Secure enough?

[Kbana]

I really want to give my mister his whole xpen during the day even when I'm not home.  I am more comfortable having him in his cage at night.  Can anyone tell me if this looks secure enough?  I also currently have a cardboard castle in his xpen which isn't in the picture.  He can't launch himself off that over the pen can he? It is in the middle of the pen away from the sides. I've spent several hours/days/weekends with him and haven't seen him try to hop out of his pen.  (he may try to stretch to the top but hasn't attempted a hop)  Half of his pen is made from a store bought playpen and the other half is with NIC grids. Eventually I am going to buy more grids and expand his pen since he can't have free-roam of our house due to an aggressive dog.  (currently he is in a safe room that the dog can't get to in the basement. I have been spending a lot of time watching tv down here when I'm home so AL isn't lonely) It isn't ideal but it is what I can do. Anyway, the playpen part is 29 inches high and the NIC grids are about 17 inches higher than that.  He can't dig under any areas and there are no corners for him to climb up.  Would you mind looking at the picture and telling me your opinion? The rest of the room isn't bunny proofed because it is storage and we don't have walls separating our living area from the rest of the basement.  Because he can't have free roam I want to make sure he has enough space to run and play but that he is also secure when unsupervised. Thanks!! 

[RabbitPam]

29″ may not be high enough. Once a bunny decides to jump, and likes to, he may be able to clear that. That’s why most xpens we use are about 36-42″ high. I also think he may attempt to launch off the castle in the center over the side – and could possibly succeed or get hurt in the process.

A suggestion: get a plastic top that is used to cover xpens and attach it around the circumference so he has a cover. You could use a sheet, but it’s a matter of not having holes he can squeeze through above him. But a cover held with clamps might be enough of a deterrent.
You could also invest in a taller xpen, abandon the baby siding and swap it out for the xpen, and build up another layer of cubes to match.
I find that my xpen that is 4’x5′ gives her plenty of room daily to hang out in, so one by itself may be enough, then have the door open to a larger space when you’re home.
Please don’t trust the dog to stay out of the room when you’re gone. But sure to secure the dog as well as the room bunny is in. It only takes one time to be bad for the bunny. They need to be supervised and never alone together, which it sounds like you are trying to do for them.

[Kbana]

Thank you. Before I leave him alone in his pen unsupervised I’ll build the rest of it with the NIC grids so everything is 45 inches tall.
As far as the dog, we have a baby gate up at the top of the basement stairs and the basement door is closed. So even if the dog would get past the gate and downstairs, which she is terrified of, (seriously, I could put a cardboard box up and the dog wouldn’t go near it) the basement door is still closed. The dog is out of the house whenever I need to take the bunny to the vet or bring it home. I don’t want the dog to even know that the bunny exists just in case.

Thanks for your suggestions. I think I’ll cover the NIC grid pen when I am not home, even if it does all end up being 45 inches tall.

[taija/honeybunny]

I don’t know… Since your bunny is so small, I’m not sure if he could clear that. I know this is kind of an old post but I just now came across it on here. That’s cool that your dog doesn’t even know your bunny exists LOL.

Honestly, you could even just throw a blanket over it during the day and I think he’d be good to go

[Author]

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