cage size for large bunny?

I see you did decide to get a bunny. If I recall in the other thread didn't you say you decided against it? Don't matter, you're bringing a sweet baby home and that works for me.

Stacking the cavy cage on top of bunny's cage? I wouldn't do it, unless you really are limited in space. Just make sure you don't room them together. Too dangerous.

As far as bunny cage size I have a tri-level cage that works great. They are pricey, as VDJ has stated in other threads and she is correct, store bought cages can get expensive. Just make sure you can give the bunny as much room as possible. They DO NEED AND MUST HAVE daily exercise. So space is important if it's impossible to let them out every day. My personal recommendation is RabbitTrail Deluxe. Nice and big, but expensive. There are other less expensive ones. Read other threads and shop around to get more ideas.

But whatever decision you make, either building one or buying one PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not get one with a wire mesh floor! They are horrendous on a bunny's hocks!

And last thing, you are right in making this bunny an indoor companion. ALL companion bunnies should live indoors with the family. Outdoors is just plain cruel. I couldn't fathom my pal living out there in some wood hutch all by himself. He would die, and so would I. He belongs in here with us, his family.

Good luck! And show us pics!

Thanks. but if I were to make a c&C cage do you think that a 2x4x2 or 3 high would be big enough? I know that i said that I wasn't going to get one after all but now that I have arranged some things in my life and have my life in more of an order I belive that now would be a good time to add "june" to the family. With the outdoor cage, you don't think that it is even a good idea to have her out side on nice day so that she can get some fresh air and grass? it wouldn't be to stay out there but just for short periods of time- when I'm at school (only there for one class each day-part time student now) or when I am at work- 2/3 hour tops?

thanks again
--tink--
P.S don't worry there will be loads og pics.

Ok the rabbit cage needs to be long enough for the rabbit to hop fully twice before reaching the end. And the cage has to be high enough for the rabbit to stand up on its hind legs without touching the top. For a grown bunny at apx 10 lbs a 2x4x3 is ok though a 2x5x3 is even better. If you have an outdoor cage, the cage has to have a top and keep the rabbit from any predatory animals. Also you can leave the rabbit caged outside if the weather is cool (no higher than 80 degrees) and if the rabbit is not in full sun. I would only leave the rabbit out there for 2 hours BUT I would not leave the rabbit out there unattended.

As far as stacking the cages I wouldnt, as the piggers run around on top it will shake the bunny cage a bit and may stress him. I hope this helps some, best of luck on your new bun.

Kimberly78 made some very good points. Also, besides the predators there's stinking bugs, mosquitoes and such. If the outside cage doesn't have screen mesh, that could spell trouble. And I have to second this, please don't leave bunny outside alone. You will feel the same after a while.

One last thing, as you take on this new family member, remember that is is just that. A bunny is at least a 10 year commitment. Remember that, please.

I adopted my bunny from the shelter when he was 8 weeks old. He wll be six years old soon. I couldn't fathom ever letting him go. It will never happen. For any reason. He is my family.

Good luck.

I agree totaly with you, haveing any type of pet is a big commitment! I have a dog, two cats, two, gp's, a fish tank. I know. Even thought when we first got our second cat we had only had her for about 4 months when she went into kidney falure after her spay! we had only had her for a couple months but I cryed all the way home from work that day! it's hard not to get attatched!

so at what age can the bunny be seperated from her mom? June is about maybe 4/5 wks, is that old enough or still to young. My friend who I am getting her from saids that as soon as the babies start to eat on there own (pellets and grass) that they can be seperated but I think that's way to early. Agree? Also at what age should she be spayed- 4-5 months or later?

sorry about all the questions ----thanks-----Tink

It's actually better to keep them with Mom until they're about 8 weeks old. At four weeks of age, they are just starting to develop the necessary microbe colony in their hindgut from eating Mom's cecotropes. Their immune systems are also becoming more fully developed at this time.

This website discusses what a kit's digestive system is doing at this critical point in their development: https://rabbit.org/care/babies.html

"As the babies begin to wean, at four to six weeks of age, they lose the guardianship of the mother's milk/stomach enzymatic reaction and gradually develop the adult pH of 1-2. Often babies will seem to do fine until this critical stage is reached. It is at this point that both the mother's milk and her cecotropes begin introducing the necessary adult flora (to digest solid foods) into the babies' gastro-intestinal tract."

The above remarks are well researched and I couldn't agree more.

All that I can add is in answering your question of the age to spay your bunny. You should wait until she is 6 months.

Tinkerbell, your pet zoo sounds like ours We have 3 cats, 2 gp, 2 parakeets, 1 rabbit, and a big fish tank! I tell my friends that if they want to go to the zoo for cheap they should come to our house for free.

