Would my cage be to small for 2 buns?

[Shadow13]

I am considering looking into getting another rabbit to bond with my bun shadow. I’m not positive yet because he is a little territorial and sassy so I would have to find a bun that is not like that. I was wondering if my cage would be to small for 2 buns. It’s 4 feet by 4 feet so 16 square feet. Shadow gets at least 8 hours out of his cage a day. Would my cage be big enough?

[sarahthegemini]

Way too small in my opinion.

[Boston's Mama]

You’d be better off with a a pet playpen one that’s 2 x 3 metres would be good size
Mines 2 x2 metres roughly (6 foot x 6 foot ) for one Holland Lop and I would want a bit more length if I was to add another bunny

[Shadow13]

Ok thanks. So is my cage big enough for 1 rabbit cause I was thinking buying another one and connecting them if I got another bunny.

[sarahthegemini]

Personally don’t think 4ft x 4ft is enough for one bun. Just in case you’re not aware, if you get another bun, you can’t put them in the same cage. They’ll need seperation until they’re bonded.

[Shadow13]

Yes I was aware that the would have to be separated thanks though. Really. Everywhere I read said it would be big enough and awhile back I posted a topic before I got a this cage/pen and everyone said it would be big enough. What is the minimum cage requirements then? What Can I do to make this cage big enough?

[Boston's Mama]

http://www.therabbithouse.com/guide_size.asp This is pretty good at explaining , if your bunnies living space is the combined living recommended size and exercise area recommended size combined then that is good for one bunny.
6×6 foot gives me 36feet for my small breed single

I assume you would have to double it for two bunnies, triple it for three bunnies but I am unsure as I only have one

[Dface]

Ideally more room is always better. Having said that your bunny is getting a decent amount of time outside of his cage, which is although a bit shy of the recommended size is certainly not the worst (I’ve been told 6ftx 4ft with 4 hours excercise outside the pen as minimum)
Like Boston’s mama has suggested puppy pens make great enclosures as they can be joined and manipulated well.

I wouldn’t agree with the need to double for an additional rabbit though. I’ve never heard of that before.

As a side note, bringing him to rabbit speed date sessions, where he can pick his own companion can be helpful with “sassy” bunnies

[Shadow13]

So the minimum cage size is 12 square feet? When I let him out of his cage he is free roam of the upstairs of my house which is pretty big.

[Boston's Mama]

well 12 square feet is the minimum for 1 small bunny that gets ample free roam time , that’s only 6foot x 2 foot though which is a lot smaller than a 6foot x 6foot puppy pen … so personally I agree with the link that that is MINIMUM – it would be best if the cage is only 6foot x 2foot to add a excerise area such as a puppy pen permanently …
I had my boy in a bunny indoor cage store brought with a smaller puppy pen attached and traded up to a 6x 6 foot pen instead and seeing how he utilises it I would never go back.
Also the problem with 4foot by 4foot is the 4foot length is not enough for 3-4hops along the length

[Boston's Mama]

One hop for a small bunny is 45cm roughly – 3 hops is then 135cm , or 4.5feet ( hence 6foot x2foot just for them cage and not including exercise area being better than 4foot x 4foot as there isn’t enough space for the 4.5 foot space it takes for 3 hops let alone 4 hops which would be 5.9feet )
And that is one small rabbit.

A large/ giant rabbit it takes about 60cm for one hop , 180cm for 3 hops , 240cm for 4 hops – which is 5.9feet for 3 hops or 7.9feet for 4 hops

I’m not at all saying your space is not good for your bunny as it’s a big step up from some cages for sure , and you giving him/ her 8hours free roam is fantastic
I’m just trying to give you some help on the minimum recommended cage sizes and explain why it’s not only about the total area size but also about the length
Hope this helps

[Shadow13]

So what Can I do to make it the right size. Could I add a second story? I added a link to the pen I have so you could look at it. It’s the 36in high one. I have it in a square shape though

https://www.amazon.ca/Cool-Runners-Security-24-Inchs-Section/dp/B01DF72RUA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1512878086&sr=8-2&keywords=Dog%2Bpen%2Bwith%2Bcover&th=1

[Boston's Mama]

Well for now you could make it in the rectangle as that would be 2ft x 6ft to give the minimum length combined with your free time you give him/her you would be meeting the minimum for a small bunny

Or better yet Would you have room to fit another the same and just join them ? That would be great space as it would be 8foot x 8foot !
Or you could just add a couple of panels if you can find a playpen extender set ( not sure what’s in your area but sometimes you can buy extender packs which will have 2-4 extra panels and you could cable tie them on . Then say you got 2x 24inch wide panels in the pack you could add them to your current 8 panels to make a 2panel by 3panel pen
That would then be 48” x 72” or 4ft by 6ft

Or add a smaller pet store cage to your current pen which they always have access to also that way you have a 20” x 48” area in the cage plus a 6ft by 2ft pen ( I would still rectangle your pen though to give the length)

Maybe there is a second hand pen the same as yours around your area on eBay or similar that you can get cheap and remove the two panels ( or more if you have the room ) from to add to your pen

[Boston's Mama]

Or NIC grid a small cage area to connect to your pen – the great thing about using a pen like you have ( mine is similar but bigger ) is you can always add to it by opening it up and cable tieing the ends to another cage ( either store cage, Nic grid cage or more playpen panels )

[Shadow13]

Thanks for the ideas. I don’t have enough space for two put together but I probably have space to add extra pannels. But I likes the NIC grid idea I’ve always thought they were cool. So I might look at making one of those. So how would I attach it to the pen?

[Boston's Mama]

You could make one and then leave a Nic grid panel (or 2) off as a enterance into the pen.
Open the pen up ( so undo where it connects between two panels ) and then attach one of the open ends to the Nic grid cage using cable ties and then the other open end of pen to other end of Nic grid cage

I love the Nic grid cages too but I can’t get Nic grids here unfortunately

[Boston's Mama]

Picture it like a fire guard around a fire place … except you then add cable ties to secure it

[Shadow13]

Thank you so much. I will definitely be looking into expanding his cage and ordering some stuff for it. with Christmas coming up soon it’s harder to get things shipped fast so it might take a while if I need to order anything but I will definitely be adding on to his cage soon!

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Shadow13 on 12/09/2017 7:56 PM

Yes I was aware that the would have to be separated thanks though. Really. Everywhere I read said it would be big enough and awhile back I posted a topic before I got a this cage/pen and everyone said it would be big enough. What is the minimum cage requirements then? What Can I do to make this cage big enough?

Okay good, just wanted to be safe. It can be a shock to find out after you’ve already got another bun 

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