A bored bunny will find ways to entertain himself that you may not approve of. Bunnies are intelligent and curious, and they need ways to play and explore their surroundings without destroying your belongings. Luckily, bunnies are pretty easily – and cheaply – amused.
Bunnies love to push things and throw things around. There are many bunny-safe toys available for rabbits; some of the best are Connie Cowan’s toys from The Blissful Bunny. These toys are made from premium white fir and are available with or without bells attached. The toys are just the right size for bunnies to grab and fling. Some bunnies also enjoy pushing rolling toys around with their noses – the Go Cat Go toy or the Booda Ball are both very good choices.
Another beloved bunny pastime is chewing. Chewing keeps bunny’s aradicular teeth worn down a bit, and it’s just a fun sort of bunny activity. A bunny without suitable chewing toys will avail himself of whatever is handy: your sofa, your baseboards, your dresser – you get the idea. The aforementioned wooden toys are great for chewing, as are willow balls, willow wreaths and apple sticks.
Bunnies enjoy home remodeling and home improvement. Get a large box, cut a couple of doors in them, and you have a great toy that the bunny can chew on, hide behind, hide inside, and sit on top of. You can also cut a skylight in the box for bunny to peek out of; the deluxe version of this would be the Cottontail Cottage, a great investment for the bored bunny at your house. Make sure the bunny is not actually eating any parts of the box. Cardboard cement molds from the home improvement store make wonderful tunnels for your bunny to run through or hide in! Another idea is to partially fill an empty box with shredded papers so bunny can dig to her heart’s content (see the slideshow)!
Empty plastic coffee containers are another bunny favorite. Once you have two or more of these, stack them up and watch bunny knock them down. It’s like bunny bowling. Some bunnies enjoy knocking pot pie tins around.
Not all bunnies will enjoy all these toys, but all bunnies do need to be active, physically and mentally. Keep trying different toys until you find the ones that your bunny prefers.
Another way to entertain your bunny is to hide food around the bunny-safe areas of your house and let bunny find them. You can also hide food inside a toilet paper cardboard tube and fold the ends in so bunny has to work at getting the treat inside.
Bring the great outdoors indoors - with all the snow we have at the moment, fill a lasagna pan with snow and let your bunny check it out - I have had bunnies that play in it the snow, bunnies that eat the snow, and bunnies that stomp around in the snow.
Playing games with your bunny is another way to amuse him. You can try playing hide and seek with your bunny: hide behind the sofa or armchair (let the bunny see you do this), pop out and let your bunny see you, and then hide again. Chances are that the bunny will hop over to investigate what strange thing you are doing. You can run away, or pop out a little at the bunny (not in a loud, threatening, scary fashion) and depending on what the bunny does, it might be your turn to run away and hide again or maybe you can seek your bunny.
Teaching your rabbit tricks is another way to entertain him; most rabbits will easily learn to recognize their name and to come to it if they associate it with positive things (read: food rewards).
Play with your house rabbit and see what sort of toys and games s/he likes. All bunnies are different and your bunny will have his or her own entertainment preferences. As you spend time with your bunny, those preferences will become more obvious…and spending time with your bunny might just be his very favorite entertainment option.
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