How to have fun with my new pet Bunny Rabbit?

Question

I have just got a new pet rabbit and I was wondering what I can do to keep him entertained? Firstly during the day when I'm at work, he is loose in a 25ft x 4 ft run so he has plenty of room to run around but I was wondering if there is anything i can put in that he could play with? Also when I come home is there anything in particular that they like to do/play. Obviously i pet him and give him little food treats but as a new bunny owner I was just wondering if there was more I could do for him to make his life happy.

Thanks

Answer 1

firstly I wouldnt bother spending too much on rabbit toys from the pet shop - my rabbit was completely disinterested in them. he liked small plastic objects like pens and CD cases he could flip in the air for some reason. they need to be chewing things constantly so rabbit chews and pieces of bark from fruit trees are a good idea. put something in the run that he can hide in like a cardboard box - he may not want to be seen all the time as rabbits are prey anumals

When you get home just sit on the floor and let him come to you. they often like to sit beside you and smell you. some like being picked up but mine didnt. however, he would sit by my side on the sofa - they definitely like human company

Good luck, you already sound like a responsible and caring pet owner

have a look at these websites for further info:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/rabbit_horse_and_other_pet_care/how_to_care_for_rabbits.html

http://petcaretips.net/rabbit_care.html

Answer 2

Give him cardboard tubes and boxes to play with. Cut out holes and doors in the boxes so he can run in and out. Hard plastic cat toys (balls with bells, etc.) are fine too. Every few days, take the toys away and give him something new, to keep him from being bored. (Put plastic toys through a dishwasher or clean well after use.)
Keep in mind that most rabbit sleep during the day while you are out. They are most active early morning and late afternoon/evening. Giving your bunny some personal attention when you get home is a great way to teach him to look forward to seeing you. Treats are good in small amounts (but I disagree with the comment about Lettuce. I don't feed any of my rabbits iceburg lettuce, it can be dangerous.) Small bits of fruit, parsley, celantro, beet greens, etc. are fine. I avoid broccoli, califlower and rhubbarb.
You can also get a harness and leash and take him out for a "walk". Do not use a collar! They can break their neck... a good small dog/cat harness works great. Practice in the house before you take him out. Watch what he eats outside. Avoid chemically treated lawns and fields.
Good luck with your bunny, it sounds like you are a caring and undertanding bunny mom.

Answer 3

Sounds like your off to a good start!

Cardboard boxes is a good idea & they like the tubes from papertowels & tp. They like green plastic bottles too. I use the ones lemon juice comes in, they're thicker & the buns have a harder time chewing them up.

As for the fruit tree twigs, don't give them any kind of stone fruit or nut tree branches. Stick with apple or pear if you can.

Give him a block of wood for him to chew, make sure it is untreated.

The website below looks pretty informative but I don't agree about the feed.
http://www.bunnybusiness.org/

Pellets are just fine, just avoid over feeding your rabbit. Not too much fruit & veggies. A slice of apple without the seeds & a piece of lettuce in the evenings as a treat would be good.

The best thing you can do is take time out everyday to give him attention!


This is a pretty good site, go down to articles there is info there.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/1155/index.html


***** I guess I should have clarified that romaine lettuce is better than iceberg.
My buns won't even touch iceberg.
But a bit of romaine they love. Also a few dandelion greens,as long as they're not sprayed with chemicals.

Answer 4

Bunnies like cardboard boxes, paper towel tubes, even a little stuffed animal friend that they can toss around. They sell wood chew toys at the pet stores which my rabbit doesn't chew on but just throws around his cage to amuse himself. Here is a website that I found pretty helpful. http://www.rabbit.org/ Hope you and your bunny friend have a great life together!

