Let's talk about enrichment!

[texasreb]

I might be a bit lacking in the creativity department when it comes to my rabbits' enrichment. I give them cardboard boxes with holes cut out for doors and they have a 8' long cardboard tube that they crawl through--well Jasper crawls through it,but Snowball doesn't fit--he's too big!

 

[agnesthelion]

My buns like phone books, toilet paper rolls or gift wrapping roolls that uncurl....they LOVE!

Cat toy balls with bells, baby toys like hard plastic rattles and rings that I link together and pin to the side of their cage, wicker balls, paper bags, I have all the wood chewsticks from the pet stores, dig mats, hay chew mats from the pet store was a big hit too.

 

[1357bunnylover]

My bunnies love the same as Lisa's But they also love cardboard egg boxes and i put holes in them and fill it with hay and some veg, and them cardboard drink holders that you get from McDonalds

 

[texasreb]

Good ideas!

Thanks for the input. This sure helps!

 

[Imbrium]

mine LOVE tunnels... they have these two:
http://www.petco.com/product/116627/WARE-Fun-Tunnel-for-Small-Animals.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch
http://www.petco.com/product/118000/Petco-Blue-And-White-Crinkle-Tunnel-for-Cats.aspx

they also like these pop-up cat cubes from walmart:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sportpet-Cat-Cat-Play-Cube-1-ct/10532707

 

[missyscove]

Mine also love tunnels. They have a plastic one from petco and a concrete form from Home Depot that's a real hit.
I haven't tried them lately, but my old buns enjoyed an old phone book to shred.

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, mine have a couple phone books they're demolishing

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Ours love egg cartons, drink holders, paper rolls, willow or apple branches, but their first love is cardboard boxes and paper bags. I have a two story "castle" I made by filling a large box with smaller boxes and cutting holes to link them. Also have a hole cut so they can get on top and a couple of "windows" they can look thru on the second story.

 

[Thumperina]

My bunnies love the same as Lisa's But they also love cardboard egg boxes and i put holes in them and fill it with hay and some veg, and them cardboard drink holders that you get from McDonalds

hmm, I am always a little cautious about egg boxes due to fear of salmonella. It may live ON the egg shell, not inside eggs (contamination in people occurs if salmonella from the egg shell gets into edible part and egg is not cooked properly).
Is it OK for bunnies?

 

[Thumperina]

yeah, mine have a couple phone books they're demolishing

what are they doing with phone books?
Again, Pb in ink is my concern (I know, lead is present in newspapers printing - or is this from old days only?). Should I have no worries about phone books?

 

[Thumperina]

a concrete form from Home Depot that's a real hit.

would you please show it (a link would work)?

 

[missyscove]

You can see Watson run into it with theapplesauce cup at the end of this video.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz0IkPkQ40w[/ame]

I think mine has a different brand on it, but this is what they are. I have the 8 inch one but they do come in bigger sizes. Less attractive than, but cheaper and just as fun as, a tunnel you might get at a petstore.

http://www.homedepot.com/Building-M...Id=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051#.UMDCk-RBBc8

 

[tamsin]

what are they doing with phone books?

Lol, this is what they do to phonebooks...

You can never find the number you want :nope:

 

[Thumperina]

Cool picture! How do you give them a phone book - just put a whole book on the floor for them?

 

[Troller]

I do tunnels (12in concrete tube from home depot), 2 stuffed toys (a Penguin and an anklosaurus), card board boxes (holes cut in them for doorways), plastic baby keys, baby rattle, ball with bell, a fleece blanket, nurse scrubs, hay box treat, 2 wicker wreathes, a plastic cup, and a phone book (yes just layer open). He plays with some of the stuff and never looks bored, just lazy.

 

[JBun]

LOL! Tamsin, that phone book picture is tooo funny!!! And so true. They can totally destroy the phone book, make a HUGE mess, and have an absolute blast doing it

 

[Thumperina]

Yesterday I put a phone book (opened in the middle) in front of my rabbit who was spending a night in the house, and nothing happened

 

[roxyllsk]

What a great idea about the concrete forms - I'll have to get one for my buns, they'll love it !

I finished off a cardboard 'can' of oatmeal a few days ago. I took the bottom off, and popped off the plastic 'rim' around the top and gave it to the buns. They've had a blast playing with it. It's mostly shredded but they still love zooming through it.

I also make a fort for them out of an empty copy paper box - the kind you get when you order paper by the case ? I add a few doorways and a window then let them do the remodeling.

I've had great luck finding bunny toys at the local bird store when I go there to get stuff for my keets and lovebird. Today I picked up some wooden blocks that have holes in them for hanging with a piece of string. They were really cheap (I think 49 cents each) and the buns are chewing on them now as we speak.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I find that differnt buns have differnt favorites. Becky likes her stuffies and baby toys that make noise. Gary loves the concrete form, small cat toys he can throw, and bells on his fence so he can make noise rattling the bars. Sophie is a big girl and prefers larger toys. I found a huge slinky and stick ball that are her sized. Houdini likes the fan blowing in his face but doesn't really play with many toys, but likes tp rolls stuffed with hay. Panda's favorite is shredding phone books and a baby toy wheel that rattles and suction cups to the floor, he will nose bonk it all day making the wheel go around. Bunnicula's favorite is the boxes to chew on and blankies to rearrange.

Basically I give them all a verity of toys and switch them around so they have various smells on them to stay interesting.

 

[ldoerr]

Mine do not seem to play with toys much. Shiny Things will play with this plastic tweety bird baby toy that I got a the dollar store a while ago but that is about it. I did just get 2 of these today http://www.petco.com/product/115432/Planet-Petco-Wood-Wheel-with-Ball-Small-Animal-Chew-Toy.aspx because they were highly recomended on Youtube. I have not given it to them yet though.