Housing

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Indoors vs. outdoors

Why It's Dangerous to Keep Rabbits Outside

Many people have the misconception that rabbits are smelly and belong outdoors. However, this is definitely not the case, and in fact, we recommend that you keep and house your bunny indoors as much as possible. An important philosophy you will see throughout this page is to remember that surviving is not thriving! If you get a rabbit as a pet, you should treat it as a member of the family. Family should not be relegated to live alone all the time in an isolated shed or hutch outside.

There are also other reasons to keep your bunny indoors.[1][2]

  • Rabbits are safer indoors out of reach of predators. Rabbits can literally be frightened to death without any contact to a predator. Additionally, you will need to take many precautions that no snakes can get into your hutch. They are a real risk in certain areas.
  • Rabbits are social animals, and in the wild, they live in enormous warrens. They enjoy the companionship from people and other rabbits. Hutch rabbits are often never interacted with or socialized, and this lack can often result in a dull and uninterested bunny.
  • Indoor rabbits will probably live longer out of stressful influences such as predators and poor weather conditions. They can easily overheat or freeze to death. Poor weather conditions such as rain may also make you not want to go out to feed and check on the bunny. Rabbits are delicate, and any medical warning signs should be treated immediately or they will go downhill fast. Not being able to keep an eye on them can be disastrous to a bunny's health.
  • Rabbits need exercise. Unless you build an extremely big hutch with a run outside or let him run around outside occasionally, the bunny will be unable to stretch his legs. You may have seen videos of wild rabbits -- see how they love to run around? You can provide a safe environment indoors out of a predator's reach for them to do what they love.
  • Outdoors, you can never see your bunny binky in happiness and learn to appreciate their bonks for pets. Rabbits can show a personality not unlike dogs and cats. Housing a rabbit outdoors without ever interacting with them will result in a rabbit afraid of humans.

You might worry that keeping your rabbit indoors will result in destruction of your personal property and poop and pee everywhere. However, the destruction can be easily mitigated given proper bunny-proofing and training. Rabbits are easily litter trained to poop and pee in a box. In addition, not the entire house needs to be given to the bunny to romp around in. Just a living room or a bedroom is enough space. Give a try to housing your rabbit indoors, and see your rabbit bond with you.

Here are some more links to read about the pros and cons of indoor vs. outdoor housing.

The following pages are from rabbit breeding sites. Please do not take this referral as condoning rabbit breeding for the common house rabbit owner. We provide these links purely for information.

Indoor housing

A consideration when housing indoors is where to place your bunny. A good location allows the rabbit has a place to relax by themselves yet is not completely secluded from the family. As a result, the corner of a living or family room is a great location as it will have lots of foot traffic from family and roommates but still be quiet most of the day when no one is there.

Some people would like more personal time with the rabbit and place the housing enclosure in their room. Be forewarned though, that bunnies can be very noisy at night, so if you are a light sleeper, it would probably be best to put the rabbit in another room.

Another option is to delegate an entire spare room to the rabbit. While this is a fantastic option, please make sure that you fully bunny-proof the room to prevent damage to the walls and floors in case of a destructive rabbit.

Avoid placing your rabbit too close to a doorway, in a drafty area of your home, or in only direct sunlight. While rabbits enjoy sunlight, they also have a fur coat and can easily overheat on hot days.

If you are planning to bring an outside rabbit indoors, see the following articles for more information.

Outdoor housing

Two French lop rabbits living in a garden with an air-conditioned shed.
An outdoor run attached a shed built for rabbits.
The side of a un-reinforced outdoor hutch that was chewed through by a bored rabbit that escaped. Source: C.A.Wiltshire

While we do not recommend outdoor housing for the reasons stated above, the following are some resources to help develop an appropriate outdoor rabbit enclosure. Remember the rabbits can easily suffer from heat exhaustion at temperatures over 85°F, and that indoor rabbits have a history of living 4 times longer than outdoor hutch rabbits due to various factors![3]

If keeping your rabbit outside is the only option in your situation, please follow some basic guidelines for housing:

