I think keeping my bunnies entertained all the time is one of the hardest parts of keeping rabbits. Bunnies are very smart and curious creatures. If they get bored, they tend to get into everything they shouldn’t.
Without interesting toys to keep them busy, a lot of pet rabbits will find other things to chew – like cords, shoes, furniture, and carpet!
If you need some ideas for keeping your bunnies busy, try out some of the toys below. These are (in my opinion) the best chew toys for rabbits.
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What Makes for a Good Chew Toy?
Before we jump straight into the toy list, I wanted to quickly go over what you should look for in your bunny toys… and what you should stay away from. Not all toys for small animals are created equal and not all toys are safe.
Chew Toys You Want
The best toys for rabbits should be pet-safe and relatively durable. I prefer to use toys made of natural materials like wood, cardboard, paper, hay, or grass so I know they won’t be chewing on anything that will harm their teeth or mouths.
Make sure toys are only made from untreated wood. All natural ingredients with no metal or glue (other than maybe a metal hook for hanging it) are going to be the safest options usually.
Toys to Stay Away From
As I mentioned before, some toys marketed for rabbits and other small pets are just not safe.
The main thing to avoid is rabbit chews that are made of unsafe materials. Things like rubber, rope, seeds, glue, and plastic are not great things to have in a chew toy. You wouldn’t want your bunny actually eating a piece of rubber or plastic. All toys should have safe, natural ingredients and only use non-toxic wood.
You also don’t want anything that could injure your rabbit with sharp edges or small gaps. You don’t want your rabbits to poke themselves or get a foot or nose stuck in a toy.
8 Best Chew Toys for Bunnies
1. Wood logs or sticks
There are a ton of options on the market for safe wooden sticks or log chews for bunnies. The only real requirement for these is that they are a type of wood that is safe for bunnies. The most common are apple sticks, birch, pine, or other fruit tree branches. Some chew sticks even have herbs or forage coated on the wood to make it even more enticing for your bunny.
I’ve found that my bunnies generally prefer the softer woods. If it’s easy to sink their teeth in they’re going to be more likely to chew it. This can be a great way to distract your rabbits from chewing up your furniture or carpet.
2. Play Tables
A play table is basically a little activity station for bunnies. They are usually made of wood and have a bunch of different hanging toys for your rabbit to chew and play with. The toys usually swing to make it harder for your rabbit to immediately destroy them. The table itself can also function as wooden chew toys.
These can be a great choice if there’s a particular piece of furniture or area that your bunny likes to chew on. You can place the table right in front and they will (hopefully) be more interested in the activity table than getting around it to your furniture.
3. Willow Balls or Tunnels
Willow balls are my bunnies (and guinea pigs’) favorite toys! Something about the natural willow just makes it their go-to chewing item.
You can get willow balls, cubes, and tunnels in a variety of sizes. The only thing to watch out for with these is any sharp sticks that start forming once they’ve chewed pieces off. They can also use these as play balls and push them around the room with their noses or front paws.
4. Packing Paper/Cardboard
One of my rabbits is obsessed with shredding packing paper. It’s honestly probably the number one inexpensive “toy” I recommend to people to try out with their buns. It does make a huge mess of paper shreds – but to me, it’s better than ripping my carpet up or ruining my laptop cords! A mess is better than a bored bunny.
There are also a ton of different cardboard hides and tunnels – and even cardboard castles you can find for bunnies. Or honestly – straight-up cardboard boxes with entrances cut in them work great too. One of my favorites is a maze hide that is great for them to run through and explore but also to chew up. Toilet paper rolls are a great inexpensive chew toy as well. Stuffing them with hay is also a good idea!
5. Puzzles and Enrichment Toys
These toys are fantastic for keeping your rabbits busy. The basic concept of a puzzle or an interactive toy is to hide food inside that will entice your bunnies to figure out how to get the snacks out. It’s great for mental stimulation and to get them to use their natural instincts to forage.
You can find a variety of types, but I really like wooden or cardboard puzzles. Once they’ve figured out how to solve the puzzle pretty easily, they’ll have the toy itself to chew on instead of it being a useless piece of plastic.
6. Natural Foraging Mats
Foraging mats have the same type of concept as some enrichment toys – you hide food inside and your bunnies have to work to get it out.
I really like the natural grass material versions of these because, again, they can chew it all up once they get tired of finding the treats. They’re usually made of dry hay or water hyacinth. You can also get grass mats that don’t have the foraging feature for your bunnies to rip up as well. You can turn these into play walls as well by zip-tying them to the side of your rabbit’s pen.
7. Hanging Toys
You can find hanging toys made out of almost anything your rabbits could want to chew. They are easily hung in your rabbit’s area for them to work on whenever they want. Try out a few different ones made with different materials to see what your bunnies like to chew the most. Just make sure these are made of safe wood or a different natural material. I like to hang a bunch of different toys with a variety of materials to keep things interesting.
8. Hay Based Chews
Hay chews are usually some form of compressed hay that has been pressed into a shape. Some rabbits will absolutely love these and they will keep your bunnies busy. They are enticing because they are a snack. They are usually super hard, so they do great helping wear down teeth as well. I’ve seen these in a ton of different shapes – even a grass cake.
Not all of these on the market are the healthiest, so make sure you check the ingredients. You don’t want anything with a ton of sugar in it or anything corn-based.
All of these toys are great options to keep your bunnies focused on their toys and away from your stuff! Let me know if you have any other go-to chew toys that I didn’t mention here.
Learn More About Keeping Pet Rabbits:
- Is Cardboard Safe for Rabbits to Chew?
- The BEST Bedding Option for Litterboxes
- An Easy Guide to Indoor Rabbit Housing
