Many events have transpired since we acquired a new hutch for our little bunny rabbit, Cadbury. The most significant event was bringing in another senior rabbit—named Mufasa for his orange, lion-like coloring. Mufasa wasn’t originally intended to be a permanent resident; we brought him on a foster basis after a neighbor of ours decided to move across the country without him. Mufasa is a gregarious, fluffy Rex, and one of the most cuddly rabbits we’ve encountered, so we were certain he could find a new home.
Although remarkably well-behaved, Mufasa does have a typical bunny vice: he loves to chew just about anything. He has chewed baseboards, vacuum cords, and even metal wires. Tuck this away for a moment, because this anecdote becomes important later on. Because we knew about his chewing, but also believe that indoor bunnies should be “free range”, we vetted potential adopters thoroughly. The last thing we wanted was for Mufasa to be stuck in a cage all day, or rapidly re-homed after he chewed through a laptop cord.
We thought we found the perfect new owners, a young couple with a flexible work schedule. They committed to giving Mufasa plenty of supervised “free hop” time during the day, and they kept a minimalist house so there weren’t many valuable possessions at risk for damage. Yet, only two weeks later, the couple showed up at our door with Mufasa in tow. They had “forgotten” to receive their landlord’s permission for a pet, and the landlord found out.
So we committed to finding another home for the little orange rabbit. In the meantime, we didn’t want Cadbury to feel threatened by a new rabbit in his space, nor to become attached to the newcomer. Based on Cadbury’s lifelong grumpy attitude, we were more afraid of the former than the latter. We placed Mufasa in the family room, far away from Cadbury’s room near the back of the house. But much to our surprise, Cadbury hopped out one day and found Mufasa. And instead of getting territorial, as we expected, he seemed happy to have found another one of his kind.
After a lot of supervised play sessions, and wondering if we were doing the right thing, it seemed best to let Mufasa and Cadbury be together. We slowly migrated them together in the cute, red hutch and play area that we wrote about earlier. Now here’s where that little anecdote comes into play: Simba’s voracious chewing habit didn’t stop at our possessions. He decided the all-wood hutch was his next target. It wasn’t long before he had gnawed every bit of that hutch to a sorry mess. When we saw signs of the second hutch floor collapsing in on the first floor, we knew it was time for a new habitat.
Rabbits simply don’t have the market share that dogs and cats do, and that made searching for the habitat fairly frustrating. Wood hutches were out, obviously. The grey cage you see pictured had a textured bottom pan that was impossible to clean. And most other cages were far too tiny for two chunky rabbits.
Then we found the All Living Things Rabbit Habitat and Playpen which was constructed of a sturdy plastic pan and decorative bronze metal. The doors and hatches are thoughtfully designed: you can drop down one or both side doors for ramps into the cage, and both top doors open up as well. The cage itself is on rollers for easy movement (especially useful when we need to vacuum the play area). And the optional playpen fence slots right into the sides of the cage but is easily removable.
Another thoughtful touch is the black fleece covers for the side panels. Cadbury’s feet are far more sensitive in his old age, and he appreciated the extra padding. The cage also comes with a standard “hidey hole” area, that we ended up removing because it was too small for our rabbits, and it was another target for Mufasa to chew and destroy.
Now for an awkward but necessary topic. One of the problems in housing rabbits is the acidity of their urine. It stains and eats away at any material it comes in contact with—including plastic and metal cage bottoms. Our last cage was ruined because the bunnies had a “second pee spot” outside their litter pan on the cage bottom itself. Fortunately, we found a perfect, disposable solution: Paw Inspired Charcoal Cage Liners. The 47″ x 26″ size is a perfect fit for the habitat, the charcoal embedded lining soaks up fluid and odor, and when they’re done just throw them away! The only downside is that these liners are one-of-a-kind and frequently go out of stock. When we needed a quick replacement, we used machine-washable BWOGUE Fleece Liners instead.
What would we change about the All Living Things Rabbit Habitat and Playpen? Honestly, not much! We would like for the company to sell replacement parts. Unfortunately, you can’t get new fleece covers or any of the other parts without buying a whole new cage. And that’s a shame, because everything is color coordinated so well. The pen attachments to the cage could be more secure—Cadbury and Mufasa have escaped more than once, so now the pen is zip-tied to the cage. But other than, this habitat is practically perfect—and the bunnies love it too!