  • Make sure your rabbit is always protected from insects through the use of some fine mesh that you can staple to the cage. This is important to protect your rabbit from aggressive insect-borne diseases such as myxomatosis. Keep your outdoor rabbits updated on their vaccinations if they are available in your country, and you may also want to treat them regularly for fleas, mites, and other parasites preventatively.
  • Do not keep rabbits outdoors alone all the time; they need company on those dark nights! A bonded pair or group is best outdoors. If you must house a single rabbit outside, please spend a couple of hours each day to interact with your rabbit so they will not be depressed. The more time you can spend with your single rabbit, the better. Rabbits are social creatures and will not do well alone with no interaction.
  • Remember, your baby bunny is likely to grow significantly! If your rabbit is young, make sure you consider their adult size when purchasing an enclosure. This housing should be tall enough for your bunny to sit up on their hind legs in the adorable act of periscoping, and it should be long enough for your bunny to completely lie down in with their feet stretched out. Consider having a multi-level enclosure so bunny can survey their surroundings as well as a permanently attached run.
  • Just because your rabbit is outdoors, it does not mean they have to be kept in a hutch! Consider large dog kennels with runs, sheds, aviaries, and children's wooden playhouses with runs attached. One small advantage of outdoor housing is that human furniture will not get in the way of the rabbit, and you can often offer larger square footage just for the bunnies.
  • While your rabbit make not be able to chew their way out of your new cage, keep in mind what kind of predators might want to force their way in. Be especially careful about access to snakes if they are a problem in your area. Keep your hutch close to the house, and make sure your rabbit has somewhere to hide if they get scared. This hidey hole is also likely to be what will protect your bunny from the elements so it is a good idea to insulate it with some hay, old towels, or other material. Even though your rabbit is kept outside, a litter tray can still be supplied to keep the housing clean, and it provides your bunny with a specific spot to go in so that they will not always lying in their own filth.
  • In warm weather, be very careful about flystrike! Check your rabbit's bottom every day to make sure that all poop has been cleaned off properly.

Consider planning for a temporary indoor enclosure occasionally so that the rabbit does not need to be outside on extremely cold winter nights or hot summer afternoons.

The following are some additional tips and instructions on having an outdoor rabbit hutch:

Indoor pens and housing

A variety of options exist for housing rabbits in either a pen or other form of housing indoors.

Size guidelines

A simpler bunny housing setup; meets minimum housing standards. Photo by Discord user Hyla.
A larger bunny housing setup; meets minimum housing standards for a full-time enclosure.

Although pet stores market cages and hutches specifically for rabbits, these cages and hutches are far too small to comfortably house rabbits and should be avoided entirely unless you plan to leave the cage/hutch open at all times, allowing the rabbit access to a larger exercise pen or free roam area. From the Educated Rabbit’s article, “Rabbit Cages and Other Terrible Ideas”:[4]

The minimum enclosure for 1-2 rabbits (about 5-6 lbs) is a 4x4[ft] exercise pen. This is big enough for a litter box, toys and food dishes. The rabbits are able to stand up, stretch out and hop around. Note: If you have one of the giant breeds, I would suggest you give them free range, a room of their own or, at the very minimum, a 10x6[ft] exercise pen (or bigger). The more room you give a rabbit, the happier they will be. Important! Despite an exercise pen, rabbits still need to have exercise outside of their pen, as well. They need approximately 4-5 hours of play time a day, so that may be the whole room instead of just a part of it or perhaps a room and a hallway, etc. Whatever you decide the play area should be, you will need to bunny-proof your home to protect both your belongings and the rabbit.

The Ohio House Rabbit Rescue provides the following guidelines:[5]

Our housing requirements are a minimum 4 ft x 4 ft of indoor space in a location where the bunny is part of the family, can receive regular attention, and continue to be socialized. The bunny should also get out of the 4 ft x 4 ft space for regular exercise. We do not permit small cages, outdoor hutches, or wire bottom cages. Many of our adopted bunnies live in free roam homes, or have an entire room for themselves. This is great for the bunnies! However, we do advise “Bunny-proofing” your home or room by protecting exposed wires and cords with products such as Critter Cord or Split Wire Loom Tubing. This will keep your bunny and electronics safe!

Please note that rabbits of larger size (such as giant breeds) will need more than the standard 16 square foot (4’x4’) minimum home-base enclosure. Regardless of size or number of rabbits, the more area of living space you can provide, the better.

The San Diego House Rabbit Society provides their minimum living space requirements here and here. Rocky Mountain House Rabbit Rescue provides their requirements here.

