Any budget friendly rabbit items?

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TeddyTruly

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Looking to improve my rabbits living area, add more beds, toys, etc, but I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a toy that he will chew up in a few months. Any ideas? My bunny already has a pretty decent area, but want to make it more entertaining for him while I'm at school. I will send a pic of my current setup soon.
 
My bunnies love card board boxes and brown paper bags open. They will keep them entertained a long time. I have even attached boxes to make different tunnel sections. Also a cat tunnel is a inexpensive toy for them. I also picked up a very hard plastic ball with a bell inside in the baby section. They push it around all the time. I think it was $4. Hope these ideas help!!
 
Baby stacking cups are great, they toss and play with them (you may to remove them when the bunny starts chewing on them. then add them back in a few weeks). Small cat balls, my bunnies love the ones with the bells in them (you just need to make sure the bell is still in there). Like CrazyChickenGirl said, pinecones are great, willow and apple branches, and toilet paper rolls (you can make balls out of them, make hidden treat toys, you can find instructions on YouTube). Hay holding balls are another great one, make them work for the hay! Cardboard box house are one of my favorites, they can destroy them and it doesn't cost you anything and can easily make a new one.
 
Corrugated cardboard boxes with two openings for doorways; cotton terrycloth hand towels; old tee-shirt; pine chew-blocks (untreated lumber scraps); small cardboard boxes, such as used for toothpaste packaging, etc.

Our buns generally ignore store-bought toys, except for stacking cups.

We are lucky because we have a willow tree, nearby. We cut branches for the buns who then will snip the smaller twigs and eat bark off the larger pieces.

Not all willow tastes the same; our buns won't touch anything off certain trees.
Apple branches work for some people; but, our buns mostly eat the leaves and leave the twigs alone.

Buns are like kids. Some things will keep them entertained for a long time; other things might hold their interest for only a few minutes.
 
Harvey’s favorite toys were the green ones. She was rarely impressed with store bought toys, like the person above said. Must be a rabbit thing! She liked brown paper bags enough to even have a favorite, so try different brands. Cut the handles to prevent choking!
cardboard boxes are also a big hit. If you ever order something large, be sure to save the box and use it as a bunny fort. Remove the tape andtie box together with bun safe string.
The best toy was a smallish box that I folded the bottom flaps to interlock . We would hide Meadow Loops in the flaps. Harvey would go nuts with that game. Trying to get the loops out of the flaps and figure out which flaps to try. As soon as she saw the box she knew the game was about to start and would start binkying. To get the loops unstuck, she had to pull, dig, toss, pound, throw, thrash! It was as much fun fir us to watch as for her to play!
 
Ohh thank you for all of the ideas. I am worried Teddy will eat any cardboard I put in his pen, is it safe for them?
 
I am worried Teddy will eat any cardboard I put in his pen, is it safe for them?

What is cardboard? Usually it is made out of wood pulp. Wood pulp is mostly cellulose, the same as grass or hay. In a nutshell, there's nothing to worry about if you bun eats ordinary cardboard.
 
Cardboard.
Nothing to worry about, yes, but not in excess amounts.
There's rabbits who will just nibble on or spit out the parts they've ripped off, and then there's those bunnies who will literally run away from you with a chunk of box to eat it somewhere quiet. That's what 75% of my rabbits have been, and currently cardboard toys in our place is a no, because mine know no limits and would gladly eat until stomach blockage.

The only exception i would consider for us is something akin to those cardboard cat scratchers without any adhesives or catnip, those can be made at home, small ones in stores are about 5€, if you just happen to have excess boxes or can get hands on some. Stores and restaurants on delivery days are a good option to aim for.

Mine also love fresh twigs from our yard, especially apple, and last spring Storm had a blast with a thicket of cut willows; like literally just a buuunch of big twigs tied into a bush. He wouldn't even try the ones from the store.

The plastic cat ball with bell was something everybun played with as well, even more after i wove some thicker jute through the gaps, until they tossed it somewhere it got lost.

One other random thing would be just plain plastic boxes. They don't even have to be new or empty. My folks love to hop on them and nudge them around. It might actually be worth a try to make a fort out of those...
Or if you have some tools and will to diy, and a sawmill (or other source of wood you know would be safe) nearby enough, maybe gather some supplies and build a custom castle that could be more fitting to your bun's size and the layout of the house?
I don't know how your situation is, but i find it extremely hard to get toys, especially tunnels that would fit five kilos of french lop, and then some more for his medium gal.
Blanket forts are also a good idea, if your bun won't wreck those, and i have often found decent fleeces for a few euros in second hand stores. Just wash before use and that should do the trick.

Good luck in your enrichening endeavors!
 
Newspaper.

I crumple it up inside some enclosures and they love to go to town on it -- it gives them something to dig that's not my carpet, too!
 

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