Answer 5

It depends. Rabbits are a really high maintenance animal that you have to be committed to caring for. You have to feed it limited amount of pellets, unlimited amount of hay, fresh water daily, and lots of fresh water. They also need plenty of time out of their cage/hutch (which needs to be cleaned every other day) and litter box trained (highly recommended). They need a water bottle, attachable food dispenser to their cage so they don't flip it over and have their food go everywhere, at least three small-ish toys, a litter box, litter, a large hutch or cage (if outside, it needs to be out of direct sunlight, heavy winds and rain), pellets, veggies, timothy hay, hay dispenser, and most importantly, lots of love, care and attention! Remember, just because baby bunnies or smaller breeds of rabbit are adorable doesn't meant they're invincible. They are extremely vulnerable to their environment, food, and disease, so for a beginning rabbit owner, I would suggest a mini-lop to prevent sickness and extend their lifetime. If you can't have your rabbit indoors, that's completely fine! Rabbits would love to spend most of their time outside in their hutch. Because of their fur, they do fine in winter, but not so much in summer. Good luck!

Answer 6

Don't waste your money buying expensive rabbit toys. Cardboard boxes, cardboard rolls from toilet paper, seagrass baskets, willow balls, fruit tree twigs and an old phone book are my bunny's favorite thing. If you hav a shredder, for your bills, empty the shreddings into his cage every week. It's fun for them to rearrange and dig around in. My bunny spends hours rearranging and redocrating her habitat every week after I go in there and mess it up by cleaning it!

Answer 7

the best thing you could do is find toys for your rabbit.. rabbits love to play. Put a cardboard box in there sideways so he can hide and go in and out and maybe nibble on the sides of it.. and maybe a keyring with keys on it to toss in the air, baby toys are great... little plastic keys... bunny's love to toss things around, dig at them, chew thigns... my rabbit loves my keys, and boxes, cardboard of any kind, things that role, put some watter bottles up and he'll knock them down.. hehe some small boxes he can stand on (but not near anywhere he can stand on and jump out of his area) things that role are fun too.. maybe a small light weight ball... maybe a stuffed toy it might snuggle up next to or groom... bunny's love to groom eachother... =) so grooming something he thinks is another rabbit might help.. =) maybe get a blanket t=ype thing hyou can make offically his.. throw that in there.. he might like to dig on it..and russle it up, try to dig out the wrinkles.. cuddle up in it.. mjly rabbit loves his.. kinda lieks to chew holes in it too.. lol message me back if you want to ask some more. =)

Answer 8

rabbits can get easily bored. my rabbit has loads in his run. he has a step stool to rude under and jump over. cardboard boxes (plain with no ink on the outside cas it could be toxic) with a hole cut in and some hay stuffed inside. toilet roll rubes stuffed with hay is another favourite and hide some vegetables or herbs in there aswell to make it abit challenging.sometimes i fill a cat litter tray with sand for him to dig in and also am making a tray of grass for his run when he doesnt have free time. i get willow toys and sticks for him to chew on and he has a couple of toys from pet shop meant for rabbits. there are so many things you can do or make urself! you just need to watch theres nothing in there ur bun can get hurt on like hard plastic ?!!! eh!
please dont feed your rabbit lettuce tho like someone has suggested. it has no nutrients in it and can lead to runny poo's and make the bun ill. a handful of pellets, bowl full of veg and unlimited hay is the best diet a bun can have.

Answer 9

bunnies are pets which require a lot of attention, they get sick just from depression and a rabbit needs a lot of attention to be happy.
if you want a companion for your bunny, if you have some spare cash to burn. try to buy a guinea pig, guinea pigs are good companions for rabbits and they get along very well, a fence cant entertain much nor does toys so the best option is to get your bunny a friend, hope i helped ^_^

Answer 10

i find that toilet rolls can be fun to frustrate your rabbit.
what you need is:
1 toilet roll
1 piece of news paper
and some sultanas

nos stuff the sultanas in the roll and block the ends with the newspaper.

my bunny gets so frustrated when he cant get the sultanas throws the toilet roll around for hours

coz he loves sultanas