Remember, if you have a young rabbit, be prepared to provide large enough housing as they grow. Small baby rabbits at 8 weeks old can rapidly grow to 10+ lb over the course of a few months if they are actually a giant breed of rabbit.

If you do not have enough floor space to give your rabbits much more than the recommended minimum area, you can also build vertically with multiple story gridded NIC condo pens. However, please keep in mind that the rabbit should still be able to comfortably run in a straight line before you start building taller.

It is important to note that minimum housing requirements should be met from the area of ground floor alone if adapting a multi-tiered housing approach. Minimum housing requirements cannot be met by adding the areas of several flooring levels together.

Exercise with the room to run freely is paramount to a rabbit's physical and mental health. Rabbits are recommended to have a minimum of 4 hours of exercise daily. Rabbits will become obese and may develop muscular, cardiovascular, and skeletal issues from a prolonged sedentary lifestyle. Possible medical issues include sore hocks (ulcerative pododermatitis), osteoporosis, urine sludging, and spinal fractures.


D&T Veterinary Centre

Space display by D&T Veterinary Centre supporting RWAF's #AHutchIsNotEnough campaign.

The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund (UK) posted (11-22-2022): "Check out this AMAZING space display by D&T Veterinary Centre in support of our #AHutchIsNotEnough campaign to demonstrate how much space rabbits actually need.

  • A lot of rabbit owners are sadly unaware that rabbits need a lot more space than a commercially sold rabbit hutch has to offer.
  • We always recommend a space of at least 2m (6'7") x 3m (9'10") x 1m (3'4") high. This will provide two buns with the sufficient space they need to hop around and rear on their hind legs.
  • A hutch can be used as an indoor shelter but never as their sole housing! Ideally, outdoor rabbits should have constant access to safe and secure outdoor space.

Commercial cages and hutches

A rabbit in a cage large enough to fit a small hiding box.

Commercial cages and hutches advertised towards rabbits are far too small for any size of rabbit. Most cages/hutches barely let a rabbit stretch out or sit up. Cages/hutches are only appropriate for temporary housing in emergency intake situations such as in shelter or rescue settings, or in instances of medically necessary cage rest. If you do opt for a commercial cage or hutch, make sure to leave it open at all times; please remember that surviving is not thriving!

Be careful of cages/hutches with a wire floor. Rex, heavy breeds, and poorly bred pet rabbits with thinly-furred feet are especially prone to sore hocks in wire-bottomed cages/hutches due to the uneven pressures of the wires. Additionally, untrimmed nails and toes can get caught in inappropriately-sized holes and be broken. If you use a cage/hutch with a wire flooring, you should provide a resting mat for your rabbit to sit on. If a rabbit is litter-trained, there is honestly no reason to need a wire-bottomed cage/hutch.

The following links are some graphic images of rabbits that were found inappropriately kept on wire flooring:

If you buy a cage/hutch with a solid slick plastic flooring, cover the bottom with another surface like a towel or grass mats. The slippery surface can lead to hip problems.[6]

Please be wary of cages/hutches with multiple stories, and make sure rabbits have secure footing and enough space to comfortably hop up and down to prevent injuries.

Look for cages/hutches with a side door to allow the bunny to hop in and out on their own and possibly an additional top-loading door for ease of cleaning.

If the cage/hutch door opens on the side as a ramp and is made wire, cover the wire door with something solid like cardboard or a blanket or towel so that the rabbit's feet cannot accidentally be caught between the bars when entering or exiting. The top of the wire cage/hutch should be covered similarly. Injuries that can result from caught toes and limbs can range from broken nails, sprains, fractures, dislocations, and completely broken bones.

Never use glass aquariums because they are rarely large enough and do not have enough air circulation. Rabbits overheat very easily.

If you use a commercial cage/hutch as a home base for a litter box, and the rabbit is free-roaming, size is not so much of an issue. It becomes a problem when the rabbit is shut in for hours on end. If you must temporarily make do with confining your rabbit to a cage/hutch, just make sure that your rabbit receives plenty of exercise time every day to stretch out their legs. Please note that this should only be a temporary solution to housing and that rehoming your rabbit is heavily encouraged if you are unable to provide them with appropriate housing long-term.

