Toys are not only important for your rabbit's well-being, it is also great for mental acuity and just plain fun for you to watch! Give your bunny new toys or put their toys on a rotation to ensure your rabbit isn't getting bored.
Hidey Boxes, Dens & Mazes
Rabbits are burrowing animals, and they feel safe in small dark spaces. Dens are a great way to give your bunny a safe place. If they are wooden or cardboard, you are also giving them a toy to play with, something we lovingly call Bunstruction. Make them into a Maze, and now they must use their brains to find their way out. Hide a treat or other toys and make it extra fun for your rabbit.
Wooden Toys
Another essential toy is wooden chew toys. Your bun should always have access to fresh hay which helps their teeth stay ground down, but wooden toys also give them another texture while also helping their teeth stay healthy. Ensure the wooden toy is untreated and a rabbit-safe wood like birch, aspen, apple, walnut, willow, and bamboo. Avoid pine and cedar as the oils can cause respiratory issues. Pitted fruit trees like cherry, peach, plum, apricot, avocado, and plum are also not rabbit safe.
Hay Toys
Like wooden toys, hay toys are essential for a bunny's proper dental hygiene. Bunnies love to tear them apart and eat them. You can find hay tunnels, hay balls, hay forage mats, knotted hay, and more. Each not only encourages your bunny to play but helps keep those bunny teeth in tip-top shape!
Forage Toys
These toys can be made from cloth, hay, or wood and are great at encouraging your rabbit to forage for food or treats, which is a natural bunny behavior we love to see.
Dig Boxes
Fill a box with toys, newspaper, natural packing paper, shredded paper, cardboard rolls, and maybe some pellets or dried herbs, and you have a fun dig box. Digging is a natural behavior for a burrowing animal, and providing them a fun, safe way to do it, will ensure a happy, healthy bun.
Stuffed Animals
If you are unable to give your bun a companion, try giving a stuffed friend instead. While it will never replace the companionship of another rabbit, it may help with loneliness. Just keep an eye out for chewing and if you see any stuffing, remove it and replace with a new toy. You just might see your bunny groom their new friend.
Infant Plastic Keys & Stacking Cups
Some bunnies love throwing plastic keys and stacking cups around. They may just want to knock things over. As long as bunny isn't chewing on them and you remove them when you are not around, these can be a fun toy for your rabbit.
Puzzles
With these toys, the bunny to move something to get to their pellet or treat. These are fantastic for intellectual bunnies who need extra mental stimulation.
Toys to Avoid:
Toys that aren't a bunny-safe material like metal, carpet, and soft rubber. Stay away from toys with small pieces that your rabbit might choke on or cause an obstruction. Anything that is stained or painted are not safe for buns.
Read More: