Toys for Rabbits??! You Bet!!

You’ve heard us say it before, right? A boring bunny is...a BORED bunny! We can’t be with our bunnies all the time, so, because they like to play and be entertained, it is important that we provide them with toys of their very own. Plus, bunnies are fun to play with! We encourage you to get right down on the floor with your bunny. Let her check you out, jump on you (nap on your back!); go nose to nose with your bunny and giver her kisses! Try tossing some toys gently towards your bunny. Often they will bat them back or pick them up and fling them away. Sometimes a bunny will growl and pounce on a toy, showing it proudly just who really is the boss. Try different toys. Not all buns like the same things. Some like to flip and toss, some like to roll things, some like to make noise. Change toys around and offer different things to play with so your rabbits (like children) don’t get bored. Encourage your rabbit to play by talking to her in happy or excited higher pitched tones. Let her know you are having fun and that she is doing a good job!

At ZOOH CORNER we offer our own line of handmade healthy bunny toys, including the Attach-a-chews, a colorful mix of bunny-safe hard and soft woods of different shapes and sizes, strung on untreated sisal rope and ready for bunny to chew and paw, Fling-n-chews (similar to Attach-a-chews, but flingable), decorative ChewWreaths - and the very popular BunnyBag, a bag STUFFED with sweet smelling orchard grass, an assortment of organic dried herbs, plus wooden chews and pine cones or miniature chew wreaths! This bag smells so yummy YOU will want one - and it’s been a big hit with all the buns! Check out our online store or call us to order toys for your bunnies!

Toys are entertaining. They help keep bunny from getting bored while confined, as well as help keep them from getting into [the wrong] things when they are out playing in the house. An older or compromise rabbit that is kept interested and entertained will generally live longer, because his mind is engaged, keeping him from getting bored and depressed.

Toys provide exercise. Bunnies need safe ways to exercise and play, which helps keep their bodies AND their minds healthy. Digging, chewing, climbing, flinging, hiding, running through tunnels - these are all things that bunnies like, want and need to do.

Toys are a diversion. They are a great way to redirect a bunny from doing damage to your home by shredding or chewing. Bored bunnies, like bored children, tend to get into things they should not. Plus, bunnies teeth grow continuously and they must have safe wooden toys to chew on to help keep them filed down. (For more information on how to keep your house AND bunny safe from one-another, read the ZoohPaper Getting Moved In.)

Following is a list of toys, some that can be bought, some that can be found around the house. And don’t forget: at Zooh Corner we make and sell our very own line of wooden chew toys, wreaths and BunnyBags (for ferrets, chinchillas and birds, too - and we’ve even heard that Guinea Pigs like them!).

• Wooden chew toys - for flinging, or those that hang from the cage for chewing, pulling & batting.
• Cardboard boxes - for crawling in & out, hopping upon and personalizing/interior decorating (chewing). Fill a box with shredded newspaper or dried leaves so bunny can jump in and dig!!
• Paper towel or toilet paper tubes - Leave some paper towels on so bunny can shred happily.
• Tissue Box - Remove plastic, stuff with hay and let bunny try to get it out. (Be sure no heads get stuck inside!)
• Paper bags - to shred, shove around.
• Untreated straw or wicker baskets - for chewing (can be filled with hay or straw for digging).
• Pine cones - washed and dried for at least 4 months.
• Phone books - without the shiny cover, for ripping & shredding
• Cat toys - can be rolled or tossed, no small, removable or chewable pieces
• Metal lids - from mayonnaise jars, etc.. Are great for flipping around and making noise!
• Baby toys - hard plastic that teeth cannot break or eat through, such as keys, stacking cups or stacking blocks that can be knocked over, fish links, rattles, etc.
• Slinkies, Tonka trucks or plastic Playskool type trucks & toys
• Quaker Oats boxes - You can cut out the other end, or not...
• Whisk brooms - made of broom straw only
• Towels - for bunching and scooting (with paws); make sure bunny does not eat the towel
• Wood branches & twigs - pesticide free & aged at least three months (apple can be chewed while fresh, but CHERRY, PEACH, APRICOT, PLUM & REDWOOD ARE ALL POISONOUS).
• Balls -Wire cat balls, plastic balls, big (light) kids’ balls-balls they can nudge, paw and/or fling
• Quik-Tubes - Cardboard tubes used for setting cement for patio posts, etc. ...make great tunnels for bunnies to zip through chew, hop over and hide in. They only cost about 6 dollars at Home Depot and other similar stores!

Bunnies are very playful and curious! The more things they are offered to play with, the more they will entertain you....send us YOUR ideas!!