Commercial cages/hutches available online for purchase

Some extra-large cages available on Amazon that may be appropriate for using as a home base in a larger living space:

The following are some guides on choosing a commercial cage/hutch to use indoors. Please remember that the cage/hutch should only be used as emergency temporary housing or for medically-necessary cage-rest; otherwise it should be left open at all times. Cages/hutches that are elevated should exclusively be used in instances where the door stays closed (such as with cage-rest). Otherwise, the rabbit could easily fall and get hurt upon exiting.

Dog crates

A rabbit lounging in a dog crate.

Much like commercial cages and hutches, dog crates are too small to house rabbits. Crates (yes, even the extra large ones) are only appropriate for temporary housing in emergency intake situations such as in shelter or rescue settings, or in instances of medically necessary cage-rest.

However, they can be an excellent option for a “safe space” that a rabbit can willingly retreat to. It is important that the door remains open at all times, allowing the rabbit access to a larger exercise pen or free roam area. The large doors make them easy to clean, and the plastic pans on the floor help to protect your flooring underneath.

While dog crates may collapse easily for travel, they can weigh much more than tall x-pens and be difficult to easily move.

Warning: Traction material such as blankets and towels is recommended on the bottom floor, especially if there are two levels in the dog crate. Rabbits can fatally injure themselves by slipping when jumping down. Additionally, slippery flooring often leads to joint issues or even splayed legs.

If you must temporarily make do with confining your rabbit to a dog crate, just make sure that your rabbit receives plenty of exercise time every day to stretch out their legs. Please note that this should only be a temporary solution to housing and that rehoming your rabbit is heavily encouraged if you are unable to provide them with appropriate housing long-term.

Some models available on Amazon:

Here are some guides on using and converting one to a rabbit abode.

Below are some relevant discussions.

Wire cube DIY pens

A sample bunny wire cube condo by /u/batclock

Wire cube DIY pens can potentially be a cheaper alternative to buying a commercial cage, hutch, or fence-style exercise pen, but they require some work to assemble, in addition to careful planning. These condos are great for jumpers that will escape open-top pens. You can also build them to suit non-rectangular corners of your home to fit around your furniture. They may also be called C&C (cube & coroplast) cages from the guinea pig terminology or Neat Idea Cubes (NIC) cages, the original brand that started making wire cube storage systems.

The basic theory behind this style of housing is to assemble the wire shelving solutions available in stores into a gridded pen using zip-ties. Aspirational owners can even decide to make multi-story condos using additional wood or shelving. You can easily adjust the size of the gridded pen and condo to suit the shape and size you want. However, something to keep in mind is the additional costs of necessary supports, suitable flooring, and other components that may be required to ensure the enclosure is spacious, practical, and safe. These wire shelving solutions were not designed originally to be repurposed as gridded pet pens, even though marketing has taken that approach. Using only the connectors provided, building without considering the weight of your rabbit, and/or creating large/wide upper levels without considering lack of bottom supports can all lead to an unsafe enclosure.

A 2-story wire cube condo by /u/sneaky_dragon made to stop the rabbit from jumping out of a pen

Some stores you can buy wire grid panels from are the following:

Warning: You will need to make sure the type of wire shelving you purchase should have the grates relatively small so your rabbit cannot get his head through. Otherwise, your rabbit may get injured or strangled. There is one type sold at Target and other stores that has bigger grates than the rest. These should either be discarded or used as unreachable walls, shelves, or pen tops. If they have to be used, cover them with cardboard or double grate them to make the holes smaller.

NOTE: "Essential Home" brand cube panels have both 1-1/2" square and the larger 2-1/2" square panels, in the same package. A warning was posted to facebook about this by C.William, as her rabbit got his head stuck in the larger size and had to be cut free. Full post here.
"Essential Home" panel after Lafayette had to be cut free from a larger opening panel. Pics by C.William.
Larger wire grid panels

Also, when using zip ties, make sure to have the tie wrap ends face the outside of the gridded pen so that if you accidentally forget to clip one, it does not cause eye injury to your rabbit.

