Pfft... Dexter doesn't count as a new pet....

Hubby said no more pets... But we ended up with more anyway... (I have some how become Ms Animal rescue lady and whenever someone ends up with something they can't keep... They come to me). Adam's gotten used to watching me sit and fiddle around with things to make new houses... But about halfway through making this one, he banned me from building anything once we have kids... A bit of a potty mouth me thinks - but a happy new bunny!

Will go picture overload now:

Dexter:

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...xter/006-1.jpg

The building process:

I must say... These things are A HUGE PAINFUL PAIN IN THE ...... to put together....

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...xter/001-1.jpg

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...Dexter/002.jpg

"Uh, hun, what about the hardwood getting ruined" "Got it covered"...

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...Dexter/003.jpg

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...Dexter/003.jpg

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...xter/006-2.jpg

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...Dexter/008.jpg

Ah ha... Look at me Mum... If I run back and forth as fast as I can, you can't catch me!!!

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...Dexter/011.jpg

So about 6 hours, 6 beers, and bruises all over the palms of my hands (thankfully I'm a girl, so that's just funny)... Dexter has his proper home. He's 9 weeks in the pictures, Dwarf bunny. A co-worker had got him a present for her son only to find out that Bunnies don't like being chased by toddlers, aren't "cuddly" like cats, and can cause allergies... After three days she "re-gifted" him to us.

WOW!!! This is an amazing enclosure. I wish I had 1/100th the ingenuity, creativity, and patience you have.

Dexter is going to be the envy of all bunnies :D

Thanks for sharing.

sure looks like some tasty snake food :D
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just kidding! kind of.... lol

also that is one FINE enclosure you put together, congrats.

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Originally Posted by instinct27

WOW!!! This is an amazing enclosure. I wish I had 1/100th the ingenuity, creativity, and patience you have.

Dexter is going to be the envy of all bunnies :D

Thanks for sharing.

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Thanks!!! It was actually quite fun despite the fact that those cubes don't fit together nicely... Especially when using them for an unintended purpose!

It was actually a very economic solution to providing him enough room to really flourish - all told I spent what I would have on the large rabbit enclosure (which is what I keep my rats in, so in my opinion, not enough room for him) new at a pet store, and less than I would have on a dog kennel.... Plus... It just looks FUN... lol

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

sure looks like some tasty snake food :D
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just kidding! kind of.... lol

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HA HA HA... Everyone keeps asking if I just got him to feed to Kitty... But no... He's too big ;) The rats aren't even Kitty food (they're too big now too... And on a diet).

Hah I just saw that your snake is named "kitty".. I totally have that name reserved for the day I get a boa or blood python.. the bigger the better for names like "kitty".. and of course who can forget "fluffy".

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Originally Posted by mainbutter

Hah I just saw that your snake is named "kitty".. I totally have that name reserved for the day I get a boa or blood python.. the bigger the better for names like "kitty".. and of course who can forget "fluffy".

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Actually... Fluffy is the next name for us too! lol And Lassie...

We went with Dexter the serial killer with a heart of gold for the bunny though.. It fit his initial antisocial behaviour... lol

And later tonight... We get to see how much he loves the vacuum as I've been avoiding that since I brought him home! lol

That's a remarkable enclosure for him. I'd really like you to post on how he does in it in the next few weeks. See if there are any bugs to work out in it(things he might chew, or jump over, etc). I'll send the link to this to friends with bunnies, since I know they don't have anything so cool for their buns.

That is a really creative way to use those stacking cubes!! Wow, A for ingenuity. :gj:

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

That's a remarkable enclosure for him. I'd really like you to post on how he does in it in the next few weeks. See if there are any bugs to work out in it(things he might chew, or jump over, etc). I'll send the link to this to friends with bunnies, since I know they don't have anything so cool for their buns.

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He's been two weeks in, so far no chew issues. Then again, he has lots of things in there that he's allowed to chew on and which are enticing, so he's not as enticed to chew on the rest.

He loves the second level... I was worried with how low the front currently is that he would jump out, but he hasn't tried yet... I bought a second back up set to make this higher if he does figure it out.

Cleaning has been fairly simple - he mostly uses the litter boxes, and a few over the side leaks apart it wasn't much so I just wipe it down with a damp cloth and change the litter and all is good.

The only modification I had to make was the hay shelf on the second level right side got removed and replaced by a dish for 2 reasons: 1 because he kept running into it as he raced around and I didn't want him to get a foot caught; 2 because he couldn't quite figure out how to get the hay out of it, so wouldn't use it except to just jump over it and sit in the hay.

So far though, I've lucked out. He's not much of a chewer at all. He scratches the grass mat a bit and tosses it all over, digs in his box of paper and sometimes in the top left litter box (which makes a HUGE mess) but otherwise, no issues chewing on plastic etc.

The only slight annoyance (other than fitting the pastic knobs on) was that I didn't quite have enough of the plastic bits with the way I built it... The ones that came with the frosted plastic on the bottom row were too small for the wire ones used on the top, and hence mostly useless.

In total for what's in the picture I used one pack of the frosted plastic ones (17.99), and 2 packs of the metal (15.99 each). I have a third pack on hand to add more height if/when he figures out that he can jump high enough to get out, but more likely they will be added tomorrow before I leave for the night. The foam lego bottoms were 14.99 for a pack of 6, and the tarp I think 5$, the pink thing was an old Yoga matt that I cut up as there were no plastic supports under the shelves and I wanted them to be level. As for the wood logs, I got the medium ones from the pet store, and they are cable tied in series to the back, and then they curve under to support the shelf which is also cable tied. In retrospect, the large ones might have been easier to work with considering the distance, and a heavier bunny would definately need something bigger to support it. The cable ties I had on hand.

So far, it holds up to being lifted and moved around - but it was a super huge pain to put together, And will have to be disassembled when we move... Using a hammer didn't help because it would just knock others loose, and I really should have taken a photo of what my hands looked like after...

Look at that!! WOW! cool.