hey guys, i was looking around for rabbit cages the other day, and almost all of them had really big holes for the wire bottoms and i didnt like it because i think my bunny\'s feet would get hurt in them. I bought a cage with the smallest holes I could find which are also coated with some rubbery plastic stuff. The size of the holes are 1/2\" by 1/2\" squares. Is this going to be a problem for her? A friend told me that even with these holes, she could get very bad feet problems and might even gnaw her feet off =( Can anyone tell me if I should be doing something about this cage or if it is okay?
Thanks
Where does your friend get his/her information from?!!! I used the plastic coated wire to make ramps in my cage and my rabbits are fine with it. I do have a rabbit with feet problems in the summer, but since he is fine the rest of the year, I don\'t think I can blame it on the coated wire. There is a lot of propaganda going around about how bad wire bottom cages are, but wire bottom cages are easier to keep clean and can prevent health problems, so they are worth concidering when buying a cage.
ya i dunno, she said that the toes can get caught in them and break. she said i need to put something over the holes and then litter train my bunny.
You might need to keep your bunnys toenails trimmed so they don\'t get caught, but the rest of what your friend says sounds like pure drama! For your own information, you could put something over part of the floor for your rabbit to rest on and see what your rabbit chooses. Then if your rabbit likes the wire part the best, you don\'t have to feel bad about putting your rabbit on wire. If your rabbit avoids the wire, then maybe you might want to make a change.
I definantly don\'t recommend cages with solid floors. The wire is not going to hurt your rabbit. But as a few said above.. keep the nails trimmed because they could break off or get torn out if they get too long. But otherwise there should be no problem.
my bunny has a hutch like yours. the squares are not coverd in plastic and shes been doing great with it for almost 3 years.
[font=Times New Roman][size=2][color=blue]I got the idea that a baby playpen would
be a bigger and better way to house little bunny. I went to one yard sale and lucked up
on a great used playpen from some Grandparents. I put the bunny inside and she
jumped right out. The playpen also had a sheet that went over the bottom mat, I used
safety pins to pin it to the top creating a cover. I put in her favorite towel (one she stole
from the laundry basket one day and made a hole before I stopped her) along with her
litter box (with Carefresh) her toys and food. She loves her playpen. For a while I would
put her back into her little cage at night because I was afraid she would chew through the
pen at night but now she stays in it all night. She loves this pen. It\'s much bigger than the
cage and she can run and jump and play. The playpen is much better than a cage and is
cheaper then the large cages I have seen at the stores. What I don\'t understand is why I
haven\'t seen any suggestions on any of the websites or in books about playpens and rabbits.
I know that some rabbits are not as well litter trained as mine and some must chew more than
mine but still there must be other bunnies out there that would do just as well in this environment.
No sore bunny feet, or stinky, messy shavings (that may be harmful) no ugly cages. Just a colorful
soft bunny friendly house for bunny. I just would like to see the suggestion
of this cheaper way to house bunnies. I bought this great playpen for $10.00 and I take it outside
and use the water hose to clean it out every 2 weeks. It doesn\'t get really dirty but I want it to be
safe for her. I really think that some people could use this idea.
Hi I just read your question and I thought maybe my opinion might help. I had a rabbit that had a wire bottom cage for 8 years. He began having problems bitting the bottoms of his feet when he was a baby, we put a towel in for him and he never had problems again! We then had a rabbit who had the same housing but she wanted to play with the towel instead of use it for her feet. We were going to try new things for her (like wood) but she got sick and passed away from a rare neurologicl disorder. We now have a rabbit that is 4 years old and is litter trained (it is sooo much easier)! She has a cage with no wire on the bottom with her food, water and litter box. The cage opens up into a 3\'x3\' fenced in area with a wood house and a blanket. No feet problems. My opinion to you is, if you were a rabbit, what would you want to walk on?
A lot of people use play pens for their pets when they travel and they work great. I used one when I had a guinea pig. I don\'t think the idea will catch on for rabbit cages because rabbits can destroy them too easily.
Tarab, thanks for sharing your experience with wire bottom cages. It gives us much to think about. The type of wire makes a big difference, it should be a heavy gauge. You can also buy \"E-Z Mats.\" I got mine from Rabway.com and they work great. They are plastic mats that you put over the wire to protect your rabbit\'s feet.
One of the advantages of a wire bottom cage is that the ventilation helps to pevent fly-strike. If you have a wooden hutch with a solid bottom, It is best to put some ventilation holes in the back of the hutch so the air will flow through and keep things dry. I put windows in the back of my hutch that I can close on rainy days.