Examples of rabbits escaping wire cube pens:

u/elainele_2194. (2020). Can't wait to start self-quarantine...
(2018). Little Alki isn’t as big as he looks
(2017). Bunny Escapes Gate
Bunny Escaping NIC Pen

Signs of Poor Construction:

  • 1. Inconsistent gap sizes across connected grids - The most sturdy foundation (which you then reinforce with zip ties and other supports) comes from grids that are all manufactured perfectly square and are properly fit into each connector. This will result in parallel gaps all around your build. Any warping or improper connector fitting works against your build's stability and overall safety.
  • 2. Bulging connectors - If your connectors appear to "bulge" where grid corners are inserted, this is a sign of poorly fit parts, low-quality connectors, and/or too much stress (i.e., weight) in a given area. Connectors are plastic, so any defects or signs of cracking should be immediately replaced and additional supports added as necessary. If well-built and constructed, no connectors should bulge or crack.
  • 3. Bowing/Sagging grids - Under no circumstance should any grids begin to show warping, bowing, or sagging. If well-built and constructed, all grids should retain their perfectly flat and square shape. Failure to maintain shape means there is inadequate support for the weight the grids are holding.
  • 4. Noisy - If you touching or your rabbit moving in the build consistently causes rattling, squeaking, or similar noises, this can be a sign of loose parts and/or bad connectors. If well-built and constructed, your build should be silent with exception of any binder clips or other supports you have used to reinforce the structure that are not tightly fastened.
  • 5. Need to re-attach connectors - Once fit into a connector, no grid should be able to slip out. If sections of your build require regular "popping back in" of particular grids to connectors, directly address the problem through replacing parts and/or using zip ties-- this should not be happening in a well-built and constructed wire cube enclosure.

Some examples and instructions to set up wire cube condos can be found at the following pages.

For a useful tool to help plan out your gridded pen, please see the following post by u/WickAndFable - Housing: Online Tools for Grid-Cage Planning

The following are some videos about setting up a NIC condo.

BudgetBunny: Building Your Own Rabbit Condo

Here are some relevant discussions about NIC condos.

Exercise pens

Black 30" Midwest x-pen with two ~5# rabbits
Linus, Maliketh, and Nibbly hanging out in their x-pen setup at their pet-sitter’s house.
Dangerous Run Equipment... 5” XXL Metal Rabbit Run distributed by Bunny Business Ltd. More information.

An alternative to a traditional cage, hutch, or NIC cube condo is an exercise pen or x-pen, usually marketed for puppies and available in any pet store. An alternative is a plastic play yard for human toddlers, available in department stores. Do not use fabric playpens as rabbits can easily chew through them and escape in a matter of hours.

Advantages over a traditional cage, hutch, or dog crate include the following:

  • Extremely portable (great if you travel with your rabbit)
  • Easy to reconfigure and move around the house
  • Can also be used outside (always with supervision)
  • Lots of room for litter boxes, hidey houses, toys, etc.
  • X-pen walls are easy mounting locations for bottles, hay racks, toys, etc.
  • Lots of space for your money
  • Unlike cages, hutches, and dog crates, exercise pens that meet appropriate housing standards can easily be found.

The x-pen represents an intermediate step between a completely free roaming rabbit and a caged rabbit. It is perhaps best suited to a bunny who can free roam under supervision but still needs to be confined at night. Exercise pens are much more portable than a traditional cage, hutch, or dog crate and do not require as much up-front work as an NIC cube condo. The downsides are that you need to provide hidey-houses in addition to the x-pen itself, and this can take away from the portability somewhat. It should be stressed that the combination of an animal carrier and an x-pen to set up at your new location is probably the easiest way to travel with your rabbit. Because the x-pen folds, it can easily fit in the trunk of a small car.

Another handy use of an x-pen is to keep a free-roaming, fully trained bunny from getting into certain areas. Perhaps your bunny only has unsupervised access to the kitchen or the laundry room. You can use an x-pen to block off access out of these rooms. You can also use an x-pen to keep your rabbit away from the TV stand or similar cord jungle.

The following are some tips about how to use your x-pen:

  • Set up your pen against a wall to maximize the space you get.
  • Use an x-pen to confine a free-roaming rabbit when you're out of the house, cleaning, or the door is open.
  • Attach accessories like water bottles, hayracks, etc. directly to the x-pen.
  • You can use wood or PVC to create a frame for the x-pen to prevent your rabbit from pushing the edges out. Additionally, if you use a PVC frame and use blankets for flooring, you can also use snap clamps to clamp down fleece blankets and bedsheets to the frame to prevent rabbits from tugging up the flooring.
    An example of an exercise pen setup with a PVC frame to keep it square.
    A sample temporary boarding exercise pen setup with a PVC frame to keep it square.

