Buttons wanted to party. He would binky and zoom around the living room. Dart in and out from under the couch and dig a race track in the carpet. He didn’t like jumping on things, like the couch, because it hurt his tummy if he landed on it instead of his short legs. He would often sit and look up at the couch and wish he could get up there.
I read online that bunnies like cat houses and scratching poles, so I found a cat house thing and gave it to Buttons.
It’s made of water hyacinth which is safe for small animals to eat. But you have to be mindful about what the water hyacinth is grown on, because plants suck up the chemicals from the soil and when it’s dried, it increases the potency of the absorbed chemicals. But I took a chance and kept my fingers crossed.
Buttons warmed up to it really quickly.
Toys for Buttons
Buttons the Destroyer started to eat everything – woollen blankets, polar fleece, the plastic tunnel to the point that I needed to get him some entertainment, but knowing that he won’t play with it anyway.
If a bunny is chewing uncontrollably, it means there is something wrong. It might be in pain, not have enough fibre in its diet or be bored. It also could be a mixture of all of them.
I got him a foraging mat. It measures 60x60cm and has pockets to hide food. I gave it a go. He didn’t play with it. He totally ignored it. I started to put his food on it and hide it in the pockets, but that also got ignored. He ate some of the food on it, but ended up eating the edges of the mat too.
I ended up using the mat as his food tray instead. He was happy with that. That way he could eat the food and the mat at the same time.
My sister had a spare grass tube-ball, which Buttons loved throwing around and nibbling on for the first 5 minutes. I take it out of his area for a few hours and give it back to him and he plays with it again.
He ended up ripping it apart over a few days. He didn’t eat much of the hay, but he liked pulling the strands of hay out.
This was a hit with the Little Ones. The crunch of the crispy carrot around the outside hit the spot for critters that needed to bite on something crunchy. It took a couple of days for the bunnies to peel off all of the bits of carrot. The hay was not a favourite, it must have been gross. I replaced the hay with oaten, which the Little Ones loved.
Buttons had a go at it, and he got bored pretty quickly.
I knew Buttons would find this boring, but I got it anyway. He smelled it and chewed it a bit but didn’t care for it more than that.
I am suspicious about the “food safe” dyes used, because if they are natural colours, why are they so vivid and odd coloured (like purple).
I knew this toy is bad for bunnies, but it was only going to be around for the length of time that I was at my sister’s.
The Little Ones liked it a lot. They tugged at the wooden pieces and chewed on the squishy parts. They didn’t damage it at all. After a few days the upright dowel pulled out of the base, which made the toy so much more fun because they could throw it around and bomp each other on the bum with it.
I have written an article on dangerous chemicals which will help you explore the ideas behind making a bunny-safe environment.
There is also an article on good and bad toys. It should give you an idea what to look out for.
An in depth look at rabbit safe colours will help you understand why they aren’t good and the sorts of things you need to look out for.