Homemade bunny toys from basket weaving supplies

[Krulala]

I've been feeling a bit "crafty" lately and am thinking about making some bunny toys out of wicker-like/basket weaving materials.

Our bunnies favorite toy by far is a ball made of wound up willow twigs. We stuff treats inside them, and the bunnies love rolling and tossing them. Unfortunately, they are close to $4 each and maybe last one day before they get chewed apart. I'm guessing the material cost is at least one order of magnitude less, and they don't look difficult to make. Here is a link to one:

http://www.petco.com/product/108911...Animal-Chew.aspx?CoreCat=firstinresult_SAToys

Anyway, I have never done any sort of basketry and am not familiar with the materials commonly available. It looks like most of those types of toys are made of "willow twig" but I have not been able to find any place that sells it. And, looking through the craft store websites, they sell "cane" and "reed", but I can't find where it says what type of tree/plant it comes from. I know there are lots of tree branches that can be poisonous, so I'd like to make sure those materials are safe. I also don't know if they are chemically treated or not.

Has anyone made homemade toys like this and have suggestions on what to use? Also, any toy ideas besides a ball?

As always, any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[LakeCondo]

Wikipedia is my go-to place for looking lots of things up. From it I learned that neither 'cane' nor 'reed' were specific plants, so it's hard to say if they'd be safe or not. I can think of several things you might want to try:
* Get a plastic ball with adjustable openings to fill with treats, at least if they're dry treats. The one I have is FunKitty Eggserciser.
* Find a source of grape vines & use those for weaving. Wild grapes grow like weeds in lots of areas & the vines stay thin enough to weave longer than do willow branches. I'm pretty sure either grape or willow branches would have to be soaked in water for awhile before they were very pliable.
* Make toys with cardboard or heavy paper, like cardstock.

 

[bunnylove1]

i made a ball just like a willow twig out of toilet paper rolls the best thing about it is you can always make more