Abby's not interested in toys

[Abbydabbydoo]

I've tried everything. I've bought many different toys and made things.The only thing she's interested is food and she certainly doesnt like to work for it either (I tried putting hay, etc in a paper bag, but it's too much work for her so she leaves it.)

She will run through cardboard boxes and her tunnel occasionally, but that's all. Should I just accept that's just the way she is. She seems very happy and likes to be chased around, I just worry she'll get bored.ray:

 

[Richard0600]

honestly.. rabbits are pretty boring.. A cat would have been much more fun.. but my gf allergic

I've owned 2 rabbits for 4 years now, and if there is one thing that I have learned is that rabbit toys
are all a load of junk. They're expensive and useless. The best toys are home made ones, here are some
things that my rabbits loved to play with:

1.) Toilet rolls/Paper Towel rolls

-You don't even need to put anything in them, they will gnaw them till there is nothing left and
toss them around. Sadly it is short lived, my Latte loved them, but after a few days she will
ignore it. But if you give her a new one she will gnaw and toss it all over again.

-Stuff treats in the center pack hay into both sides of the roll. I only did this once, because it
made a huge mess in my living room. But it was fun to watch. But short entertainment...

Boxes:

omg they loved boxes. Cut holes for them to run in and out of. I cut squares here and there for
them to stick there head out, or look around. Flaps are fun too. Duct tape is all you need =)

Tubes:

I bought a cat tube and every now and then they would do a binkie and dart speed through it,
run around in a circle then go back in...etc.
(Was fun till Dumbo started treating it as a litter box.. Pee in a polyester tube, is a disaster...)

Wood Blocks:
Both rabbits loved to chew.. All my table/chair legs have hundreds of teeth marks all of them.
I let them roam free around the house 24/7, gave them several wooden blocks to chew. But they
always choose to go after my furniture. If you have caged rabbits, a wood block/toy is helpful for
them to file their front teeth down. As they constantly grow.

Last of all.. just get creative, endless possibilities you can do with just tape and cardboard.
I had so much fun building stuff for them. God I miss them =(...

Edit: Haha sorry, I didn't even read your message.. just started rambling, guess you've already
done the cardboard, tube.. etc.. Don't worry about your rabbit being bored, they find ways
to entertain themselves. Besides they sleep most of the day anyways, rabbits are most energetic around sunrise and sunset.

Nose Twitch = awake.. if the nose is still they're asleep... that will give you an idea to
how often they are actually asleep.

 

[Abbydabbydoo]

Believe it or not, I've tried all of the above. She roam's free 24/7 and has not chewed on anything she's not supposed to. She's not interested in toilet or paper towel rolls..nothing.
She does run through the boxes and tunnel but just once in a while...I think she's just a little lazy.

 

[Richard0600]

How old is she/he?

 

[Abbydabbydoo]

I'm not sure how old she is. The vet has no idea. My husband and I found her outside last March, but we have an idea she maybe a just a few years old.

 

[Abbydabbydoo]

One thing she likes to do. It's not a toy but I put a pellets in clean paper coffee cups and hide them around the house. She grabs the cup in her teeth and shakes out the pellets or runs with the cups and sometimes she'll nudge it around with her nose. I would just like to find something else for her to do, dont want her to get bored. As long as it's food and it's easy she doesnt mind.

 

[Richard0600]

Honestly I wouldn't stress about it, my rabbits had free roam of the apartment 24/7 as well and trust me,
free roam 24/7 is much more entertaining, then being trapped in a cage for 15+ hours with a few toys.
Rabbits tend to get destructive when they're bored, at least my rabbits did. So if your bunny isn't destroying
your furniture or anything I think you're fine.

Your bunny's probably having a blast, especially if you are constantly giving her things to do.
Your cup idea is helpful it entertains a rabbits instincts to forage and explore.
They're very curious, and will investigate ANYTHING new.

For example, when my rabbits got bored of their cardboard house I made for them, (had flaps for doors,
windows, bedding inside, and a sun roof for them to stick their heads out of) All I had to do was
move it to another location, and it was like a complete new toy for them.

 

[tamsin]

I think 'play' and 'toys' can sometimes be a bit misleading. Some rabbits do play and throw things about just for the fun of it, but is you really want to get your rabbit active and engaged you need to give them work rather than play.

You were on the right lines with the hay, but my guess if you feed other things in addition to hay and they are tasty and were easier to access so your rabbit didn't see the extra energy gnawing on cardboard to get the hay as worth the effort.

Try making everything accept hay, hard to get but start easy so your rabbit doesn't give it up as impossible (or not realise there is food involved). For example, wrap up her dry food in a sheet of newspaper, so she has to shred it to get the food. Start easy, one sheet of paper and lots of food. So it's an easy task and there is lots of reward.

You can then build on that simple task, such as wrapping a few pellets in a sheet so she has to rip several parcels to get all the food, stuffing the wrapped food into a cardboard tube or hanging it up etc.

Use the pellets/veggies she gets as part of a normal meal so you aren't feeding her extra. They are the most tasty portion so she'll work most hard for them. Particularly if hay is the only other option available.

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

My bunnies haven't ever been a huge fan of toys. Only Jelly, would grab this one toy ring with a rattle and shake it when I walked past if she was REALLY desperate to get my attention. Besides that , the toys just sat. Its the petstores way of making money. Baby bunnies, like SOME toys but not even that many.

They seem to like toys they can eat. Like there's a willow ball thing with a bell in it that mine have LOVED. ONe of the only others toys I've seen mine use. Jelly had some others she really liked, like her stuffed dog, but she didn't really 'play' with it alot. Just layed by it and put it in her nest when she decided to make one every now and then. WOw I really miss Jelly the more I think about her. I have to stop now talking about her. :'(

 

[hippie]

im in the same boat-my little bunny only has about 1 toy that he is vaguely interested in and hasnt so much as glanced at the others. he does have free roam of the back yard during the day so i dont think he gets too bored.

 

[Abbydabbydoo]

You all have great ideas. I especially like the idea of making her work for food (except for hay) on a gradual basis. I guess if she was bored she would have gotten herself into some trouble by now. She's obviously not the only one who's not interested in toys just food...thank you.