Free Rabbit Toys
Toys provide rabbits with both mental and physical stimulation, they will help keep your bunny's body fit and healthy and its mind occupied. Providing toys also helps prevent or cure many of the the behaviour problems found in rabbits. Just like a small child a bored rabbit will find its own fun, if you don't want chewed curtains or a dug up garden then you need to provide alternative activities for your rabbit.
Different rabbits like different toys. You may need to try several to find out what your rabbit likes. Alternating toys and providing new ones is also important to prevent your rabbit becoming bored with them.
Many petshops sell toys suitable for rabbits but spending money isn't necessary, there are plenty of things to be found in the average house that can be converted into bunny toys for free.
Grass Tray
Use a seed tray or similar to make your rabbits very own piece of lawn. Fill the tray with compost and sprinkle on grass seeds. Water once a day and you should soon have a tray full of grass. For extra interest you could add a few dandlion seeds as well.
Cardboard Boxes
Pictured: Brad (in the box) and Myrtle (found from a rescue on this site) playing in a cardbord box. Definately their favourtie toy ever.
The humble cardboard box is perhaps one of the best toys ever invented, as anyone with children will know cardboard boxes can often be more popular than the toys that come in them!
Large cardboard boxes make an excellent hidy house, turn one upside down and use sissors to cut a rabbit sized hole. If you feeling more adventurous add windows too, your rabbit may also add his/her own. Filling the box with shredded paper or adding a tunnel to get in/out adds extra interest. If you have more than one box cut several door ways and put them together to give your rabbit a house with rooms.
Smaller boxes are great for throwing around. Try cutting a small hole in one side filling it with pellets or treats then closing it up. As your rabbit throws the box the food will fall out giving extra interest to the toy.
Flower Pot
Large ceramic pots make great hidy holes. Use a brick each side to stabalise it and stop it rolling away. Smaller plastic pots can be thrown, stuffed with hay or hung up with hay or leafy greens in.
Paper
Shredded, balled-up, an old telephone directory etc. all make fun rabbit toys. Your bun can enjoy tearing it up, throwing it around, hiding under it and lots of other bunny games.
Food Tubs
Cardboard or plastic tubs, with or without lids can be used in lots of different ways. As with the small boxes you can cut cut a hole and fill them with treats that will fall out as the toys is moved. They can also be stuffed with hay or freshh grass. Even empty they are ideal for throwing around.
Fruit Trees
Branches from fruit trees, such as apple, are great for rabbits to knaw on, as well as being great play things this also means its good for their teeth.
Digging Box
A deep box, either cardboard or plastic, is great for digging in. Fillings could include shredded paper, hay, leaves from rabbit safe trees (autumn activity) or soil. Adding bits of food gives extra interest, try 'planting' a carrot.
Card Board Tubes
Large cardboaard tubes make great tunnels, they can be used as entrance ways into cardboard boxes or just on their own. Joined together you can make a network of tunnels.
Balls
Footballs, cat balls etc. all make good toys for your bun to push around. They can also be hung up for your rabbit to play with.
Cotton wheel
The plastic wheels that have cotton up can be rolled around and thrown. Remove the cotton firstthough!
Safety
Its important to make sure any toys you give your rabbit are safe, here are some pointers:
- Check for any sharp edges, these can sometimes be removed with sandpaper otherwise they could scratch or injure you rabbit.
- Check your rabbit doesn't chew apart any plastic toys, ingesting plastic can cause blockages in the gut which may require surgery.
- Ingesting large amount of card of paper are also bad for your rabbit
- Any wood/plants/soil should be not be treated with pestisides.
- Only certain types of wood, mostly fruit trees such as apple are safe for rabbits, don't use wood if you are unsure whether it has come from a safe tree.
If you have any other suggestion for toys we could add, or have photographs of your rabbits playing with different toys send them to tam@tamdesign.co.uk.