Cage flooring

[gwhoosh]

Hello!

I'm new to this forum, but I'm about to build my rabbit a cage and I wanted to see if I could get some opinions on cage flooring? My little girl is a chewer/digger/ripper/ all around if-I'm-not-supposed-to-I-WILL-destroy-it bunny. So I thought I might make the bottom out of coroplast and also use it to make sides because she can be very messy, especially with her hay. But I'm having trouble finding some, and I heard they were very big and I only have a small Mustang I found some "fake tiles" that I think are made of vinyl and have self-adhesive backs that I may use for her shelves. My only conern is that, while it sticks well, I'm afraid my bunny may stick her nose on the still-sticky exposed part, and it smells kind of like glue as well. I thought of using it for the floor too, cutting them to fit inside, but I don't know if she might try to chew the corners. If I were to make them extend past the cage, I'm not sure how I could fasten it so she can't move the cage, and what I could stick the tiles to.

Any thoughts or opinions will be very much appreciated! I would like to get it built ASAP because her cage now is very small, and while she is not in it for very long, she has begun to be destructive towards her litter box in frustration Thanks in advanced

[gwhoosh]

PS.

Also, there is a possibility (like 70% possibility) that I will expand the cage in about 6 months' time length-wise. In that sense I wonder if the vinyl might be a better choice?

[VoodooJoint]

The self stick tiles are a good choice. There is no smell and no exposed glue once stuck down. They are very tough and can be scrubbed if they get dirty.

I have used them many times for custom cages I built. I curently have them in the bottom of parts of my GP cage, I have used them in rabbit cages and their toughest test was when I had them in the bottom of a ferret cage that contained a ferret that never could/would get her butt into the litterbox.

[standuprookie]

Is your rabbit spayed?

[gwhoosh]

VoodooJoint, thanks, it sounds like a good choice! My concern for the smell and exposed glue was if I used it for the shelves inside of the cage. She is a very curious and troublesome () bunny, so I wonder if she might cause some trouble there.

standuprookie, yes she is spayed! Today is her one month spay anniversary Thank you for asking Also, her litter habits are very good, just some stray poops here or there in her cage.

[VoodooJoint]

For the shelves you can either use plywood or board as the base covered with the tiles. To protect the edge from getting chewed I used strips of vinyl corner siding (cut down and slightly altered). You can nail or screw it in place to keep the rabbit from pulling it off. I have never had a rabbit that managed to chew through it. If you use something thin enough you can use report edge binders in the same way.

If you use untreated board you can actually leave the edge of the board exposed, just set the tiles bach about a half inch away from the edge, and the rabbit can healthily chew on the edge all she wants. If she destroys a chelf or chews it too close to the tiles you can replace the shelf and cover it with new tiles. The tiles can be picked up pretty cheaply if you aren't too concerned about the pattern/color.

[bunnymom]

I'm having the same prolem gwoosh. I have one bunny who is a problem chewer and another that can't tolerate slippery floor. Once I'm back on my feet, I plan on building a floor of peel and stick textured tiles mounted onto a wooden floor. The shelf I wasn't sure how to make yet, don't quite understand the vinyl siding idea. Can you explain further? I like the idea of leaving untreated wood sticking out though. Thank you.

[gwhoosh]

Thanks VooDooJoint So if I use the plywood base, how would I secure it to the shelf? Do I need to poke holes and use cable ties? My use of tools is very limited. And would it be better to make a floor out of vinlys by having NICs on the bottom to stick to, or to stick them to a base and then the cage ontop without an NIC bottom side? Thank you SO much for helping me!

[VoodooJoint]

You could just set the wood on the base but if you want to make it extra sturdy you could drill a couple of holes near the edge (after you affix the tiles) and zip tie them to the side/NIC base. Drilling is easy. Most good hardware/home improvemnt stores will cut the wood for you for free.

If even that is too much to ask them instead of wood and tiles you can use coroplast floors. Your bun will chew them but normaly the plastic doesn't cause health problems and will pass with the stool. You can use the report binder edges to protect the coroplast edges too.

EDIT - Please don't post all in bold or color or anything fancy. It makes the posts very hard to read.

[gwhoosh]

Thank you! I will try that

Sorry, I didn't mean to, I kept trying to fix it but I guess I didn't I tried to use the Quick Reply and apparently I didn't do it right.

You have been infinitely helpful! Thank you very very much!

[VoodooJoint]

Originally Posted by bunnymom

don't quite understand the vinyl siding idea. Can you explain further?

Sorry I didn't see your question until now.

In home improvement stores go to where the siding is. You will see vinyl siding (usually stored upright along a wall). Among the regular siding you will see corner srips meant to cover and lock in place the regular, flat siding. It looks L shaped from the outside but if you look you will see that the inner side is folded into 2 squared S shapes.

If you use tin snips or heavy duty scissors and/or a utility knife you can cut the siding to length. Then cut off the extra folds so you only have a U shaped piece. The U can be slipped over the edge of the board and screwed into place.

I stumbled upon this accidentally when I was looking for a chewing solution and had a piece of this siding lying around. I'll see if I can have any left here and take some pictures.

[Tinamarie56]

My bunny likes to chew as well. I made her a temporary wooden cage (until I got the money together for a C&C cage) and put sticky tiles on the floor and the loft. She had no problem chewing them up :0(. The best advice I could give you is to build a Cube and Cloroplast cage but cut the cloroplast so the cage itself sits inside of the cloroplast box. This way bunny can't chew the box. I did this with my cage and it is working out just fine.

Good luck with your cage :0)

~tina

[gwhoosh]

I decided to use pegboard and vinyl. I bought the pegboard from Home Depot, and they cut it for me. But the shelves are about an inch too big. WIll they cut it again if I bring it back? I bought it last week (or the week before possibly)