Rabbit Cage/Hutch

[AJ]

I am looking for reviews on the best type of cage/hutch for my small fuzzy lop.

 

I would like a cage that is on wheels and off of the floor. My bunny currently has a cage on the floor with room to stretch out and sit up, but I want him to have a nice, clean, proper home.

 

He is out of his cage a lot, but he needs to be in his cage at night and for seven hours during the afternoon. The cage needs to be big enough for his litter box and water bowl.

 

What type of cage/hutch are you all using?

My bunny Jett. 5 month old Fuzzy Lop

[BinkyBunny]

 Is there any particular reason you want it up off the floor?  Would your bunny be able to get out on his or her own or would you have to pick him up to get him out and back in? 

 

I do prefer xpens myself and of course check out the Habitats page on this site — great ideas there. 

[AJ]

I think it would be easy to clean if it was off the floor. I would pick him up to put him on the floor. He is good about being picked up. He is a good bunny. 

[Tate]

I think that the vast majority of people on the board use xpens or cubes. The problem with cages from pet stores is that they are generally too small. I have one I got from the pet store that’s about 40 inches long, but have found that it’s still too small even for my Nethie.
Have you thought about xpens? I feel like I do a considerable less amount of cleaning with one than I did with a normal cage. I just change the litter every other day and vacuum the carpet!

[LoveChaCha]

rabbits will make messes… lol.

Pet store cages and hutches aren’t rabbit friendly.. if you get a pet store cage, it is nice to connect it with an x-pen. Rabbits need a lot of exercise.

[BinkyBunny]

I also agree that pet store cages are typically too small and many members end up changing it or adding an xpen to theirs anyway. Since your reason for having it off the floor was for cleaning convenience I can tell you what I feel is easier to clean:  I have had both cages, nic cubes cages and pens.   While the cube DIY type cages are great for allowing more space when space is limited, I personally found pens much easier to clean. With the the cages, I had to lean in and try and get all the nooks and crannies.(not all that difficult really)  But with pens, I used sheet vinyl for the flooring and it was so easy to clean up any urine and vacuum up.  I did use carpet squares for cushy soft areas, and because they were easy to remove, they were easy to clean if necessary.  Now this is just my personal preference from my own experiences. 

 

BTW– nice to know I am not the only night owl up tonight. . 

[Monkeybun]

Pens are sooo easy to clean. Just hop in, sweep, vacuum, whatever. Hop out. And when you need deeper cleaning, just fold the pen out of the way. All my buns have a pen, plus the girls have a nic condo as well. I do have a petstore cage when I first got my Monkey, but it has since been folded up in storage for emergencies. It isn’t at all suitable for long term living for a bun. they need room to stretch those awesome legs of theirs

[Beka27]

Xpens are so simple it’s ridiculous!

Another member was recently pricing the wire cages that are on rolling stands… for a small cage and stand, they are over $200. An xpen can be had for only about $60-70. Get a linoleum remnant to go underneath for $20 and you’re done.

They do have nice hutches that have a hutch on top with a ramp and an enclosed pen on the bottom, but they are wood and heavy and would not be able to be rolled anywhere. Modification would still need to be made. You would have to get some flooring to cover the wire in the hutch part and you’d have to get flooring for the base. I don’t think anything would be as easy to clean as an xpen tho.

[mia]

An easier and cheaper alternative to linoleum on the bottom of the x-pen is a shower curtain. You can easily pack it up and move it / take it elsewhere. I’ve used it on top of carpet and hardwood floors.

[AJ]

I know my apartment landlord would really like it if the cage was off the floor. I have to respect that.

I have looked at all the different types on wheels and they have bad reviews. I am thinking of buying a hutch, now to find a good one.

 My bunny is out of his cage a lot, so I don’t really want a pen. I want him to have his own place to call home. He likes to feel secure. He actually likes the cage he has now.  

[LoveChaCha]

Does your landlord approve of pets being in your apartment? I see that in your picture, you have hard wood floors. You could use some rugs.

You can keep pens open, by the way. They don’t need to always be closed.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By AJ on 05/13/2011 06:43 PM

I know my apartment landlord would really like it if the cage was off the floor. I have to respect that.

I have looked at all the different types on wheels and they have bad reviews. I am thinking of buying a hutch, now to find a good one.

 My bunny is out of his cage a lot, so I don’t really want a pen. I want him to have his own place to call home. He likes to feel secure. He actually likes the cage he has now.  

But is the landlord  basing that on the perception that urine will get on the floor? if so, there are ways to avoid that.   We have wood floors and I understand that urine can burn wood, so that may be what he’s worried about?  But really, if you take the necessary precautions with looring for his pen, then your bunny is at no more risk than if he were in a cage  You said he will have some time out of the cage so that would be no different than if he were out of the pen as far as landlord concerns really.   A pen can also make  bunny feel secure.  Just make sure you have a little hidey house.   

I have had skeptical landlords before too, but with a pet deposit and informative info about my habitat plans, it seemed to help setttle down any landord freakouts. 

If you still prefer a cage, then I would go for the cubes.  You can offer alot more space within a cube type structure. 

[mia]

If the only requirement it that it needs to be off the floor, you can build, or have someone build, a low platform with wheels for a x-pen. If you are handy, it should be really easy. With no power tools, I had someone build one to my specifications for a NIC cage and it was still much cheaper than hutches. It’s about 4 inches off the ground and is extremely easy to roll around given that I have high pile carpet in my apartment.

I live in a small studio apartment and also wanted something off the floor on wheels in addition to being limited on space. However, all hutches I looked at are extremely expensive, most, if not all, have wire bottoms, and are too chunky if you want to give your buns proper spacing.

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