A decent size x-pen can be had for anywhere from $30-$150. You may find them second-hand on classified ads like Craiglist and Kijiji for even cheaper (be sure to sanitize any second-hand or reused pens). Exercise pens generally outcompete cages in terms of square footage per dollar. If your bunny is not a jumper, 24" tall can be fine; otherwise 36" or higher is recommended for most rabbits unless you know they are lazy and not escape-prone.

However, some rabbits also learn to climb the panels and will need a cover to prevent them from escaping. Example video on Facebook.

A few cover options:

Some popular simple wire pens are the following:

Warning: Tiny baby bunnies should not be placed in a regular exercise pen without additional barriers as they can easily squeeze out between the bars. You will either need to cut out 12-18" strips of cardboard and attach them to the bottom half of the pen to cover and make it solid until the babies grow bigger or find an exercise pen with only 1"-spaced bars such as the following:

CamberAdventures. (2014). Rabbit 1 Fence 0
u/letthemeatcakex. (2015). Well, that's not gonna work...
u/Bjjkwood. (2018). my dwarf hotot, Thor, is all fluff...

Heavy duty

The following are some heavy duty pen choices:

BestPet heavy duty playpens comes with 8 panels in a number of heights and can be linked together. One of the panels has a built in door and they are made out of metal. You can find them on Amazon, as well as other places.
BestPet mockup using two sets for a total of 16 panels.

Plastic

The following are some clear plastic panel pen options:

A Lucidium Pen at the House Rabbit Society.
Delilah in her new house build with a Tespo Playpen
Different pen set-ups for Buttercup and Fuzzy Wuzzy
Tespo pen with transparent panels. In the UK, look for the Koossy brand.

Warning: Please be aware that some especially stubborn rabbits may chew through the plastic panels.

A rabbit that started to chew an exit in their Tespo pen. Used with permission from Melissa P.

Some plastic pen options:

IRIS 34" Pet Playpen with door in blue. They come in a number of different sizes & colors and they are made out of plastic. You can find them on Amazon, as well as other places.
IRIS 34" Pet Playpen mockup with door in white.


Here are some links with more information on using an x-pen for your rabbit.

Other custom enclosures

You can also come up with your own DIY custom enclosures using wood, metal, re-purposed furniture, and other materials. Keep in mind the proper dimensions you will need for a comfortable-sized enclosure for your rabbit. Remember to make any slats fairly close together so that the rabbit will not get his head stuck and be accidentally injured or strangled. Using chicken wire is not recommended as rabbits can chew through it very easily and dogs and raccoons can as well. Use hardware cloth or at the minimum 19-gauge wire mesh.

Custom palace built by /u/fondupot for /u/thecurlybuzz's rabbit.
Converted hutches into a functional DIY Rabbitat by kindapinkypurple on /r/rabbits. Pictures & directions.
Converted old second hand sideboard for Lola and Derek by /u/42petunias. Pictures & directions.
Custom house made from an old entertainment center by /u/kiwi00398019. Pictures & directions

The following are some examples of custom-made rabbit housing enclosures.

Enclosure setup

A sample portable exercise pen setup with a waterproof vinyl layer underneath at a workplace for a ~6 lb lop rabbit foster.

Regardless of the enclosure you choose, there should always be some basic items in your rabbit's housing enclosure.

  • Litter box
  • Hay rack or holder if you don't place hay in the litter box. See Hay for DIY options.
  • Water bowl or water bottle at least one for every rabbit. For those that would prefer to fill up water less or have heavy drinker, try water dispensers. See Diet for more information on pros and cons of both options.
  • Heavy duty ceramic bowls for food (if used), at least one for every rabbit - if you use plastic, be careful that the bunny may flip it over or chew on it. Food bowls are technically unnecessarily - you may scatter feed pellets on the floor or use foraging mats or puzzle balls to increase foraging and decrease choking risks. Vegetables can be tossed on the floor or in the litter box for feeding.
  • Toys - chewing material, digging material, throwable objects, etc.
  • Soft flooring - be sure that your rabbit does not ingest this. See notes below for more recommendations.
  • Hidey house - empty cardboard box, bunny-safe wooden castles, overturned baskets with 2+ entry holes cut out, towel draped over one corner. See Toys for more toy ideas.

What kind of flooring is good for rabbits?

