Would it be terrible/ harmful to put my 9 month old, 4.5 pound Mini Rex (will be 10-11 months at the time) in an 8-12 square foot acrylic X-Pen for a few hours per day while on vacation in a rental house? He never has less than 16 square feet at home, and he normally free roams like 200 square feet during the day. He’d still have at least 50 square feet to free roam for at least 18-20 hours a day in the rental house. The 16 square foot X-Pen just isn’t going to safely fit in the car for travel (it’s also 4 feet tall), won’t fit in my bedroom in the rental house, and he normally sleeps next to or in my bed/ is in a different room from me less than 2 hours a day- very cuddly- so sleeping in a separate, much larger room would likely be distressing to him- though I could conceivably sleep on the couch out there if needed (or straight up sleep in his X-Pen with him- whatever he needs). He also might be able to free roam my bedroom while we sleep- I just need to see how well it can be bunny-proofed, but I think that should be fine. But he’ll still need to be in the X-Pen when I leave the house for a few hours per day (unless he’s interested in coming to the beach in a stroller… but I think there are far too many dogs there for me to be comfortable with that).
My parents rent this house for a month every year (I am an adult, but my two adult siblings, my pets, and I all stay there for most of the month as well). This will be my first time bringing my rabbit, and I think the landlord will be a bit nervous about that. I also think the listing only covers cats and dogs. So I want an option that shows that my bunny doesn’t have to take up a ton of space and won’t be able to get into things (even though he will get lots of free roam time).
Any thoughts on whether 8-12 square feet would be much too small for a single Mini Rex to use while I am sleeping and possibly for like 2-3 (non-consecutive) hours during the day when we go to dinner or the beach or I run errands, and possibly for longer while we’re sleeping at night if the bedroom can’t be fully bun-proofed for unsupervised roaming? I’ve always adhered to the idea that he should never be in any space less than 16 square feet unless we are walking around the first floor in his stroller (as he can’t walk there) or he is in his carrier to ride in the car. But I’m trying to figure out the best way to accommodate him within the rental house without upsetting the landlord or my bunny.
I know the 16 square foot recommendation is technically based on two medium-sized rabbits (and he cannot be bonded yet for medical reasons), but I also am a little freaked out by the idea of anything smaller. I very, very strongly believe that bunnies don’t belong in cages… and the smaller an X-Pen is, the more cage-like it seems.
Just looking for any input- feel free to be very direct, but just know that the well-being of my pets is literally my top concern in life, so I’m absolutely not trying to do anything that harms him. Also, note that the rental is only like 2.5 hours from home, and he does not seem to show any clear signs of stress while traveling (and I’ll be in the backseat with him for the rides there and home). He’s also totally fine with unfamiliar places- got a lot of exposure while in foster care, and settled into my home almost immediately:). So I’m not too worried about those pieces.
(Picture is him in foster care at 3 weeks old- 7 months before I adopted him 🙂 ).
by ahhdecisions7577
