The Joy of Pet Rabbits and Their Playful Needs
While rabbits are somewhat secluded and independent pets, they still have a very quirky and playful attitude once in a safe environment. When you gain the trust of a rabbit and provide a home in which they feel comfortable, you might be surprised by the positive attitude shift. Their lively spirit is contagious and is so much fun to witness.
Rabbits are extremely smart animals which is why it is important to find new ways to keep them entertained. Mental and physical enrichment is a very important aspect of a rabbit’s daily life. Mental challenge is very important to ensure your rabbit is not becoming bored. Boredom leads to destructive behavior in an attempt to find something to do. It is just as important to keep your rabbit physically challenged so they have a way to perform natural instincts such as digging and chewing.
The easiest way to prevent this from happening is to provide your rabbit with toys. Especially easy rabbit toys that you can make at home or on the go. The more toys you provide your rabbit the higher the variety they have to choose from and the happier they will be!
Understanding Your Rabbit: The Preference for Different Toys
Rabbits have natural behaviors such as chewing and digging that are expressed in their playtime. Those are behaviors that are derived from wild rabbits that have to do with survival methods. Rabbits chew and dig in the ground to make tunnels and burrows for their babies. These are natural behaviors that will make your rabbit happier!
That is why it is important to allow your rabbit to express these behaviors in a healthy way. If you don’t give your rabbit toys to fulfill these desires they will do it in their own way. Which likely means chewing on cords or digging up your new carpet. It’s not that your rabbit wants to destroy your house it’s that he is looking for a way to fulfill these behaviors.
Some digging alternatives to provide your rabbit could be:
- Digging box
- Cat scratching pad
- Flat cardboard box
Some chewing alternatives could be:
- Cardboard boxes
- Wooden toys
- Hay boxes
- Chew treats
These are all great substitutes that will provide your rabbit with a healthy and safe way to express these behaviors. However, it is important to give your rabbit a variety of toys to choose from. The more variety you provide, the lower the chances of boredom.
Homemade Rabbit Toys: Cost-friendly and Fun-filled Ideas
When the goal is to provide a variety of toys for your rabbit to choose from, buying them at the store can get expensive. In my experience, my rabbit Leo often chooses to play with the toys I have made from home versus the ones I buy…crazy right? Once I realized this I decided to start making my toys from random items around the house to not only save money but also time! I did this by making notes of the specific materials that he enjoyed chewing on and finding ways to make them into something he would love. Leo’s all-time favorite material to chew on is CARDBOARD! So I try to make a variety of toys using old boxes or toilet paper rolls instead of throwing them away. Keep in mind that rabbits like to chew on the edges of things so the more edges the better. Here are a couple of toys I have come up with using cardboard.
- Glorified paper towel/toilet paper roll
- Anytime you finish a paper towel roll or toilet paper roll don’t throw it away!
- Take a pair of scissors, cut slices around the ends, and peel them back so that the roll has almost a “barbell” look to it. This allows for your rabbit to have more ends to chew on and even pull apart more easily.
- Another option is to cut holes in the roll and fill them with hay. This allows for another way to increase your rabbits’ hay while also giving them more of a challenge to eat the hay than straight from the litter box.
- Hiding Box
- Take a larger cardboard box and tape it back up.
- Then take scissors and cut a hole big enough for your rabbit to fit through. Cut any other smaller holes or flaps on the surface of the box to create more edges to chew on.
- Optional: put small piles of hay inside the box to eat while in hiding. Or poke the hay through the holes for your rabbit to pull out.
- Tissue box
- Before you throw away your old tissue boxes save them for your bunny!
- Remove the plastic lining on the top of the box so your rabbit doesn’t accidentally eat it.
- Peel the side flaps out so your rabbit has more interest in chewing on it.
- Optional: put hay or treats inside the box so that they stick out of the sides and your rabbit can eat from the box.
These are just a few examples of easy rabbit toys that you can make from home! Remember, you can make a toy out of pretty much anything as long as it is a safe material for rabbits. It is important to pay attention to YOUR rabbit and their preferences to make toys that are ideal for them!
Safety Precautions – Ensuring Your Rabbit’s Playtime is Risk-free
While rabbits like to chew on pretty much anything, it is important to make sure they only have access to safe materials. Hay, cardboard, certain types of untreated wood, bamboo, and grasses are all generally safe for your bunny. It is important to know that besides hay, any large quantities of these materials will lead to blockage in the GI tract. For the most part, your rabbit will not ingest these materials while chewing. However, if you do notice that your rabbit is swallowing while chewing you should remove the items.
Some materials around the house are not safe for your rabbit to chew on such as plastic, metal, paint, cords, rubber, glue, tape, fabric, and carpet. Your rabbit will probably try to chew on anything in their reach which is why it is important to provide a safe play environment that avoids these materials. You can do this by “bunny-proofing” any room your rabbit lives in. This means simply removing any materials like this from their reach, and providing them safe toys to chew on instead.
The Happiness of a Well-loved Pet Rabbit
Overall, there are many possibilities to create easy toys for your rabbit to enjoy! The goal is to provide your rabbit with ways to act on their natural playful desires in the safest way possible.
Creating household toys for your rabbit is such a fun and easy process, you get to customize your rabbit toys! Let it be a fun activity of getting to know your rabbit and making unique creations for them!
Feel free to share your unique toy ideas down below I would love to hear them! If you have any other questions or comments i will be glad to address those as well.