Rabbit
Haven
Gig Harbor, WA
A shelter and sanctuary for unwanted and mistreated rabbits … until they all have homes.
HOUSING
Guidelines for appropriate rabbit housing.
Some rabbits have free run of the house where they are never caged. Rabbits not in this situation need to have appropriate housing provided for them. Here are some guidelines to use when selecting and outfitting housing for a newly adopted rabbit family member.
Size Does Matter
Your rabbit's housing should provide adequate room for his/her personal belongings with enough space remaining for bun to stretch out and move around. The bigger the housing the better, but your rabbit should have, at a minimum, the following space provided for their housing:
Small
- Medium
single rabbit 2' x 4'
bonded pair 4' x 4'
Large
- Giant
single rabbit 4' x 6'
bonded pair 4' x 8'
Inadequate housing can cause a number of behavioral issues and will cause your rabbit's muscles to deteriorate.
Housing Options
Multi-level bunny condos are one way to give your rabbit the space they need while minimizing the amount of floor space dedicated to his/her housing. Rabbit condos can be ordered online from places like Leith Petwerks (leithpetwerks.com), made yourself from NIC cubes (search for "NIC condos" online to learn more) or you can build your own with bunny friendly materials. Another option, which requires less investment and offers more versatility, is exercise pens. Be sure to protect flooring under bun's housing; remnant pieces of linoleum work great for this.
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Outfitting Bun's Housing
There are several items that will need to be included when outfitting your rabbit's housing.
Solid Flooring: Wire or wire-like flooring is not comfortable for your rabbit or good for their feet. This type of flooring can cause sore hocks which in turn can result in serious infections. Plywood covered with linoleum would be a suitable solution.
Floor Covering: Rabbits do not feel safe on slippery surfaces and could end up with serious injuries. All floor coverings should be washable and prevent slipping. Some suggestions would be carpet samples (provided they do not eat them), towels, cotton throw rugs, and sea grass mats.
Ramps: Multi-level condos often contain ramps to enable a rabbit to access other levels. Be sure that these ramps are covered with a nonskid, rabbit safe material or are equipped with wood slats to help provide traction.
Food & Water: Water and food bowls should be made of heavy, crockery or your rabbit will mistake them for toys and toss them around their housing. A space also needs to be provided for Timothy hay, which a rabbit should have access to at all times. A couple of different options would be to stuff the hay inside an empty tissue box (remove plastic) or in an all natural basket that has not been painted, stained or varnished. Craft stores, garage sales, and second hand stores are a great place to find baskets in a variety of shapes and sizes!
Litter Box: It is important that your rabbit's litter box is an adequate size to prevent accidents. Fill with 1/2" of non-clay, non-clumping and rabbit safe litter. Some recommendations would be all natural wood stove pellets, Crown Animal Bedding, Carefresh and corn cob litter. Their litter box should be emptied regularly to avoid odors which are harmful to your rabbit's respiratory system.
Hiding Box: Everyone, from time to time, needs a place to get away from it all; your rabbit is no different. They should have a hiding box available to them in their housing. Cardboard boxes work great for this and can be filled with Timothy Hay for your rabbit's comfort and enjoyment!
Toys: Your rabbit will also need toys to play with. Empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls work great, hard plastic baby toys and old telephone books are just a few items you can add to your rabbit's housing.
Cleaning: Your rabbit's housing should be completely cleaned once a week at least. Use a 1:1 solution of warm water and white vinegar with just a little dish soap for cleaning. Do not use pine scented, pine oil based or commercial cleaners.
Appropriate housing does not eliminate the the need for bun to have exercise time outside of his/her housing. Rabbits should be allowed at least several hours outside of their housing to run, jump, explore and interact with their family daily.
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