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Playtime For Your Bunny
Rabbits are very social and playful animals, and they need a lot of exercise every day.
Noffy has a showdown with Squeegee (the hamster inside the exercise ball). She's been rolling around in their territory for a while and he's having nothing of her getting near the salad bar again.
This is another angle of the same showdown, and it includes the ever-coveted "bunny-butt" view. The small tuft of fur sticking out is due to Tamari, asserting her dominance. Note how Noffy is paying attention to me with an eye and an ear pointed in my direction.
Playtime is very important for them both mentally and physically - they need to stretch their muscles and move in ways instinct tells them to, and they need to express their feelings and share with others (human or rabbit or other pets). They love to play games and to play with toys. This is something people who keep rabbits outdoors simply do not know, and is one of many reasons rabbits should be kept indoors with the rest of the family.
A bored bunny is a very unhappy bunny!
Knowing this also helps to (hopefully) protect the furniture and woodwork by giving the bunny something else to occupy its mind and destroy. Any toy rabbits destroy or throw around are the ones they like the most!
A toy destroyed is a toy well-deployed
- Rabbits need toys and playtime distractions to keep their minds busy
- Rabbits enjoy playing with other rabbits, humans, and other pets
- Rabbits respond to an invitation to play - you just have to learn how to invite a rabbit to play a game, and how your rabbit invites you (perhaps nipping your ankle and running away, or taking something of yours and hiding it, or playing hide and seek, etc)
- Rotating your rabbit's toys helps keep interest in them (when your rabbit gets bored with a toy, swap it with another one and put it aside to offer as a "new" toy later on)
- Rabbits have a sense of humor and will even play practical jokes on you - don't be surprised to find your car keys in the rabbit's water bowl if you're not giving him/her enough attention
For toys to be safe for your bunny, they must be untreated (ie, not painted or otherwise finished, no colored inks except soy-based, etc) and you must also watch to see which ones they play with and which ones they chew - you don't want them swallowing plastics.
Some things rabbits may find amusing to play with: (make sure these are all untreated)
- Cardboard tubes from paper towels or toilet paper (also try stuffing some hay in the tubes - what's known as a "hay bomb")
- Old telephone books to shred
- Cardboard tube used for post foundations to run through and hide in
- Cardboard hidey-boxes (cut entrances in two locations in a box large enough for the bunny to fit inside of)
- Ball with a bell inside
- Apple twigs
- Small pieces of untreated wood to chew on (except for aromatic woods like pine, cedar, etc)
- Willow baskets to shred
- Stainless steel measuring cups to throw around
- Stainl ess steel spoons to throw around
- Tin cans (no sharp edges)
- Oatmeal containers
- Hand towels, bath towels - to bunch up and spread out and generally arrange - watch for loose strands that might wrap around a paw and cut off circulation!!
- Golf balls
- Small cardboard boxes to chew and toss around
- Paper bags (especially stuff with fresh hay and tied off with twine)
- Parrot toys
- Dried out pine cones
- Downey balls (clean, of course)
- Newspaper (no color)
- Baby rattles to toss around
- Wooden blocks to toss around
- Metal bowls to toss around
- Key-ring with keys to toss around
- Lids from jars to toss around
- A metal or plastic slinky
- Plush bunny to groom and sometimes pounce
- More coming soon...
Recommended Reading:
The House Rabbit Society's FAQ on why rabbits need toys and what makes for a good toy
The House Rabbit Society's article on why toys are so important
A nice list of some of the toys rabbits like to play with the most
Zooh Corner's article on rabbits and toys
Giving a digging rabbit a place to dig
Boosting your bunny's ego in 4 easy steps
Guide to checking your rabbit for health problems.
A large cardboard box can be a delightful playhouse for your bunny with just a little work
The House Rabbit Network's article on keeping your bunny stimulated with simple toys
3 Bunnies Rabbit Resources
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A Buck for the Bunnies
Last update: Sun Jun 28 21:49:23 EDT 2020