vivarium

/vaɪˈvɛriəm/

Other forms: vivaria

The deluxe indoor enclosure you built for your pet rabbits — complete with a salad bar, fluffy beds, and a bunny-sized jacuzzi — can be called a vivarium, a type of structure that's specifically intended to house animals.

The word vivarium sounds a lot like the more familiar terrarium, and the two have a lot in common. Both are animal enclosures, but a terrarium is a special type of vivarium that's adapted for animals that need access to both land and water (like reptiles). As its root vivus ("alive") implies, a vivarium is for any living animal. Originally, it meant "game park" but was gradually scaled down to mean "indoor enclosure."

Definitions of vivarium

1. noun

   an indoor enclosure for keeping and raising living animals and plants and observing them under natural conditions
   types:

   aquarium, fish tank, marine museum

   a tank or pool or bowl filled with water for keeping live fish and underwater animals

   terrarium

   a vivarium in which selected living plants are kept and observed

   fish bowl, fishbowl, goldfish bowl

   a transparent bowl in which small fish are kept

   type of:

   enclosure

   a structure consisting of an area that has been enclosed for some purpose