Popular soft flooring materials include the following:

To protect hardwood floors or existing carpet, be sure to add a waterproof barrier underneath the soft flooring you decide to use. Examples include the following:

Make sure to keep an eye on your rabbit for ingestion of materials.

General bedding in an enclosure is not needed. It will confuse the rabbit when trying to litter train the rabbit. The only bedding and litter needed is in the litter box.

Please keep in mind that most rabbits will slip and slide on slick flooring such as hardwood, tile, or laminate due to their lack of paw pads like a cat or dog. Placing down more appropriate flooring with traction such as rugs, bathroom mats, blankets, towels, cardboard, or foam will likely encourage your rabbit to come out and explore more often as they feel more familiar with their environment.

Extra resources:

Housing galleries

Below are some galleries of example rabbit housing setups.

Free range rabbits

A large white rabbit enclosed in a bedroom with a baby gate.

Untrained rabbits should be kept in an enclosure during the night and while you are away from home. When you see consistent litter habits when your rabbit is let out to play, you might think about letting them roam free range permanently with a home base. Some rabbits can also naturally be free-roam on rugs with the use of slick hardwood or tile as an invisible fence.

Note that an adult bunny will probably be easier to train and less destructive than a juvenile or baby.[7]

Not all rabbits are good candidates for permanent free-roam, and this is okay. If your rabbit tends to be extremely destructive (eating walls, chewing baseboards, destroying beds and sofas) when left alone, then it is a much better idea to keep them enclosed in a fully bunny-proofed penned area when you are not around for their safety.

Several prerequisites are needed, however.

  • Block off locations you do not wish the bunny to be in with baby gates, fences, or doors. Be sure that they cannot jump over them. Dutch doors are great option if you'd like the flexibility of a regular solid door with a baby gate.
Please be cautious when choosing a baby gate. Most dog gates will have bars too wide for a rabbit - they will need to reinforced with hardware cloth, wire panels, or plastic to prevent a rabbit from squeezing through or getting stuck. Ideally, the width between bars should be less than 1.5" for an adult rabbit, and less than 1" for a baby rabbit.
This plastic gate was no match for A.Chaney's rabbit. Image source.
The bar openings were to large for R.Hunt's rabbit. Honey was stuck but quickly freed. Picture used with direct permission.
A plastic gate that was no match for Hashtag. Image source, (c) /u/coreyryan94

Some models available on Amazon:

  • Fully bunny-proof the place where the rabbit will be roaming. Make sure there is nothing that he can get under or over that could possibly harm them. Hide all belongings that you don't want possibly destroyed, and make sure all dangerous items are also out of reach.
An example setup on a giant rug where the rabbits are naturally limited by hardwood. Vinyl is placed underneath the rug to prevent damage to the hardwood from pee accidents.
  • The bunny should still have a home base such as a large cage or pen with a den available to them. This allows them to have a place to retreat to for peace and quiet. Things that should be provided in this base or nearby include a litter box, hay, and water.
  • Make sure the place has proper flooring allowing the rabbit to hop, stand, and run without slipping -- a concern especially important for older rabbits. Provide a soft surface for sleeping.
  • Provide plenty of environmental enrichment activities such as cardboard box forts, toys, telephone books, and digging boxes. See Toys for more options. If you have two or more rabbits bonded, they can provide entertainment for each other.
Rabbit Proofing With Webseth And Sam

The following are links with more information about free range house rabbits and how to train them.

Further reading

Here are some relevant videos you may watch.

Indoor Housing for your bunny
Indoor Rabbit Cages
A Hutch is Not Enough

References

  1. ↑ San Diego House Rabbit Society, Why to Keep Your Rabbit Indoors
  2. ↑ Bunniez, The Great Indoor Rabbit Debate
  3. ↑ Dana Krempels. (n.d.). Why an Indoor Bunny?. Retrieved 10 Jul 2019 from http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/indoorbun.html
  4. ↑ The Educated Rabbit, Rabbit Cages and Other Terrible Ideas
  5. ↑ Ohio House Rabbit Reacue, Bunny Living Space
  6. ↑ Wisconsin House Rabbit Society, WHRS Rabbit Care Guidelines
  7. ↑ JSPCA. (n.d.). JSPCA House Rabbits Training Fact Sheet. Retrieved 14 Mar 2017 from https://media.wix.com/ugd/bae167_5429538f939f42c0983cf700ee6698f8.pdf
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