for your home

 

That pen is only 2 feet high, which any of my bunnies, including little Monkey, can easily jump over. Always go for a higher one.

 

I know that the pen in that picture isn’t the right size/height, but I was just posting it to show that there are other options in design other than the metal one, you just have to search

[peanutsmom]

Thanks for all the advice! I really would like to eventually let him out in my room all the time, but I’m renting and I don’t really trust him not to eat the baseboards and stuff. Also my wooden furniture. I want him to have an enclosure for now and I’ll observe him while he’s out to see how much damage he plans to do.

[peanutsmom]

Rei – That enclosure does look nice

[Author]

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