Customising your rabbit run with toys is a great way to keep your rabbit entertained. It can be surprisingly simple and lots of fun to create activities for your furry friends. Here are a few ideas to get you started…
Satisfy a Rabbits Instincts
Bunnies have amazing noses and it will keep them highly entertained and occupied to sniff out a well hidden treat!
Why not try using a used toilet roll as an ingenious way to hide treats? Stuff one with goodies like hay and leaves. You could hang them in the run or they can be left to roll around. You can also increase the level of difficulty of this game by folding over the ends of the cardboard, making it into a parcel for your rabbit to try and unwrap.
Unwanted Cardboard boxes and newspaper always make fun toys. Cut rabbit sized holes in two sides of a large cardboard box, then at the bottom fill with scrunched up newspaper, hay or anything rummage-worthy. Your rabbit can burrow through, searching for perhaps a few treats amongst it all. A rabbit-style lucky dip!
Try hanging a length of string up across your rabbit’s run. Use wooden clothes pegs to hang vegetable goodies to your pet’s ‘washing line.’ This task will require some determination on your bunny’s part. (Make sure the string you use is rabbit friendly, most common strings are plastic coated and definitely not suitable. Meanwhile sisal string is safely digestible).
Simply fill a brown paper bag with hay and a couple treats. Your bunny will love tearing it open to get at the goodies inside.
Rabbits need to gnaw and dig, it keeps them occupied but also helps with dental and nail health upkeep.
Make a closed bottom digging pit out of a planter or something similar and fill it with loose earth or pet friendly sand. Your rabbits can burrow to their hearts content without you having to worry about them escaping.
Rabbits love to chew on anything they can get to, it’s good to provide them with chew friendly items. Willow and apple wood are known to be the best for rabbits to eat, these items also help keep their ever growing teeth down to a manageable size.
Woven grass and wicker-like textures to scratch on and play with are a popular toy to satisfy a rabbit’s itch to scratch.
Bunnies like to throw things around, so anything that rolls and rattles will be a winner!
A rabbit’s vision is almost 360° so they can keep a lookout for predators. Provide perches on different levels, this will give them plenty of things to look at and keep them exercised as they have to hop up and down.
Companionship
Rabbits instinctively socialise with each other, therefore it is key for a rabbit, to receive regular interaction. It is recommended to keep rabbits in neutered pairs or groups, it’s also very important for your rabbits to receive as much human interaction as possible. This will get them used to cuddles with you and will make any trip to the vet a lot easier for you and less stressful for them.
Teeth and Nail care
Rabbit’s teeth are always growing, by approximately 2mm every week! It is important to provide your rabbits with all sorts of foods to combat these growing teeth and not just pellets alone. Their teeth will otherwise outgrow their mouth and cause all sorts of uncomfortable problems. Hay is an essential; it provides high fibre and is naturally tough to eat, this alongside a variety of crunchy vegetables should keep your rabbits teeth in a healthy condition. We all know Bugs Bunny eats so many carrots because he is sensible when it comes to his dental regime!
Nails, just like teeth are always growing. A rabbit’s nails will need clipping fairly regularly, this will protect you from getting scratched and protect them from discomfort. In the wild rabbits wear down their own nails by digging, you could provide different hard surfaces for your rabbits to walk on and perhaps access to a digging area, a planter with some loose soil is a great idea to both entertain your rabbits and help put off those nail clippings.