Indoor Rabbit Cage Set Up

Indoor Rabbit Cage: How to set up wire cages on PVC rabbit hutch frames indoors creating an ideal rabbit house with an excellent rabbit environment, including tips on temperature, protection from drafts, food, water, and predator pets.

For enhanced instructions with lots of photos, as well as many different dimensions for customizing the hutch frame and cage sizes, we created the e-book, Pet Rabbit Living Spaces.

Learn much more at Build Your Own Rabbit Cage.

Hang the indoor rabbit cage on the PVC frame and set up the rabbit's space

• To hang the cage on the frame, we used 1/2 inch aluminum conduit pipes, cut to 40 inches long with a hacksaw (easy to cut). Simply thread them through the cage wire.
  
  
• Not shown in this picture: one simple 17 gauge wire tie, affixing the indoor rabbit cage to the middle of the upper cross bar, in front. See the picture below.
  
  
• The outside dimensions of this PVC indoor cage frame are approximately 44 inches wide by 35 inches deep.
  
  
• The whole set-up is 30 inches tall, counting the top of the cage. This is a big indoor rabbit cage!
  
  
  
• Are your pet rabbits small? You can hang two smaller cages on this frame, if you like. Or, our e-book, Pet Rabbit Living Spaces, shows you how to cut down the dimensions to make a smaller PVC frame, in case you don’t want one this large. (This cage will be almost too deep for most children to reach into.) If the cage is for a very large rabbit, however, it might be just right.
  
  
• We placed a piece of plywood on top. This gives the rabbit a sense of protection. The cage will feel safer to the rabbit. I’ve watched rabbits relax after such a board was placed on top of their cages.
  
  
• You can use a water crock or water bottle in this cage, however, we really like our Edstrom automatic water system. The white bucket holds 1 gallon of water, and the water gets delivered to the rabbit through flexible tubing and a simple and convenient brass water valve.
  
  
• We put two different types of resting boards in this indoor rabbit cage - the round plywood used to be an end of a heavy strapping spool. They were discarded--we picked them up free. You can also purchase the slotted plastic resting boards, which are nice because droppings fall through the slots. Your indoor rabbit might be used to some other type of cushy padding, especially if he is litter-box trained.
  

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  Which Resting Mat is Best for Your Rabbit?

  Resting mats provide a smooth surface for bunny to sit or lounge on, especially in all wire cages. Raising-Rabbits offers two types: hand crocheted hemp mats, and Raising-Rabbits' chewable aromatherapy mats that smell glorious...

  Smooth resting mat.

  Hand crocheted resting mat.

  Raising-Rabbits Aromatherapy Resting Mats

  Safe, chewable mats are infused with  soothing lavender essential oil. Click the link to learn more or to purchase: Aromatherapy Resting Mats.

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• To catch the droppings and loose hay, we stretched 17 gauge wire around three sides at the level of the bottom tee’s. To this we clothes-pinned very heavy clear vinyl. The vinyl was approximately 5 feet by 6 feet. I would have preferred fastening the vinyl directly to the PVC sidebars with some kind of a clamp that would not rip any holes in the vinyl. Across the back, there is no bar, so the wire is just fine. As it is, the system works very well.
  
  
• (We used a lot of clothes-pins! That might have been over-kill....)
  
  
• The vinyl caught ALL the droppings and urine very successfully. In the front, it was a simple matter to brush the few wayward pieces of hay back under the cage.
  
  
• It is so easy to clean the entire system! The cage can be removed by cutting the wire fastener and pulling out the poles. Take it outside and clean with the hose.
  
  Unclip the clothes-pins. Pinch the corners of the vinyl into a tidy package and take outside to dispose of droppings and to thoroughly clean. Reinstall vinyl; reinstall cage. Voila!
  
  
• This is heavy vinyl, which I obtained at our local fabric store. You want heavy, to minimize the chance of ripping any holes in it.
  
  
• The vinyl under the indoor rabbit cage rests on the tile floor, then goes up and over the front bottom cross bar. Because of that ‘lump’ under the vinyl, the droppings all remain under the cage.
  
  
• After two days, there was still no odor. However, to stay odor-free, the vinyl should probably be wiped down fairly regularly. Litter-box-training your pet rabbit definitely cuts this chore in half.
  
  
• We set our can of feed and little container of calf manna on top of the cage.
  
  
• Our two young rabbits are nibbling grass hay in their new home!
  
  
• Ideally you will litter-box-train your indoor rabbits. In the meantime, however, this set-up simplifies your life before your new pets are box trained. To quickly clean under the cage in-between major cleanings, use a squeegee and a plastic dust-pan to pick up the droppings, and then a moist rag on the end of a broomstick to wipe down the plastic.
  
  
• Don't forget to consider indoor temperature (cool is good), to protect your rabbits from drafts, and to ensure the predator pets in the house (dogs and cats) aren't planning an entree of bunny.

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Happy Rabbit Cage Accessories

Raising-Rabbits Large Chew Safe Toy.

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Rabbits Need  to Chew - Get Them Chewable Rabbit Toys. 

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Raising-Rabbits Medium Chew Safe Toy.

Rabbits need to chew for both personal enrichment and good dental health. Rabbits teeth never stop growing! They need chew safe toys to keep their little choppers the proper length, or they may suffer a host of health problems including malocclusion. 

Raising-Rabbits offers Small, Medium, and Large Toys, in our STORE. Happy Bunny, Happy Family.

Raising-Rabbits Small Chew Safe Toy.

Pet Rabbit Living Spaces

Build Your Own Indoor Rabbit Cage
Here's our collection of exclusive and luxurious DIY plans for building your own rabbit cages, hutches, runs, and pens. Included are never-before published plans and designs that will please you and your pet rabbits.

Pet Rabbit Living Spaces is available as an instant-download e-book. Just so you know - it's a big file...we crammed it full of information and photos so we could over-deliver on value.

Pet Rabbit Living Spaces
A hands-on, do-it-yourself manual of plans and instructions for creating a variety of rabbit homes and exercise spaces for your pet rabbits, both indoors and outside.



For complete information, go to Build Your Own Rabbit Cage.

Manufactured Rabbit Cages from Raising-Rabbits

If you've read this far and think you might prefer purchasing an excellent cage or two, I'd like to point out the high quality cages from Hostile Hare....

Raising rabbits? Consider a membership to the American Rabbit Breeders Association.