Converted rabbit hutch?

[Mousie]

Hello everyone! I am making plans to purchase this rabbit hutch to convert into a forever home for my 2 dragons! (Yes there is a top and bottom and no connection in between so it would be 2 separate cages)

Here is a breakdown of rhe modifications I want to make:
1. I'll be removing the front wire and replacing it with slide able plexiglass glass.
2. I'll be keeping the wire on the left hand side for ventilation and adding a vent cover to the other side to allow air flow.
3. I'll be drilling holes through thr back so that I can insert light fixtures. Both for the basking spot and for my to bulb fixture.
4.The bottom pull out tray is plastic but I will be covering the wood with a reptiles safe water based sealer due to the fact that this enclosure is made of fir wood.

So my question is has anyone used a rabbit hutch as an enclosure before? The only thing I worry about is the sealant for the wood. Any suggestions? Someone suggested drylock?

 

[HoomanSlave]

I don't know a ton about sealant (anything reptile or aquarium safe works), but this is a really cool project! Let us know how it turns out

 

[BeardedDragonDude]

Yeah, that definitely seems like an awesome project!
A good reptile safe sealant is 100% silicone.
If it is a silicone sealer, it should be safe, but only if it is 100% silicone.
Also, make sure that you check if the silicone has any anti-mold additives because those can hurt your BD as well.
Thanks,
BDD

 

[Mousie]

I don't know a ton about sealant (anything reptile or aquarium safe works), but this is a really cool project! Let us know how it turns out

Thank you! I can't wait ro give my guys lots of room to run around! I will keep everyone updated.

 

[Julee1971]

Hello everyone! I am making plans to purchase this rabbit hutch to convert into a forever home for my 2 dragons! (Yes there is a top and bottom and no connection in between so it would be 2 separate cages)

Here is a breakdown of rhe modifications I want to make:
1. I'll be removing the front wire and replacing it with slide able plexiglass glass.
2. I'll be keeping the wire on the left hand side for ventilation and adding a vent cover to the other side to allow air flow.
3. I'll be drilling holes through thr back so that I can insert light fixtures. Both for the basking spot and for my to bulb fixture.
4.The bottom pull out tray is plastic but I will be covering the wood with a reptiles safe water based sealer due to the fact that this enclosure is made of fir wood.

So my question is has anyone used a rabbit hutch as an enclosure before? The only thing I worry about is the sealant for the wood. Any suggestions? Someone suggested drylock?

I don’t recommend the rabbit hutch at all. What type of wood is it? And what’s the size it should be 36 long and 2feet deep & 2feet high. When Beardies turn 10mnyhs or so u need a 120Gallon tank. Never house 2 Beardies togheter ever. they need major ventilation on both sides and up top and the best wood is melamin to use or all
Glass and u need to place the Reptisun 10.0 T5 long tubular bulb in each covering 70pwrcent of the tank plus your zoomed clear basking bulb it will be hard to keep clean and sealants can be deadly & how wiol u get the humidity correct it can only be 30-40 and u need digital thermometers & hygrometers.

 

[HoomanSlave]

I don’t recommend the rabbit hutch at all. What type of wood is it? And what’s the size it should be 36 long and 2feet deep & 2feet high. When Beardies turn 10mnyhs or so u need a 120Gallon tank. Never house 2 Beardies togheter ever. they need major ventilation on both sides and up top and the best wood is melamin to use or all
Glass and u need to place the Reptisun 10.0 T5 long tubular bulb in each covering 70pwrcent of the tank plus your zoomed clear basking bulb it will be hard to keep clean and sealants can be deadly & how wiol u get the humidity correct it can only be 30-40 and u need digital thermometers & hygrometers.

It's a double stacked enclosure, they can't even see each other. The post said that they were using plexiglass and adding vents... Please read posts carefully before accusing people of improper husbandry and have some experience in the subject. Reptile and aquarium safe sealants are used all the time by hobbyists, and even some normal sealants can be used if they are water-based and allowed to set properly.