Our rabbit, Bunny, is about 3 months old and I built a 2x3 cage with a 1x2 level for her. A few weeks ago she went to the vet and weighed 1 pound. I'm not sure how big she will get but I figure I can just add levels to it.

thanks everyone, I'll have to pass teh wisdom on to my not so knowlageable friend then.

so your bunny (zakfoxmom) is not going to get that big then if she is already 3 months and only weights one lb right? I think that in your caze it works to just keep adding levels but I'm getting a bunny that will be around 10lb give or take aand I don't think I can just keep adding up- so size reasons and all.

do you think that while she is still small I could temporarly have her in one of those HUGE store bought cages, just untill I have a C&C cage for her?

thanks again-- Tink--

You know, I don't know much about rabbits. I have don't know how big Bunny will get. I figure I will just keep expanding until she stops growing. If I were you, I would just do a c&c cage because it would be cheaper to just expand it as the rabbit grows rather than buy and expensive cage and then make a c&c later on.

well I would be getting the store bought one from the spca that I volunteer at so I wouldn't have to buy one- there expensive I know. rigth now I think June is about 4/5 weeks so she still fits in the palm of your hands so what is th size of the C&C cage that I should first start with, a 2x2 or 2x3?

also I am getting her from a farm (where they eat them is there some sort of vaccinces that she should get or shots of some kind? is there a de-worming med for them?

I know you said that you didn't know that much about rabbits but maybe you wold know : is it easy to litter train them? because she is from a farm is it going to be harder to do so?

I would go ahead and start with at least a 2 x 3; baby rabbits have a lot of energy and she will grow quickly.

Rabbits in the US and Canada do not need vaccines, but she should have a check up with a rabbit savvy vet (especially since she is coming from a meat farm where the level of care is very questionable).

Rabbits are clean animals and she will probably decide to use one or two corners of the cage as her bathroom. Place a litterbox in one of those corners, and add some of the soiled bedding to it. She will probably get the idea faster if you only place bedding in the litterbox (and maybe just have some newspaper or towels in the rest of the cage). It may take her a while to fully catch on since she is just a baby. Spaying will also help improve litter box habits.

okay so a 2x3 will start to be in the making this week then! thanks

so is there anyvaccines that she can get? - can she get worms, because the cost for them is free to me as I work at a vets office.

the farm that she is coming from is just a small hobbie farm of one of my best friends and althought alot of the meat farms are not clean their' surprisingly is very clean. everytime I go there it seems like there aren't even any animals because of the cleaness- hard to belive I know but true.

Also the exotic vet at my clinic ( the one that does my gps already) does do a lot of rabbit neuters and only one or tow spays with no problems, I have asked him about spaying my bunny and he said that he would. I have tryed to find another vet for her but so far with no luck and only one other but they siad that it would cost me about $200 plus iv fluids if she needed them! I would like to stay with my current vet ( I would only have to pay about $70 max because of my employee discount)- should I try to find another vet that has had more experence thought in this case?

The litter box training will sort of be like the gps? because I did the same thing with my gps and now they are "papertrained" they pee on newspaper - but still poo everywhere else- even though there is a little box and newspaper in front of it, they only pee on the newspaper. (which is alot better then nothing I guess)

thanks bunnylov17

Domestic rabbits can get worms much like their wild cousins can, but not as often assuming they live in sanitary living conditions. Ascarids are probably one of the worst since rabbits are not the host animal for roundworms like Bayliascaris procyonis.
Ascarids in a non-host animal will either encyst in the muscles or, in the case of those that wander, will burrow through the viscera, eyes and even the brain in what is termed larva migrans. Your vet will be able to determine the presence of any worms by doing a fecal float.
The best way to keep rabbits and guinea pigs from being infested is to make sure all vegetables and fruits are washed and to ensure any outside fresh forage such as grass comes from an environment free from contact with dogs, cats, and raccoons since they are carriers for roundworms. Wheatgrass, whether home-grown using a kit or store-bought, is a good solution.(broken link removed)

MediRabbit has a great write-up on worms that can affect rabbits:
(broken link removed)

I forgot to add that www.rabbit.org has a good page on litter training

There is a House Rabbit Society chapter in Vancouver (I don't know how close that is to you) or you can see if there are any rabbit rescues near you. They could probably give you names of more vets. Are there any shelters near you that take in a lot of rabbits? If so, they may be more experienced in spaying rabbits.

okay thanks everyone. just for safe measures I will get a fecal done as soon as I get june and take her for her first check-up.

When I made my 2x3 for Bunny, I put the coroplast on the outside of the cage because I heard that rabbits will chew on the the coroplast.

I took her to the vet a couple days after I got her and they just did a general check to make sure she was healthy. They didn't do any blood or fecal tests.

Since she is now litter trained I have put some blankets in the her cage to lay on that used to be my son's when he was a baby. She hasn't soiled them yet.

so at first I shouldn't have any bedding in that cage, just the newspaper to see what corner she prefers?

thanks for the tip about the coroplast on the outside of the cage, I will have to keep that in mind when I am doing the measureing.

There is a House Rabbit Society chapter in Vancouver (I don't know how close that is to you) or you can see if there are any rabbit rescues near you. They could probably give you names of more vets. Are there any shelters near you that take in a lot of rabbits? If so, they may be more experienced in spaying rabbits.[/QUOTE]

thanks for the website but I live no where near Vancouver, I live near the K-W area in Ontario. I do volunteer at a local SPCA but they only have three rabbits and they aren't spayed or neutered- I know they should though!