wild bunnies and toys

[emay75]

hello all
almost a year ago i rescued/took on a wild baby bunny after its mother and sibling were attacked and killed by my dog (i have a few old threads on this)
after a year together lemon and i are well acquainted but being a wild rabbit he is still quite nervous and skittish especially around other people, he hates being picked up or cuddled but adores pats
every night i bring him into my room for about 5 or 6 hours before he’s taken back to his house
i was wondering if wild rabbits play with toys as although he runs around and binkies for a bit, the rest of the time lemon just sits or snacks
i’ve tried a few toys on him like plastic balls and toilet paper rolls but he has little to no interest in them :/
is this because he is a wild rabbit or am i just not providing the right toys? where i live they are very expensive to buy and i wouldn’t like to spend $20+ on a toy he won’t use
maybe wild rabbits just do not have a play-with-toys drive? does anyone know if they do or not as google isn’t proving helpful

 

[JBun]

I don't think most rabbits really play with toys. I know mine don't really. I have one that will throw her plastic keys or metal dish on occasion, usually when she is hungry and is trying to get my attention to feed her. Generally the kind of 'toys' my rabbits like are the ones that have to do with them exhibiting their natural behavior. Things like a cardboard box filled with crinkled newspaper to dig in and shred the paper, apple branches(or other rabbit safe branches, no pesticides) to chew on, woven grass mats to chew and destroy, cardboard boxes with entry/exit holes that can be remodeled by bunny teeth. So I would say try things like that.

 

[emay75]

I don't think most rabbits really play with toys. I know mine don't really. I have one that will throw her plastic keys or metal dish on occasion, usually when she is hungry and is trying to get my attention to feed her. Generally the kind of 'toys' my rabbits like are the ones that have to do with them exhibiting their natural behavior. Things like a cardboard box filled with crinkled newspaper to dig in and shred the paper, apple branches(or other rabbit safe branches, no pesticides) to chew on, woven grass mats to chew and destroy, cardboard boxes with entry/exit holes that can be remodeled by bunny teeth. So I would say try things like that.

ah i see so many bunnies online who have so many toys they play with it’s good to know it’s not an extremely common thing to have “playful” bunnies! will try to find/make some of the things you’ve listed thank you

 

[samoth]

Mine greatly prefer toys they can eat. Or at least chew on.

Anything else and they tend to only interact when it's in their way and they want to move it aside.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Yeah, all the stuff we have is mainly for chewing. Cosmo will pick up a paper roll and run around the room when I'm in there to show off, but mostly they get chewed to nothing.

 

[cwebster]

Our bunny constantly tosses plastic balls, plastic keys, toilet paper rolls, willow balls, a timothy mat, etc. She especially loves to shred the willow balls. She also snuggles and tenderly moves around and sits with a stuffed animal. I guess every rabbit is different in personality.

 

[Orrin]

About the only toys our bunnies care for are things for chewing. I sawed up some redwood sticks the size of a middle finger and they've been nibbled down to nothing. By far the best are willow tree trimmings about the diameter of a Sharpie felt-tip pen. We are lucky to have willows in the neighborhood. Timothy grass mats are a big hit, too.

Sometimes, the set of stackable cup baby toys will interest one of our buns, maybe one day a month. For the most part, though, they're ignored.

That said, a couple of our babies entertain themselves for hours around the "curtains" we have in front of our bookshelves to keep the dust out. The curtains and willows are the best playthings we have.

Some folks use treats dispenser balls to entertain their buns. I've not tried it; but, it just might work.

 

[Popsicles]

Yep, my bun doesn’t “play” with the treat dispenser ball as such, but it does keep her busy (for about 2 minutes!) and is more stimulating than just feeding a bowl of food.

 

[Jenny Durling]

I cut holes in the cardboard toilet paper roll and put bits of veggies inside. Rocky rolls them all over the place to get the treats out but Natasha would rather just eat the cardboard! LOL! They do seem to like running through tunnels and boxes but I have to rearrange them all of the time to keep them interested. Apparently they are happy to just sleep under the coffee table (see profile pic!).

 

[cwebster]

Our rabbit adores toys. She loves chew balls and mats but also loves her stuffed animal to sit with and even gives it toys. She loves to toss around a hard plastic cat ball toy as well as plastic baby keys.