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A happy, well-adjusted rabbit who feels comfortable in your home shows their curious side and their playfulness. And like our dog and cat companions, bunnies like to play with toys, and each have their own toy preferences.
Toys aren’t merely a way to entertain you while watching your bun have fun. Toys keep your rabbit mentally engaged and physically active. Rabbit-safe toys can also save your home furnishings, because they offer your bunny an appropriate outlet for play. Toys help satisfy rabbits’ natural instincts for digging and chewing. So, instead of digging into your carpet or chewing your furniture or electrical cords (which rabbits are weirdly attracted to), your rabbit directs their massive incisors and nimble feet to tear and dig into a toy.
Create the perfect rabbit playground for your bunny by providing their favorites from the following toy types.
Toys To Toss
Tossing is a common pet rabbit behavior. Your rabbit might toss their food dish to get your attention for more food or to protest against your food offering. They might toss around their litter box, which, again, can be a sign of protest over the litter you chose, or they disapprove of the litter box placement. They might also toss items around their environment out of boredom. But they also like to toss things for fun!
Tap into your rabbit’s tossy-ness by creating their own “toss-it room.” Sprinkle toys around a rabbit-safe, rabbit-proofed area for your rabbit to find and give a big heave-ho. Baby-safe toys like plastic keys, plastic stacking cups, measuring cups, and balls with bells inside are favorites of some rabbits to grab and toss into the air.
Always supervise your rabbit when they have the run of a room. This ensures the toys you offer don’t turn into unexpected hazards should your rabbit decide to chew them up or a toy becomes stuck on your rabbit’s lips, toe, etc.
Tossing toys doesn’t have to be a one-sided activity. Some rabbits like you to join in by gently tossing a toy back toward them — just take care not to hit your rabbit!
Toys To Chew
Chewing is one of a rabbit’s strongest instincts — and for good reason. Rabbits must chew to keep their ever-growing teeth in check, which is why hay is a big part of their diet. Besides food such as Nutri-Hay, your rabbit will likely seek other items to chew. If you don’t offer appropriate ones, your bunny might choose a wood table leg, a shoe, cable wires, and anything else it finds chew-worthy and accessible.
Toys your rabbit can sink their long teeth into include those made from untreated apple, willow, aspen, or other rabbit-safe wood. Willow is a popular option. Willow can be in ball form (which your bunny can also toss around!) or stick form. Untreated baskets, cardboard, and pine cones can also get your rabbit’s chewing attention. Cardboard houses are also available for your rabbit to rest in or chew through, if they so desire.
Chew toys are synonymous with foraging, as you can hide healthy snacks and treats in any chew toy for your rabbit to sniff out. Place treats such as Hey!Berries or alfalfa hay as a snack in a cardboard tube or paper bag for your bunny to tear open. Or place healthy treats or pelleted rabbit food into the crevices of a grass mat for your bunny to find. There are also a variety of hay-based toys meant for your rabbit to chew and eat. These include hay cubes and woven grass mats, such as those made from seagrass or timothy hay.
Toys To Nudge
In the wild, rabbits nudge to clear the way in and around their dens, and they nudge to explore things in their environment. In our homes, your rabbit might enjoy nudging a ball around. This includes small balls, large-but-lightweight balls, or rabbit-safe toys that roll when pushed around. Some rabbit toys hold treats that release a healthy snack when nudged around by your rabbit. Be careful not to offer too many treats too often, though, or your rabbit can potentially become overweight.
Your rabbit might also enjoy nudging around a rabbit-safe hanging toy, like those made out of dried grass to chew. Some rabbits also enjoy hanging toys that jingle, such as those with a stainless-steal ball hanging on the bottom. As with any toy, always make sure your rabbit interacts with it in a safe manner.
Toys To Run Through
Wild rabbits create tunnel systems to get to their dens, which means that our rabbit companions are quite at home being under cover. Play tunnels offer your rabbit a place to run through and explore, as well as a snooze spot.
You can buy synthetic and cardboard tunnels made for rabbits, or you can create your own tunnel by connecting boxes with holes cut through them. Tunnels can be their own playgrounds if you fill them with toys or healthy treats to find. Don’t be surprised to see your rabbit running the same tunnel route over and over — rabbits like to memorize routes, as it gives them a sense of safety.
Toys To Dig
Digging is as instinctive to rabbits as chewing. Wild rabbits who live in dens create these by digging. They dig around their den to make it more comfortable, and they dig to uncover food. Digging also helps keep a rabbit’s nail length in check.
Our pet rabbits also need digging opportunities. Offer your bunny something to dig into by making them a dig box. This can be a cardboard box, litter box, planter, large wicker basket, or other large container that you fill with paper shreds, hay, rabbit-safe sand mixes from a pet retailer, or garden soil (ensure it is free of fertilizers, pesticides, or chemicals). You may choose to use a grass mat or layers of cardboard as the dig box floor.
Good For Your Rabbit’s Body And Brain
Rabbits, like all pet companions, need and deserve enrichment and things to do. Offering a variety of toy types to explore is the surest way to support your rabbit’s mental and physical well-being. Creating a fun environment for your rabbit might just reward you with one of the greatest moments to witness among companion pets — the rabbit binky. Binkying is when a rabbit jumps, twists, and kicks out their legs to express happiness and excitement.
