MidWest 36-Inch Exercise Pen Review: Best Rabbit Pen?
A MidWest 36-inch exercise pen review for rabbits: 16 square feet of floor, panel height against jumpers, the missing floor and roof, and how to make it work.
Sixteen square feet, no ramp, no roof, and the most floor space per dollar in rabbit keeping.
The verdict: Eight 24 by 36 inch panels give a rabbit 16 square feet of flat, ramp-free floor for around $59, which is more usable space per dollar than any cage or hutch on this site and the reason most experienced rabbit owners end up with a pen. Buy it if space is what your rabbit is short of, which it almost certainly is. Skip it if you need litter contained and a tidy look, where a deep-based cage such as the Ferplast Krolik XXL does a better job.
MidWest Homes for Pets 36-Inch Exercise Pen, Single Door
~$59
Eight 24 by 36 inch metal panels forming a 16 square foot enclosure, with a double-latched door, four ground anchors and tool-free setup.
Check price on AmazonSpecifications
| Panels | Eight panels, each 24 in wide x 36 in high |
|---|---|
| Enclosed area | 16 square feet |
| Door | Single door with double latches |
| Outdoor use | Four ground anchors included |
| Assembly | Tool-free, four thumb-snaps, folds flat for storage |
| Configurations | Round, square, rectangle, or used to block off a room |
| Compatibility | Attaches to most crates; optional tops available |
Specifications above come from MidWest Homes for Pets' published product information. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.
What it does well
- Sixteen square feet of flat floor is roughly double what an extra-large cage gives, at half the price of one.
- Thirty-six inch panels are tall enough that most rabbits will not clear them, which the 24 and 30 inch versions are not.
- There is no ramp and no upper deck, which removes the main injury risk in multi-level enclosures and makes it the right choice for a senior or arthritic rabbit.
- It reshapes. The same eight panels can be a square in a spare room, a long rectangle down a wall, or a barrier across a doorway.
- It folds flat, so it can be put away for visitors or taken to a rabbit sitter, which no cage or hutch does.
Where it falls short
- There is no floor, so it needs to stand on something washable. Bare carpet under a rabbit pen becomes a urine problem quickly.
- There is no roof either. Confident young rabbits and lighter breeds can and do clear 36 inches from a standing start, especially if a hidey house is placed near the panels.
- The panels can be pushed along a slippery floor by a determined rabbit, and a pen that walks across the room slowly opens a gap.
- It is sold as a dog product, so the bar spacing is wide enough that a very small or dwarf rabbit may get its head through. Check before leaving one unsupervised.
- Litter and hay go everywhere, because nothing contains them. A large litter box in one corner and a mat under the whole pen are not optional extras here.
What owners report
Owner reports on MidWest exercise pens are among the most consistent in this category, and rabbit owners in particular describe them as the thing they should have bought first. Ease of setup, the ability to reconfigure the shape and the fold-flat storage come up repeatedly. So does the observation that a rabbit given this much floor behaves differently, with more running, more binkies and less bar chewing, which is exactly what you would expect from an animal that finally has room to move.
The two recurring complaints are jumping and sliding. Rabbits that clear the panels are usually doing it from something, so the fix is to keep hides, boxes and litter boxes away from the walls rather than to buy a taller pen. Sliding is solved with a rubber-backed mat or a large washable rug underneath, which also protects your floor. A pen on bare laminate will move and will let a rabbit's feet slip, and slipping on hard floors is a genuine cause of hind leg injuries.
Where a pen sits in a setup is covered in our hutch versus exercise pen comparison and our cage versus free roam comparison, and the space you are aiming at is in our cage size guide. Many owners run a pen with a cage inside it, so if you want the tidy litter containment as well, our MidWest Deluxe cage review covers the matching product, and the exercise pen roundup covers the alternatives.
Who it suits
- Anyone whose rabbit currently lives in a cage and needs more floor without spending more money.
- Owners of senior or arthritic rabbits who need a single-level enclosure with no ramp.
- People who want the enclosure to fold away, move rooms or travel to a sitter.
Who should skip it
- Owners who need litter and hay contained and a tidy look in a shared living room.
- People with a proven jumper, unless they add a pen top.
- Anyone with a very small dwarf rabbit that could push through the bar spacing.
Alternatives worth considering
MidWest Homes for Pets Exercise Pen with Full Max Lock Door, 36-Inch
~$119
The same 36 inch height with a full-height locking door, which is far easier to step through carrying a litter box and much harder for a clever rabbit to nose open. Twice the price, and worth it if you go in and out of the pen many times a day.
Check price on AmazonVISCOO 32 Panels Small Animal Playpen, 47.5 x 23.7 x 31.5 in
~$47
A modular grid panel pen that can be built into a shape a metal pen cannot, including a covered top. The panels are lighter and less rigid than MidWest's, so it suits a calm rabbit rather than a determined one, but it costs less and includes a roof option.
Check price on AmazonFerplast Krolik XXL Rabbit Cage
~$200
If mess rather than space is your real problem, a 5.5 inch deep base contains litter in a way no pen can. It costs three times as much for less floor, so this is a choice about living with the enclosure rather than about the rabbit.
Check price on AmazonKeep reading
- Hutch vs exercise pen
- Cage vs free roam compared
- How much space a rabbit actually needs
- Best rabbit exercise pens
- Free roam rabbit guide
This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Editor's Pick ยท Affiliate link
A Chew-Proof Two Storey Hutch
Rabbits chew everything, and a wooden hutch becomes a repair project and a health risk once it is soaked and gnawed. A full metal frame with two levels gives the vertical space rabbits actually use, and it survives the chewing that destroys cheaper housing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How tall should a rabbit exercise pen be?
Thirty-six inches is the height to buy. The 24 and 30 inch versions of the same pen are cheaper and plenty of rabbits clear them, particularly young ones and lighter breeds in the mood to binky. Height alone is not the whole answer either, because rabbits launch from things. Keep hidey houses, litter boxes and cardboard boxes away from the panels, and if your rabbit is a proven jumper, add a pen top rather than hoping.
Do I need a floor mat under an exercise pen?
Yes, for two reasons. The first is your floor, since urine soaks into carpet and gets under laminate. The second is your rabbit, because hard, slippery surfaces make hind legs splay and slipping is a real cause of injury. A large washable rug, a rubber-backed mat or interlocking foam tiles all work, though foam tiles need watching as some rabbits chew and swallow the foam. Whatever you use, it needs to be washable, because it will need washing.
Is 16 square feet enough space for a rabbit?
It is a good deal more than any cage gives, and for a single rabbit that also gets time out in a rabbit-proofed room it is a reasonable base. It is not a substitute for exercise. Rabbits need to run and to be able to take several hops in a line, and 16 square feet as a square is about four feet across. Two pens joined together, or a pen with a panel opened into a rabbit-proofed room, is the setup that most owners find works best.
MidWest exercise pen or a hutch for a rabbit?
For an indoor rabbit, the pen, almost every time. It gives more floor, costs less, has no ramp to fall from, and folds away. A hutch wins only where weather protection or outdoor security is genuinely required, and in that case the best answer is usually a hutch with a run attached rather than a hutch alone. Our hutch versus exercise pen comparison covers the trade-off in detail.
Can rabbits chew through a metal exercise pen?
Not through the wire, though rabbits do chew at bars and can wear the coating off. Bar chewing is almost always a message rather than a defect, and it usually means bored, under-exercised or wanting out. The response is more space, more time out of the pen, unlimited hay and things that are meant to be chewed, such as untreated apple or willow wood. A rabbit that suddenly starts chewing bars after months of not doing so is worth watching for other changes.
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