ramps for a cage? (split- tdwp2481)

[tdwp2481]

How can I make the ramps for the cage?

[Beka27]

welcome here!

what kind of cage are you making, a NIC grid condo? you can make ramps out of carpet covered wood, or you can use a NIC panel and cover it with carpet (indoor/outdoor carpet would work well for this.)

is your rabbit having a hard time jumping betw/ the levels? in most cases with healthy, rabbits that are in shape, they have no problem hopping in betw/ the levels as long as they’re not too high. the NIC grids are 14 inches high, so if you keep them at that level, the bunny will probably be okay.

is your rabbits disabled or a senior (6+ years)? if so, you might want to forego the condo and use an xpen where they can have more horizontal surface to walk around in…

[tdwp2481]

Well I didn’t get the bunnies yet im getting the both of them tomorrow and their not old their probably about a year old and their not disabled so I’ll try just having the spaces between the floors. And I am using NIC’s to make the cage. Will the bunny know to jump between the floors? Or is it somthing ill need to teach it. These bunnies will be my first ones so I’m trying to find out as much info as I can. I was gonna use carpeting as the flooring but the person whos in charge of the rescue place said to not use carpeting because they’ll chew it up what else can I use as flooring?

[Alicia Conklin]

I use blankets or towels for the flooring, but so that there’s a solid surface and not grids underneath I use cardboard first and then put the blanket/towel over top of that.  On their bottom floor I have tile.  Mine do great with the tile I have, it has a bit of a texture to it so they don’t slip, but just be careful when shopping for it.  Some are completely smooth and mine have a little trouble with those…like at the vet’s office..they kind of slide around on that and can’t quite get their bearings on it.  At home though we have stone in the hallway, ceramic in the kitchen, and those both don’t really have a texture to them..but they are a little…gritty? Not sure how to describe it but they’re not polished smooth so they’re able to manuever on them just fine. 

Rabbits jump to explore so I am sure they’ll figure it out on their own.  If they are not used to having spaces to jump they may be a bit tentative at first, but they’ll get the hang of it.  When I first got Drue he was not used to levels and it took him a bit before he’d really go up and explore.  He seemed to get the hang of jumping after a day or so though and now he’s a pro. 

Tucker is smaller and when we first got her she didn’t seem to realize how high she could jump, but she figured it out on her own…she was a bit startled the first few times she did it..like “whoa how’d I get here??”   Since she was smaller what I did for her was take a cardboard box that was about 10 inches and I put it next to the spot where she’d jump the 14 inches to the next level.  That was a good boost for her.

 

[tdwp2481]

We got the bunnies and made a 3 floor condo on the first floor we have old lanoleium (sp) and the 2nd floor we have this really thick card board and we don’t have anything on the 3rd floor yet but tomorrow in the morning we will get the flooring one of the bunnies managed to get up onto the 2nd flor but couldn’t seem to get down the 2nd bunny kept popping its head up in the hole we put in the floor. So we ended up putting the litter box and everthing on the 2nd floor along with both of the bunnies and were gonna see if they go down to the first floor and come back up.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi! Instead of a ramp, you can also do a step instead (that’s what I’ve done for my two) and it works great!

[tdwp2481]

Yea I was thinking about using a shoebox as a step but I wasn’t sure if they would chew it up or not

[Scarlet_Rose]

You can use a NIC panel as a step, but just be sure to secure it well. I ended up using some scrap lumber and making them. I also have ramps but they do take up lots of room. I made them 7″ wide and about 2 feet long and attached carpet to it for traction.

[tdwp2481]

If i used a nic panel as a step how would I keep it above the ground?

[Scarlet_Rose]

If you secure it in a corner with zip ties it should hold if you have a lighter rabbit. Otherwise, you may need to use a piece of dowel or wood to help provide some support.

[tdwp2481]

Gah I just saw that my bunny can fit their head through the square in the NIC cube would that be a problem when the jump between the floors?

[BinkyBunny]

You could cover it with cardboard and then a use a small towel for traction. Use zipties to secure. Not the prettiest solution, but it might be something to use temporarily until they get the hang of it and they figure out their way around.

[Alicia Conklin]

They can fit their head through?  Sounds like you have the three inch ones?  The problem with those are going to be not only on the steps/levels but also for use as the sides..the rabbit might be able to get his/her whole body out if they can get their head through..I would see if you can get the 1.5 inch grids instead. 

[tdwp2481]

Well the bunnies are kinda chubby so I can’t really see it getting its whole body through the squares arent 3 inches more like 2 and a little less then a half inches. And plus they don’t sell the cubes at the walmart by my house.

[Scarlet_Rose]

What you have described is a danger for your rabbit, whether they can fit their whole body through the hole in the panel or not. They couls get stuck in there, struggle and panic and I don’t know if you are aware of this, but a rabbit can die from extreme fright and something that like that has potential to do just that. It is best to remove the 3″ square panels and only use those for the floor and cover it with flooring like cardboard and only use the 1 1/2″ panels for the sides only. If you cannot locate the right size, make a smaller cage. I really do not want to see your rabbit hurt.

[tdwp2481]

Yea I ended up removing the panels I just need to replace the ones on the back. Would the bigger panels be a problem if their used for the roof?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Probably not if only used on the roof. The other thing you can do so they aren’t wasted is double them up, slightly staggered.

[tdwp2481]

Good idea I’ll do that

[Beka27]

i think using them for the roof (as long as it’s high enough) and/or covered levels would be fine. i know… it’s so frustrating that some of the NIC grids have changed. we had a whole angry thread about this when it happened! lmao! some folks have said that target now sells both types (1.5 and 3-inch), so if that’s where you got them, if you need more you might want to double-check the boxes on the shelf…

[BunnyLiz]

^^Beka i heard that too! That now they have both kinds back, but i didnt believe them lol. But now i get them from Bed Bath and Beyond because theirs dont have the coating that Rose just adores to chew off

[tdwp2481]

Yea I just noticed that 2 of the 3 boxes I got are the 1 inch ones and the 3rd one is the 2 and a half inch one so I guess they have both.

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