Rabbit Hole Hay's Blog

What Can I Use to Entertain My Pet Rabbits?

Have you come home to mass destruction by your pet rabbit? That’s a clear sign that you have a very bored bunny. Rabbits become destructive when they have nothing to occupy their time.

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Pet rabbit with colorful toys

Do you know that pet rabbits like playing with toys? They aren’t built to fetch like Fido, but that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy special toys designed especially for domesticated bunnies.

You Don’t Have to Overspend on Rabbit Toys

There are reasonably priced puzzle toys with spaces for treats that satisfy both your bun’s innate curiosity and love of noshing on tasty goodies. Rabbits also enjoy chewing on apple sticks and balls made of willow branches.

There are reasonably priced puzzle toys with spaces for treats that satisfy both your bun’s innate curiosity and love of noshing on tasty goodies. Rabbits also enjoy chewing on apple sticks and balls made of willow branches.

All the above can keep your rabbit’s teeth from growing too long and becoming a health problem. Instead of store-bought toys, some rabbits prefer natural chews like dry and cleaned pinecones stuffed with yummy hay. You can also buy edible toys made from woven hay and other meadow grasses.

Build a Box Castle and More Free Fun for Your Bun

The best things in life are free, and the same can be said for entertaining your rabbit. To build a bunny castle, all you need is a medium or large cardboard box. Using a knife or scissors, cut some openings to create a welcome haven for your rabbit.

You don’t have to get fancy about design details. Your bun is going to get busy doing its own variation of a home remodeling project. You’re basically just supplying the raw materials and a few entrance and exit holes. They’ll take it from there.

You can also build a series of connected cardboard boxes that are tall enough for your bun to hop through during its exercise period.

Alternatively, arrange old (not wooden) furniture in novel ways to form tunnels and platforms for your pet rabbit to hop off and on. Shorter cat towers are also good options to try.

Twice the Fun with Another Bun

Something else to consider if you want to keep your pet rabbit happy and content is to get a bunny pal of the same sex. The two can while away the day as you are at work or busy with household chores. This companion will be a source of entertainment and exercise opportunities.

But having two bouncing bunnies will not reduce the amount of time you need to spend interacting with and bonding with both your rabbits. If you want them to remain socialized to you and the other household members, you must spend quality time building relationships based on trust.

While sitting quietly on the couch gently stroking your rabbits might not seem like much in the way of entertainment value, it builds and reinforces relationships between you and your companion rabbits. This gentle stroking can calm a nervous rabbit. Use a light touch and talk softly to your rabbit. It doesn’t matter what you say. Tell them about your day!

Does Your Bun Seem Bored?

It happens. What used to delight your little thumper now draws more of a “meh” response in your mature rabbit.

So, flip the script. Take away the toys they’ve tired of and break out something different they have never tried. The toys won’t be wasted, as you can rotate them back and forth and hide them under the hay so your rabbit never knows what playtime surprises they will find.

Does that pique their interest?

If not, a couple of things could be going on here:

  • Your rabbit could be ill. Is it eating their hay? Does it still have an interest in treats? Schedule an appointment with your veterinarian to give your bun a full examination to see if there is something physically wrong.

  • Your bunny is overweight. A sluggish bunny might be too obese to move around much and play with its toys (or with you). A morbidly obese rabbit will not live as long as its slimmer pals. It won’t be able to maneuver its body to eat its cecotropes, which creates nutritional deficiencies.

  • It’s a senior rabbit. Just as people slow down with age, so do rabbits. You can adjust your entertainment routines to accommodate your senior rabbit. Instead of platforms off the ground to hop onto, arrange opportunities for your bun to have fun on the floor. That reduces the chances of your rabbit hurting itself attempting to hop too high.

  • Your bun is grieving its partner’s death. Bonded pairs of rabbits (and even other pets that were socialized together) grieve losses. If everything else has been ruled out and your household recently lost a pet, that’s likely what's happening. Make sure that you spend extra time with your sad little friend reinforcing how much you love them.

That’s good advice for all bunny owners. You have a life outside of the home. Your rabbit has only you and other pets to provide company and stimulation, so make sure that you spend quality time with your bunny.

Feed Your Bun a Healthy Hay Diet

To keep your small pet happy and healthy requires a steady diet of fresh, sweet hay and meadow grasses. Rabbit Hole Hay delivers hay grown in the rich soil of the Pacific Northwest right to your doorstep. You can stagger the deliveries so that you never run out of this dietary staple and start and stop deliveries as needed.

Your bunny deserves only the best, so place your order today!