Alonso's New Home: My DIY bunny cage
So this summer my big project was building Alonso a new, bigger, better cage, as he had outgrown his original 2x2x2 storebought 100 dollar cage. It was much cheaper than anything I could have bought at that size. I'll break down how I did it as a helpful guide to anyone else who is looking at ways to build a cage.
2 panels x 4 panels x 2 panels with an uphostered plywood base, wood slat frame, and comfort shelf spaning two panels at one end. On wheels.
Wire panels:
-2 boxes of "6 Cube Storage Set" available from Sears. Each box has 23 panels. This cage used 32 for the main cage, and then three more panels for the shelf (2 across, 1 underneath for support).
-6 Cube Storage Set: $16.99 each, when purchased from the website and picked up instore. Regular price $19.99 each (still by far the best deal I found on panels.)
Total Expense so far (without tax) : $34
Held together with zip ties, although the connectors it comes with are quite sturdy
Big box of zip ties: About $3
Base:
-Plywood base, cut to my needed dimensions for free at Home Depot: I can't remember exactly, but I think it was about $11
You can get plywood in a variety of qualities with a wide range in price. I got a low quality plywood, and couldn't sand it anywhere near smooth enough for rabbit feet, so I had to cover it.
-Cover: Reversible tarp blanket. Waterproof plastic on one side, cloth-like on other side. I cut it down to fit my plywood and used a staple gun to secure it and get it as flat as possible so Alonso couldn't chew it up. He has still managed to chew holes in the cloth layer in some places, but got bored of it quickly, and hasn't managed to chew through the waterproof layer.
Cost: $7 at Lowes. It's cheap, so if it doesn't work for your rabbit it isn't expensive to replace.
Wood slat frame:
To hold the wire in place, I cut up a few small pieces of wood we had laying around the garage and screwed them into the base at the corners. After the Wire cage is generally in place, I slide the thin slats of wood in between the blocks and the wire to keep bedding, food, poop, etc from flying out. I got these slats at Lowes/Home Depot for about 2/3 dollars each, but I have since seen thinner slats for about a dollar each at Hobby Lobby.
Approx. Cost: $8
Shelf:
The wire panels alone would be a dangerous shelf, so I got my leftover tarp blanket, and stuck stick-on linoleum panels onto it (which we had laying around leftover from a home improvement project), in the approx. dimensions of my shelf, and then cut the blanket around the linoleum with a little extra room, so that I could fold the tarp over the edges of the linoleum to keep him from chewing up the linoleum. I then drilled small holes in the linoleum shelf liner so that I could zip tie it to the wire shelf support.
If you want to buy linoleum panels, they are fairly cheap, often under dollar per one square foot, and since it is a shelf it doesn't have to have a lot of traction. I also later put a linoleum square in the corner where I keep Alonso's leaky water bottle.
Wooden step to shelf:
Alonso can reach his shelf just by jumping when he wants to, but he doesn't always want to (and didn't go to the shelf before he had a step), so I gave him a little step. I didn't have the means to cut a good sized ramp, but those sort of options exist. The wooden block is made with two unfinished wooden cubby/shelf type things put together with little screw-in plastic deals.
It is tall enough that he can use it to get to the shelf, short enough that he can reach it, and since he can walk right through it, he can get to his little hidey corner. (The door is right the shelf support panel, so I couldn't place a stepping stone there, and I didnt' want to recofigure my panels since zip ties are a pain to cut and remove and blah blah.)
Cost: Unfinished wood cubbies at Hobby Lobby: Reg. Price $9.99 each. I got them the day wood crafts were 40% off, so they were only $6 for me. So I got two cubbies for $12 dollars.
Wheels:
6 little wheels, two on each end and two in the middle for added support. Wheels come in packs of two, although multiple sizes/types of wheels are available at a range of costs.
Cost: $3ish per package, 6 wheels at $9 dollars.
Miscellanious wood screws:
Cost: About $6-10 (We'll say $8. That's probably about what I had to spend.)
Approx. Total Cost expended to make this cage: $92
It's everything I needed, and it's more than twice the size of the cage I bought him. It's also built to be fairly easy to collapse down and transport, given that I have to take it back to my college apartment at the end of the summer.
So, finally, does this look like it will be big enough for a second rabbit Alonso's size or smaller? I'm about ot begin the process of finding and adopting a second bun, and I'm fairly sure this is big enough for two, but I'd like a second opinion.