"Bunny- proofing" the house to make it safe for your rabbit

[sdf76]

I noticed that there isn't any information on here with hints and tips on how to bunny-proof your house when letting an indoor rabbit have exercise.

I only have bunnies in the lounge post-op and have a large dog-crate they can go in to recover. However, when they are well enough to move around for a day or so ( but not well enough to go outdoors) I struggle to make the room temporarily bunny-proof.

So does anyone have advice for PaP members on the following:
1) Information for bunny-proofing the room on a permanent basis?( for indoor buns)
and 2) information for bunny-proofing the room on a temporary basis? ( for recovering or visiting bunnies )

sue

[Hunnybunny2007]

My 3 indoor bunnies all have dental problems including 2 gummy bunnies and because of our different work patterns, there's always someone at home so it's much easier for me

The obvious things are protecting wires, you can buy special tubes from Ikea to feed them into, you can also use the NIC grids or fire guards to form barricades around things. I never have plants or flowers in the living room, just in case they are toxic, we have wooden floors in the hallway and the buns don't like venturing onto them, so I only have to worry about the living room.

They have lots of toys and tunnels to play with so they are less interested in the furniture

[sdf76]

The problem I have is (part 2) that I occasionally need to have Coco in the lounge. I can only give him a small area as it's difficult to make safe the rest. He could have one half of the room if I could sort the gap under the piano-
I definitely don't want him wedged under there!! I've tried stuffing newspaper under there but he pulls it out. (He's not very interested in toys being an outdoor bun)

We cover the carpet with plastic sheet and an old bedsheet and towels on top (as he wees) and last time I was lucky to have big cardboard pieces to block part off. (We don't need to cover wires as they are the other end of the room and I wouldn't want him near the fire anyway.)The problem with fireguards is trying to wedge them up so they don't fall over. From what I've read the NIC panels are not very stable as a 10ft long barrier and are designed as to be used as cubes. We would need frequent access so a wall of cubes wouldn't work but thankyou for the suggestion Hunnybunny2007.

It's not a major problem as he doesn't have to come in that often, but I wish there was some sort of temporary barrier you could put up about 10ft long and 4ft high with an opening or gate. Something sturdy to go on a carpet.. Does anyone know of anything? (We once had a great metal fence(puppy pen?) but it had to be secured into the lawn with spikes so no good indoors).

I just wondered how those with indoor bunnies manage to separate areas?

sue .

[Honey61]

I have always had indoor buns, although now I have 2 outdoor pairs.

I am lucky in as much that Teddi has his own room. Roo & Bonnie always had free range & were only confined to one room at night.
When I start to bunny proof, the first thing I do is to lay on the floor to survey it from their level. It's amazing the things you see, that you don't from higher up.

These are some of the things I have used to help bunny proof a room....

Puppy panels - the ones I have are galvanised 3x2ft & interlink with rods. For a long barrier you can set some at abgles to help stabilise as they are quite weighty.

Baby gate - cover with mesh

Wine boxes are great for wedging between walls & sofas/furniture. They are sturdy, provide a hidey hole & free

There are various methods for containing wires.......
There's the flexible spiral stuff, but it can be expensive.
Mini trunking is great & can be fixed above a skirting board & will hold a number of cables.
Flexible conduit is good too as it is tough, but you do have to remove the plugs off some things to feed the cable in.

I also have a couple of folding fire guards that I use as temporary door barriers

Teddi is a bit hit & miss with his po, so I use childrens bed pads under a blanky on the floor & also baby disposable change mats (although if you have a digger I wouldn't recommend)

Oh & an invaluable trick if you have a nibbler is gaffer tape ...... put a strip on wall corners/painted doors/ top of skirting ... .easy to spot if somebun is nibbling where they shouldn't ....

Can't think of anything else at the moment

[sdf76]

Some good hints and tips - thankyou.
sue