Is your bunny chewing away on your furniture, cables, and other possessions? Or perhaps you must leave your buns alone to work or school? If you suspect your rabbits are bored, you may be wondering how you can entertain them. Will rabbit toys do the trick?
Toys, particularly chew toys, can keep rabbits entertained for hours, while puzzles and foraging toys provide mental stimulation and keep boredom away. Rabbits’ intelligence and social personalities make them playful and curious. Toys are easy to make at home at a low cost.
There are many toys to select from, but not all are ideal for rabbits, even if they claim to be. So, let us discuss the best toys to keep your furry buns entertained!
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How Do You Keep Your Rabbit Entertained? – Rabbit Toys
Rabbits are social, playful animals and enjoy toys as much as dogs do. In fact, it is possible to teach your rabbits to fetch! However, rabbits are also stubborn, and fetch will only happen on their terms. They prefer toys that stimulate their little minds and keep their bodies healthy.
Bored rabbits can be destructive, so toys are not just for fun; they are essential if you want to keep your personal belongings intact!
In many ways, rabbits are just like toddlers; they get bored and overstimulated with too many toys. Limiting the number of toys you give them at once keeps them interested. Removing and rotating some toys weekly will make old toys feel new again! Plus, it allows you to clean them.
When shopping for toys, look for toys made of rabbit-safe materials. Wooden toys or toys made from grass or hay are fantastic!
Things To Look Out For In Rabbit Toys
Some toys are colored, often in green or orange, to resemble a carrot. A rabbit-safe food coloring is used to achieve the color, but always make sure! Better safe than sorry.
Unfortunately, some cheaper brands use glue. Commercial glue is toxic to rabbits and can kill your bunny! It’s not always possible to tell if glue was used until the toy is chewed open; by then, it may be too late. The safest is to read reviews online and only buy from trusted brands known for quality rabbit products.
Chew Toys For Rabbits
As lagomorphs, rabbits need to chew to prevent their teeth from overgrowing and causing serious health problems.
The most favored chew toys are made of hay (mostly timothy hay), wood (pine), grass, or willow branches. Rabbits love willow branches! Another favorite is loofahs, which are dried fruits similar to cucumbers.
Some woods, like oak, teak, and maple, are unsafe for rabbits, so it is best to stick untreated pine wood or grasses like sisal, jute, and bamboo.
Our top recommended chew toys for rabbits are:
- Oxbow Timothy Lollipop*
- LittlePawsPetToys – the best Etsy shop for rabbit toys!
- Ware Willow Branch Ball Chew Toy*
- Oxbow Enriched Life Play Wall*
- Palm Leaf Heart-Shaped Plates*
- Oxbow Timothy Hay Mat*
- Oxbow Celebration Cupcake for Small Animals*
Foraging Toys To Keep Bunnies Active
In the wild, rabbits are always foraging for food. Not only does it stimulate their minds, but it gives them exercise too. Obesity is a serious concern for pet rabbits, especially if you have indoor rabbits. Making them put the effort in for their food is a great way to sneak in some exercise, and it is fun too!
Our top foraging toys are:
- Foraging Mat* – mimics natural behavior
- Niteangel Snack Ball* – place pellets inside and let them roll the ball to get the pellets
- Stacking Cups* – meant for toddlers, these cups are a firm favorite among rabbit owners, and the rabbits absolutely love them! Place pellets between each cup and enjoy watching them unstack them to get to the treats.
- Rosewood Naturals Forage Cube* – a hay cube with treats in the middle, not suitable for dwarf rabbits as they can get their heads stuck in the holes.
Puzzles And Games For Rabbits
Rabbits are highly intelligent and love puzzles. It’s quite adorable watching them solve a puzzle! A puzzle provides enrichment and mental stimulation, particularly important for single rabbits or rabbits that spend most of their time indoors.
Try these puzzles to keep your rabbit entertained:
DIY Rabbit Toys
With so many cute toys, it’s easy to get carried away. After all, who wouldn’t want only the best for their buns? Rabbit toys can be expensive, but there is no need to spend tons of money! You can easily make your own toys using cardboard, toilet rolls, and a few other goodies.
The simplest toy to make is stuffing a toilet roll with hay. As easy as that! If you wish, you can surprise them by sneaking in a treat in the middle.
Cardboard boxes cut into shapes and stuffed with hay are all easy to make. Anything they can chew, stuffed with hay, will be a winner! There are many YouTube tutorials for DIY rabbit toys if you feel more creative.
Other Ways Of Keeping Your Rabbit Entertained
Along with toys, your rabbit must have enough space to explore and display their natural behavior of playing, jumping, and running. A hutch that is too small will bore and frustrate your rabbit, no matter how many toys you give him.
Provide your rabbit with play tunnels and hide-outs that they can explore and keep themselves entertained. An exciting home will make them happy and encourage them to run, do zoomies and play. Rabbits also feel safe when they have multiple places to hide.
A few popular hide-out accessories include:
Conclusion
Rabbits are smart and are therefore easily bored. Bored rabbits become naught, but rabbit toys are a great way to keep them entertained and well-behaved. Rabbit toys can be chewable, encourage natural behavior like foraging, or stimulate their mental health. All of them are fun, and it’s a joy to watch your bunny play with them!