 

[Mousie]

I don’t recommend the rabbit hutch at all. What type of wood is it? And what’s the size it should be 36 long and 2feet deep & 2feet high. When Beardies turn 10mnyhs or so u need a 120Gallon tank. Never house 2 Beardies togheter ever. they need major ventilation on both sides and up top and the best wood is melamin to use or all
Glass and u need to place the Reptisun 10.0 T5 long tubular bulb in each covering 70pwrcent of the tank plus your zoomed clear basking bulb it will be hard to keep clean and sealants can be deadly & how wiol u get the humidity correct it can only be 30-40 and u need digital thermometers &

It's a double stacked enclosure, they can't even see each other. The post said that they were using plexiglass and adding vents... Please read posts carefully before accusing people of improper husbandry and have some experience in the subject. Reptile and aquarium safe sealants are used all the time by hobbyists, and even some normal sealants can be used if they are water-based and allowed to set properly.

Thank you so much for the response!

 

[Julee1971]

It's a double stacked enclosure, they can't even see each other. The post said that they were using plexiglass and adding vents... Please read posts carefully before accusing people of improper husbandry and have some experience in the subject. Reptile and aquarium safe sealants are used all the time by hobbyists, and even some normal sealants can be used if they are water-based and allowed to set properly.

But you have to read about the wood material & and melamin is the best and recommended u are indirectly guiding and giving a girl to transform a rabbit enclosure!! Rabbit conversion!! Seriously-Think and stop u are not a pro!! The Beardie will suffer and die without proper ventilation, my cages are glass w/a screen top to breathe. Normal to just buy one and call it a day!! So u think 2vents for the bottom cage is appropriate? While the other cage sits on top!! The animal will have a teeny bit of air coming thru!! That’s for breeders who torture and sell quickly. That’s not enjoying an animal I have 2 cages separately diagonal in large open & living area & they can’t see each other but they have lots to watch and do!!

 

[Julee1971]

Thank you so much for the response!

Mousie go buy an enclosure 2 of them they are $550 for the 120 gallon on Amazon.

 

[Mousie]

But you have to read about the wood material & and melamin is the best and recommended u are indirectly guiding and giving a girl to transform a rabbit enclosure!! Rabbit conversion!! Seriously-Think and stop u are not a pro!! The Beardie will suffer and die without proper ventilation, my cages are glass w/a screen top to breathe. Normal to just buy one and call it a day!! So u think 2vents for the bottom cage is appropriate? While the other cage sits on top!! The animal will have a teeny bit of air coming thru!! That’s for breeders who torture and sell quickly. That’s not enjoying an animal I have 2 cages separately diagonal in large open & living area & they can’t see each other but they have lots to watch and do!!

I still don't think you are reading the post. Maybe misunderstanding? I'm not sure. Its normal is thr reptile keeping hobby to make your own enclosure. If you clicked on the photo you would see the converted hutch is much bigger than your tank. One whole side of rhr hutch is made of wire ( just like your mesh lid) and I would be placing another mesh fitting on thr opposite side to allow air flow (not up and down hut right and left) so this hutch would have way more ventilation and air flow than a tank.

Believe it or not ... more people build their own enclosures... rather than using a glass tank.

You can use any wood foe building however you have to make sure you seal it properly. I'm really surprised this is a new concept to you ... this is a very popular think to do in the reptile keeping world.

 

[HoomanSlave]

But you have to read about the wood material & and melamin is the best and recommended u are indirectly guiding and giving a girl to transform a rabbit enclosure!! Rabbit conversion!! Seriously-Think and stop u are not a pro!! The Beardie will suffer and die without proper ventilation, my cages are glass w/a screen top to breathe. Normal to just buy one and call it a day!! So u think 2vents for the bottom cage is appropriate? While the other cage sits on top!! The animal will have a teeny bit of air coming thru!! That’s for breeders who torture and sell quickly. That’s not enjoying an animal I have 2 cages separately diagonal in large open & living area & they can’t see each other but they have lots to watch and do!!

The same woods that are toxic for beardies are dangerous for rabbits and rodents, and a high-quality cage would not contain them. Even if it did, sealant could fix the issue.
People have converted weirder things into reptile habitats-I've seen showers used to house larger species and they work nicely. Most large reptiles keepers build enclosures and nobody dies from it. You can still enjoy an animal and it can still have enrichment in a double stacked enclosure. It's more efficient to stack enclosures and can actually keep the animals safe. Also, ventilation from the side is a lot better than ventilation from the top, especially when there's equipment on the roof of the enclosure.

You're technically not a pro unless you work in the herpetology field. You might have experience from rescuing 500+ beardies (which sounds fishy, considering the cost to save so many would be more than what most people make in a year), but that doesn't mean you are qualified to answer all questions or that you can't give wrong answers. "Think and stop" before you make wild assumptions about other people