Rabbits are curious and very playful animals. If you have one as a pet, it is very important to provide him with lots of toys and other material that he can play with, in order to keep him busy and to ensure pleasant distractions. There are many ways to create a comfortable environment in his cage - have fun doing it!
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Choosing the Right Cage
Step 1. Choose one of the appropriate sizes for your rabbit
Before he can enjoy his "home", you need to make sure it is the right size for his needs. These animals need a lot of space to carry out their activities: sleep, eat, do their business and play or move around. In order for him to do all this in the best way, choose a cage that is at least four times the size of the rabbit itself. Also consider the following aspects:
- The bigger the cage, the better it will be for the rabbit;
- To choose the size, you must take into account the size of an adult rabbit and not the current size of your specimen, if it has not yet fully grown;
- If the environment you live in does not allow you to keep a cage four times the size of the rabbit, you can consider getting one on several levels with ramps that connect them;
- Also consider getting an even bigger one if the rabbit doesn't often go out to play or do other physical movement;
- It should be large enough to be able to subdivide the different areas for the specific activities described above;
- If available, choose one with a ceiling high enough for the animal to jump on its hind legs. You can buy the cages online or in pet stores.
Step 2. Choose a cage with a sturdy floor
If it is made of compact material, it is safer for your little friend; mesh can cause injury or pain in your ankles. The wire mesh base can cause paw problems.
Step 3. Buy a cage with good ventilation
If it has glass walls, such as aquariums, it does not offer adequate air circulation. Those that guarantee good ventilation are those of metal mesh; However, make sure that the spaces between one bar and the other are not too large as to risk that some parts of the rabbit's body can get stuck.
You also need to check that the metal frame is not covered with plastic, as the animal may chew the coating
Part 2 of 2: Creating a Pleasant Environment
Step 1. Learn to enrich the environment
Making the cage a pleasant place involves equipping it with accessories with which the animal can play and which, basically, can allow it to behave according to nature: it must be able to jump, run and rummage for food. In addition, by providing him with toys and other material with which to stimulate him physically and mentally, you prevent him from getting bored, stressed or feeling lonely.
- The more stimulating the environment, the healthier and happier the rabbit will be.
- Choose non-toxic, smooth and rounded-edged toys and materials.
Step 2. Get him something to chew on
The rabbit loves to gnaw on anything! Chewing not only helps him keep his teeth at the right length, but keeps him busy for long periods. Hay, which is the main element of his diet, has to be chewed for a long time and therefore keeps him busy for a while.
- You can also put in chemically untreated fruit tree twigs.
- Wooden sticks to chew are also fine, but the rabbit can get bored quickly. Make sure to offer him a wide variety of items he can gnaw on, such as a chemically untreated wicker basket or dried pine cones.
Step 3. Insert a raised platform
In the wild, rabbits are preyed upon and therefore spend a lot of time checking their surroundings for signs of danger. By providing this structure, the rabbit can still carry out its inspection activity, even if it does not have to worry about predators.
- It is also a great exercise: jumping on the platform improves its physical performance and strengthens its bones.
- If he didn't do a lot of activity before you adopted him, he may not have enough strength to jump or get off the raised structure and could injure himself trying to do so. Consider starting with a rather low platform and then insert a progressively higher structure as the bunny gets stronger; you can also use different shelves arranged like a ladder or ramps.
- The platform should be sturdy and built with non-slippery elements. Suitable materials include wooden crates, sturdy cardboard boxes and chemically untreated fruit tree trunks.
Step 4. Provide lots of toys and other fun items
These elements are perfect for making the environment more pleasant and there are several that are suitable for your little friend. Fortunately, you can also build them yourself, without having to spend too much by buying them at pet stores. An inexpensive material that is very popular with these small animals is paper, such as shredded newspaper and brown bags without handles.
- A great game is also a cardboard box; if you make holes in it, you turn it into the perfect hiding place, as the animal needs to feel safe in its environment. If you drill large enough holes, the large cardboard boxes can become tunnels for the rabbit.
- Perfect accessories to add are commercially available fabric or plastic tunnels.
- Any objects that the rabbit can manipulate and / or throw are ideal for keeping him busy; among these consider the chemically untreated balls, plastic pots and wicker baskets. The animal can also have fun by throwing toys for children, such as rattles and stackable glasses.
- Place a few toys in the cage at a time and change them regularly, to prevent the animal from getting bored by having to use the same ones all the time.
Step 5. Encourage him to dig
It is an action that he likes; by providing them with opportunities to do so, the cage will become a more pleasant place. You can fill a flowerpot with dirt or a cardboard box with shredded newspaper to encourage him to follow his natural instinct to dig. Alternatively, put torn paper from newspapers or magazines in a wicker basket to achieve the same result.
Step 6. Stimulate his tendency to rummage for food
This is another instinctive and natural activity. Instead of putting food in front of him, make mealtime an opportunity to play; for example, hide the hay under a flower pot or in a cardboard box.
- You can also scatter bits of food in the cage to encourage his "food hunter" instinct.
- Another possibility is to tie the food to a basket hanging in the cage, which the rabbit must reach in order to eat.
- Put some delicious treats (for example small pieces of fruit) in a spherical feeder to entertain the animal. Check that the openings of the ball are not blocked and make sure that the amount of food inserted into the toy fits into its daily ration.
Step 7. Check his behavior
While there are many ways to make the environment more fun, some objects may scare him or make him feel anxious. When inserting new elements into the cage, carefully monitor its behavior; if you find that he avoids them and seems afraid, take them off.
Create a hiding place, such as a cardboard box, that he can enter when he feels scared
Advice
- Not all rabbits like the same toys; you will have to proceed by trial and error before finding the ones he likes and the ones he doesn't care about.
- Even if you offer him a lot of fun items, the animal still needs to relate to you every day; the moments when he is most active are early in the morning, late afternoon and evening, so they are the ideal occasions to play with him.
- It may be useful to introduce new objects according to a precise schedule.
- Because rabbits have a tendency to gnaw, you need to regularly check the materials you put in the cage and replace them when they show excessive signs of wear.
- If you have a single specimen, put a mirror in the cage so it can believe it has a playmate; However, keep in mind that this is a temporary solution: the rabbit is much happier if he has a fellow dog to play with, especially when you are not at home.
- If you have adopted more than one rabbit, make sure they have enough entertainment to distract themselves with so they don't fight each other for ownership.
