An indoor rabbit enclosure with a pen works when it stops being a cage with an accessory and becomes a small territory: a sheltered base for sleeping and toileting, opening into a pen large enough for proper movement. Rabbits are built to cover ground in hopping bursts and to sit up tall to survey their surroundings, and an enclosure that allows both, all day rather than for an hour's exercise, is what this setup delivers.
Lay out a rest zone and a run zone
Fix the base enclosure at the quiet end of the room and attach pen panels firmly to it, with the door between them left open or removed. The resting zone holds a hide house or covered box where the rabbit can withdraw completely, a hay supply, and the litter tray in the corner she picks for toileting — rabbits usually choose one, so watch for a day before fixing the tray's position. The run zone needs a clear run of floor long enough for at least three full hops in a line, plus headroom to rear onto hind legs without touching anything overhead. Panels should be tall and clipped together rigidly; a determined rabbit leans, pushes and jumps better than most people expect.
Flooring that protects unpadded feet
Bare laminate, tile and lino are skating rinks to a rabbit, because her feet are furred soles with no pads to grip. Slipping strains joints and discourages the very movement the pen exists for, and hard unsprung floors add pressure to the hocks. Cover the footprint with low-pile rugs, washable mats or interlocking foam tiles over the solid floor, extending a margin beyond the panels so landings at the fence line are cushioned too. Wire or slatted floors have no place anywhere in the setup: they concentrate weight on the hock and are a long road to sore, infected skin.
Furnishing the pen for a rabbit's day
Put a heavy ceramic water bowl where it cannot be tipped into the bedding, and hang or stand a hay rack beside the litter tray, since rabbits happily graze while they toilet. Add a cardboard castle, a willow tunnel or a digging box of shredded paper and rotate these weekly so the territory keeps offering novelty. Chew toys of untreated wood belong in several spots, not one basket, because chewing is how she files her constantly growing teeth and a toy at each end of the pen gets used. Keep one open stretch completely empty: rabbits need a runway, and a pen cluttered edge to edge is just a bigger cage.
Rabbit-proofing the pen's surroundings
Assume anything within nibbling reach through the bars will be nibbled. Route cables in rigid covers or behind the panels entirely, block access to skirting boards with spare panels or boards, and lift houseplants out of the room or onto high shelves, since many are unsafe to eat. Check daily that panel clips are seated and the base door still swings as intended. If she stops eating, sits hunched, or her hocks look pink and sore, that is a prompt vet visit rather than a wait-and-see. Chosen relatives can be given access to the profile by the owner using KinsLe Family Sharing.