Instead of blocking off areas such as under a bed or couch why not convert it in to a rabbit friendly environment?  We have a futon in our rabbit room that the rabbits love to run under.  I’d hear them digging at the carpet and when I’d move the futon they had made a mess, pooping and peeing everywhere – YUCK!  So I decided to get some paper boxes and create a giant tunnel system spanning the entire length and width of the futon.  All in all I believe I used about 10 boxes.

It is always better to use boxes that aren’t coloured but as your rabbits will be playing inside the boxes where there is no colouring it wasn’t a major concern for this project when I couldn’t get all natural ones.

Materials:

• Cardboard boxes
• Utility Knife
• Packing Tape

Cost:

Free!

First I measured the length and width under the futon to know what I was working with.  Next I laid them out on the floor of our room and started connecting them together with packing tape.  Because I didn’t want the rabbits to chew at the tape and hurt themselves I would rip off a long piece, loop it in half so both ends would be stuck together, put this on the outside of one box, then press the outside of the other box to it to hold it together.  I continued to do this until I had made a massive rectangle of boxes.  Since none of the tape was exposed on the inside of the boxes where the rabbits would be they couldn’t ingest any of it.  Next I used a utility knife to cut holes randomly out of the boxes, creating a series of tunnels.  Our futon is fairly low to the ground so I also had to cut some of the top of the boxes down, then I moved the entire thing in to our rabbit room and as Hubby held up the futon I slid the maze underneath.  Once we put the futon back down it secured the maze in place!

Now when the bunnies run under our futon they can dig, poop and pee all they want as they’ll only be accessing the bottom of the cardboard boxes and not my carpet!  As it goes to the back of the wall it also prevented them from reaching a cord we had running behind the futon.  In nature rabbits live in warrens which is a series of burrows and tunnels underground.  This maze system has provided a replica of that for them.  They have space to feel safe, explore and not get into any trouble!  Occasionally I also put little treats in there for them and toys in different areas of the maze for them to find!

Don’t forget to check the condition of your boxes regularly.  You’ll want to replace any torn up or heavily soiled boxes with fresh new ones and a quick vacuum with the shop vac after your rabbits have been in their maze is perfect for cleanup!