Suggestions for a non cube cage?

[Jolaedana]

 Hey folks!

I know you’re all generally not a fan of actual cages around here, but Bella has need of one- we’re traveling to Michigan in May for a week, and our WONDERFUL rabbit vet is going to board our bun for the week.

I can’t exactly take her current setup there, and I don’t want her living out of her little carrier all week! I am ashamed to say I don’t have anything of a moderate inbetween size.

We need to be able to fit this thing in a standard size car for transport without too much disassembly.

 

Bella’s about 5 and a half pounds, a small standard rex. 

Her current cage, the one she’s used to, is 2 ft by 3 ft by 4 ft tall. She’s got issues with sore hocks, so we would really need a non grid floor.

Any suggestions? I’m looking around online and all I’m finding is hampster sized or huge hutches, and nothing inbetween!

[Deleted User]

you know, i can’t really help you….but i’d like to see what others come up with. I want to take Boston home w/ me over Easter Break, but we have no sufficient, in between cage…..Help?! lol!

[Hedi]

How big of a cage will they vet allow you to bring in?

What about one of those “Superpetz” cages that you can buy from a pet store? I think the largest I have seen is 4 feet long and only about a 18″ tall. But it is a started size cage that you can buy from a pet store.

Does anyone live near you that could let you borrow a cage while you have your bun boarded?

[Jolaedana]

Well, she’s going to be boarding the bun at her house, so size isn’t a huge factor other than that it fit in the back seat of a car.

One of those cages might work- the question is finding one that doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg (I know, getting picky now, huh?)

Unfortunately, I don’t know anyone in my area that’s a bunny person! Which is kind of a bummer, I’d actually really enjoy that. I’m in Colorado Springs- there doesn’t happen to be anyone else here from this area, does there?

[Beka27]

would you be allowed to bring an xpen? They can fold up into a thin, portable size, and would be able to get lots of use afterwards as well. You could even set it up smaller at the vet so you were only using 6 panels and have a 2 x 4 foot rectangle. Manufactured cages are a waste of money and I worry that if you bought one for 80-100 bucks, you’d never use it again.

[xParadise]

Those large dog crates are great because they fold down flat and are easy to transport, plus they are larger than just the petstore rabbit cages (which are actually harder to transport as they do not fold down at all). Lots of them come with a “divider” of some sort (I think they are for puppies, to make the area smaller) But they hook onto the cage really well and if you throw a sturdy piece of cardboard or even some plywood on top, you can make a second level. I think I got mine for about $70, which is about the same price as one of the petstore rabbit cages.

[Jolaedana]

Hmm- that’s not a bad idea, xParadise! I might look into it, that sounds like the best option I’ve heard so far.

EDIT: DEFINITELY a great idea! Some of these are way better than any rabbit hutch I’ve ever seen, and they’ll fold up without tools and have handles and everything. Even pull out cleanable bottom trays. (Bella’s perfectly litter trained, but still helpful!) Thanks xParadise! I think I might even replace her current cage (a free thing she’s only in at night) with one of these and an xpen around it- it’ll be much nicer in the long run!

Beka, your idea is not a bad one either- I will want to talk to the vet and see what she’s comfy with I think. She has cats and dogs, and may worry that the xpen type setup isn’t secure enough from them. (Okay, I’m worrying the cats would find their way over the top! lol).

I think I would rather her be in a cage with a top and a door on it when the doc isn’t home.

[Jolaedana]

By the way, I should let you all know- Bella’s feet are finally doing better (though fragile!) After two rounds of oral antibiotics, one course longer than the last, her swelling came back AGAIN and formed into an abscess. Our wonderful vet removed it quickly (and fairly painlessly, I think!) and it was a hard lump the size of a (rather large) pea that had been stuck at her ankle joint. We had to do an x-ray to make sure her bones weren’t infected in any way, and then the vet decided to do shots of penicillin once a week for four weeks (she’s well aware that oral penicillin is bad news for buns, but says that injections once a week do the same job and don’t interfere with their digestive system- and she was right! Bella felt MUCH better on the injections than she had even on the oral bunny antibiotics.) The ankle infection has been cleaned out, healed up, and she’s got a bit of scar tissue now, but the fur is even starting to grow back in on the bottoms of her feet.

Slow but sure- you can see why I’m glad the vet will be caring for her while we’re out of town! It’s been 3 months (maybe 4, gosh) of worry over this poor foot! She’s got two rabbits of her own, so she’s very conscious of their care.

Thank God her pricing is reasonable- even the x-ray only ran us $50 bucks. Shots were $12 bucks a week with a quick check on the foot.

She’s boarding Bella for a week for $105 bucks!

I know, I’m raving, just really really pleased with this vet. She’s been awesome.

[xParadise]

Glad I could help

It’s awesome that you found a good vet- and VERY reasonably priced too! Good to hear she’s doing much better, I don’t know the background on Bella, but it’s good to hear the infection is cleared up and she’s feeling better!

[Jolaedana]

Thanks, xParadise!

I forget that I posted a while back, and can’t make the time to get on this forum as much as I’d like, so Bella and I aren’t familar faces.

We adopted Bella from a family on Craig’s List, and she had a bad case of sore hocks and was extremely overweight- we’ve got her down about .75 lbs, and her feet are finally healing up… so glad! Couldn’t leave her where she was when I saw the shape she was in.

[Beka27]

Very good suggestion xParadise! I hadn’t even thought of that!

That’s great to hear that her feet are doing better! You’ve done a great job with her, she’s lucky to have you!

[Jolaedana]

Thanks! We’re happy to have her. She’s fixed almost all her bad habits and is a part of the family now.

[KatnipCrzy]

I have dog crates that 2 or my bunnies are in right now and they work really well.  I had the crates before I had the bunnies- as each of our dogs had a crate as a puppy.

For a crate or even a commercial bunny cage- you could check your local newspaper, or craigslist (if you can stand to look- I always get sad), on CL you would always post a wanted ad in addition to looking at the for sale ads.

If the crates fold down you should be able to fit just about any size in your car.  I fit a Great Dane sized crate in my car- I bought it to crate my dogs together at my Mom’s house when we are there.

Just make sure not to get a really large crate- as some of the bar spacing might be too large.  I had a huge crate that I borrowed a couple of years ago for foster kittens- and the kittens could get out along the bottom just above the crate pan.  I had to tightly clip a sheet all the way around to keep them in- it was kinda funny at the time.

My dogs have a 36″ crate and the bars are approp spaced.  http://www.midwesthomes4pets.com/category/default.aspx?maincatid=1&subcat=1&submenu=0&catid=2

You could also ask at the vet clinic if someone has a crate that you can borrow or rent for a small fee.  Vet and rescue people often end up with this kind of extra stuff.  Before I got my bunnies- I had 2 extra crates laying around.  LOL.

[Scarlet_Rose]

I too was going to chiime in and suggest a wire dog crate. I got a very large on that had a door in the side (for more versatility) and placed a shelf in there for resting & jumping on for the rabbits.

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