Cage Bottom Question

[petkeeper]

I noticed there was a post about building cages, and I have a question for all you bunny owners. Okay my cages all have solid bottoms my preference, I am not partial to wire bottoms what do you guys prefer and why? I am really hoping this does not start a fight, but I am thinking about building new cages for my bunnies and am trying to get design ideas and would like some imput about what kind of bottom to put in, right now I am leaning strongly toward solid bottoms again but you guys may have some suggestions that would sway me the other way.

Thanks a bunch

Shannon.

[Becki]

I personally prefer wire bottom cages. My rabbit is just so messy that I wouldn't want her to have to walk around in her mess all day (not to mention all week). It's partially laziness on my part too though, I know that I wouldn't keep up with cage cleaning multiple times a week. I like wire bottomed cages with all of my animals, rabbits also have the benifit of having bigger feet that won't go between the bars and risk broken bones, so that's perfect in my book. I do use the bunny mat things in my bun's cage though so she can get off of the wire if she wants to. The downside is that I have to move the entire hutch to clean but I only have one to deal with.

[RSbunny]

I too have a wire bottom cage. In the past I have had ones where the bedroom area was solid and the rest was wire but my current one is all wire. I am with Becki on the laziness part, it requires too much effort to do multiple cage cleans a week! The cage that I have is outside and it is on flat ground so they can eat the grass and their feet don't get sore. They also come inside for a couple of hours every day so that gives them a break if needed also. The cage that my b/f is currently building will have a wire floor on the bottom but the second level will have a solid floor. As long as the rabbits can get off the wire if they want I don't think there is any problem with a wire bottom cage.

[Gecko]

I am not really sure what the stuff on the bottom of mine is called. It is not like skinny wire but it is criss-crossed so it is not solid. I will try to take some pics this weekend. Although here shortly we may have to build a new cage cuz my bunny is sure growing fast!!!

[BrendaLynn]

I have both. I think I keep the solid cage much cleaner, because I clean it everyday. Mine use a litter pan with pine pellets in it and I change it daily because there are two of them.
I also have a wire bottom cage for Ruth and she is fine with that. I clean her's once a week. Both work nicely. I think the litter box is better for making sure there are less accidents in the house.

[Rocheal]

My bunny has a wire bottom cage right now but it's just temporary, so I'd like to know what everyone else likes too. I think I'd like the wire bottom with a litter box in it once I got a bigger cage- to see if that could show him/her how to go to the bathroom in it.

[Rabbid Rabbits]

I would have a wire cage with a tray underneith

[longdog]

I prefer completely solid bottom cages with a litter box (just don't want to have to worry about the little tosies). I too am very lazy and just dump the entire litter box every 2 days, pick up the few stray poops and completely clean it once a week. I leave hay in the box to encourage my bunny to use it. My cage is a C&C with a coroplast bottom and newspaper.
I just wanted to throw this into the mix in respect to wire bottoms, though. I found it on the Ontario Rabbits site under Diet, Care and Behavior. The House Rabbit Society has more info

"Cage Liner: If you are using a wire bottom rabbit cage, it is important to cover some of the bottom with cardboard, wood, towels, newspapers so that your rabbit has a solid place to sit. Providing your rabbit with a solid resting area is essential for preventing sore hocks. Some breeds are more prone to hock sores than others. Rexes for example have thin fur on their feet that give them little protection from wire. Large breeds are heavy and have excess weight on their feet. In addition, a rabbit who hops in and out of a cage can easily catch a toenail on the wire mesh and rip off the nail. In time, your bunny will learn to use the litterbox and not the cage liner.
If you have a multi-level cage with wire-mesh ramps, the ramps should be covered with carpeting or another non-slippery material. If wire mesh ramps are not covered, your rabbit may get his toe nail caught in the wire causing a painful injury."

[Dragonrain]

Old topic - This original post was from 2003

[longdog]

Yes, but the topic still shows up in search engines which is how I found it. I wanted the information I posted to be available for the next stumble upon, I didn't actually mean to dredge up an old conversation.

[crizzle3275]

I just built my own set of cages, one which had the wire mesh bottom, and the other with the solid bottom. There is really no choice, when it comes to the mess, the wire mesh bottom of the cage is just so much easier to deal with and easier for the animal to walk around without getting dirty. Built my own with mesh from these guys:

Belleville Wire Cloth

Was wasy to get the stuff, get it shipped, cut it and go from there. Wire Cloth or wire mesh is the way to go for sure.

[Dragonrain]

I'm closing this for now, since it's from 2003 and keeps getting brought back up. If you'd like to discus this topic, feel free to start a new thread.