Bored rabbits - ideas?

[AshAndMaple]

Hey, so I have two buns - Ash (M) and Maple (F). I'm in a flat (hopefully moving into a house sometime this year), and they live in my main living area. The plan was that they'd live together, but Ash nearly died when he went in to be neutered, and I'm extremely unwilling to risk his life again. Maple is spayed, but due to how hormonal Ash is, they can't live together and so Ash lives in a large pen while Maple free-roams the room.

I know they want to play with each other, and despite the vast amount of toys I've given them, I know that they don't get enough stimulation while I'm at work, and Maple has taken to ripping up my sofa cushions overnight .

I really don't know what to do - I'd love to get a third bun that Maple could play with, but I won't do that until I have a bigger space for them, plus I'm heartbroken for Ash because he's such a sweetheart. What can I do to amuse them? I scatter food around, hide it under stacking cups, give them edible tunnels, hides and varying (bun-safe!) sticks to chew on, along with their own fleece blankets to tear up, but I still feel like I'm not doing enough to amuse them.

I want to give them new experiences because I feel like I'm just doing the same stuff over and over again. Any advice/ideas?

 

[JBun]

Cardboard boxes are always a good cheap form of entertainment, provided your buns aren't ones that try and ingest much cardboard(gut blockage risk), but only rip and shred. Some buns really like dig boxes, mine always did. Also, switching out and rotating to a different activity/item every few days, can keep them more interested than leaving the same thing with them all of the time.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Toys_and_games

 

[AshAndMaple]

Cardboard boxes are always a good cheap form of entertainment, provided your buns aren't ones that try and ingest much cardboard(gut blockage risk), but only rip and shred. Some buns really like dig boxes, mine always did. Also, switching out and rotating to a different activity/item every few days, can keep them more interested than leaving the same thing with them all of the time.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Toys_and_games

I make digging boxes for them sometimes - they like them, but Maple seems to prefer to dig at my sofa! I put forage in them which they like.

I've been thinking about using cardboard boxes to build something for them - like maybe a tunnel system or something. They love Rosewood's corn rollers - and I've been wondering about using whatever materials they're made out of to make something for them, but I have no idea where to buy that sort of thing. Cardboard boxes are an idea; they have a cardboard tunnel but I'm going to get rid of it bc Ash had a wee in the middle of it yesterday

 

[JBun]

You can line the bottoms of boxes with layers of newspaper(or other paper), so that if they have accidents, you can just throw the paper liner out and not the box.

 

[Diane R]

Hey, so I have two buns - Ash (M) and Maple (F). I'm in a flat (hopefully moving into a house sometime this year), and they live in my main living area. The plan was that they'd live together, but Ash nearly died when he went in to be neutered, and I'm extremely unwilling to risk his life again. Maple is spayed, but due to how hormonal Ash is, they can't live together and so Ash lives in a large pen while Maple free-roams the room.

I know they want to play with each other, and despite the vast amount of toys I've given them, I know that they don't get enough stimulation while I'm at work, and Maple has taken to ripping up my sofa cushions overnight .

I really don't know what to do - I'd love to get a third bun that Maple could play with, but I won't do that until I have a bigger space for them, plus I'm heartbroken for Ash because he's such a sweetheart. What can I do to amuse them? I scatter food around, hide it under stacking cups, give them edible tunnels, hides and varying (bun-safe!) sticks to chew on, along with their own fleece blankets to tear up, but I still feel like I'm not doing enough to amuse them.

I want to give them new experiences because I feel like I'm just doing the same stuff over and over again. Any advice/ideas?

That's sad they can't be together. Did you go to an RWAF vet (list below) for the neuter? If not, I would get a second opinion. For enrichment, have you tried digging boxes? Recommended Rabbit-Friendly Vets | Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF)

 

[AshAndMaple]

That's sad they can't be together. Did you go to an RWAF vet (list below) for the neuter? If not, I would get a second opinion. For enrichment, have you tried digging boxes? Recommended Rabbit-Friendly Vets | Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWAF)

Yeah, I've asked the best vets in my area. There are two good vet surgeries I've visited who are prepared to do it and try different protocols, but he is considered a high-risk case for surgery. They don't know what caused him to stop breathing, and he has no known underlying conditions so it's very tricky. I've been recommended to wait until he's over a year old and see if his hormones calm down at all to a level where he could be with Maple. I know it's not ideal, but it is a possibility that they could be together while he is still intact if his hormones calm down a bit. It's incredibly sad because personality-wise I think they're very well suited to each other, and it's quite clear to me from their limited interactions that they are very affectionate towards each other.

I've tried digging boxes - they like them, but they do unfortunately use them as litter boxes! I tend to give them fresh digging boxes a few times a week, sometimes overnight or when I'm at work. I hide forage in them and use pieces of seagrass/water hyacinth pieces that they've ripped off their toys as filling. They like the varying edible willow/palm leaf/ seagrass balls that you can get - and they're obsessed with Rosewood's Corn Rollers!! I don't know what the string material and the dyed orange pieces on there are made of or where to safely buy them - I'd like to know because they love ripping/chewing that up.

 

[AshAndMaple]

You can line the bottoms of boxes with layers of newspaper(or other paper), so that if they have accidents, you can just throw the paper liner out and not the box.

I do have some puppy training pads that I might use for that too (not ones with gel or anything in them). Unfortunately Ash ends up spraying wee everywhere so anything I make for him is going to get stinky pretty quickly, but lining boxes should work for Maple.