Animals that are kept as pets need physical and mental stimulation to stay healthy and lead fulfilling lives, and rabbits are no different. When offering enrichment, you engage the brain to think and concentrate, compared to physical stimulation which mainly engages the use of the body. Rabbits are intelligent, social, and active animals, and they can become bored and stressed easily , which will affect their welfare. To keep your rabbit physically, emotionally, and mentally satisfied, it’s important to offer a balanced range of activities and opportunities for them to fulfill their needs, even more so when they are confined for most of the day. So, what are things you can do with your rabbit to provide mental stimulation?
Digging Box
Rabbits love to dig, and digging boxes are a great way of providing enrichment. Digging is a natural and instinctive behaviour of rabbits, stemming from their wild roots where they dig underground tunnels which serve as a home and a safe place to hide and run away from predators. Digging has a therapeutic effect, relieves frustration and helps your rabbit comfort themselves. It’s a behaviour that can’t be unlearned, and by providing your rabbit with a spot they are allowed to dig, you not only prevent boredom and help your rabbit comfort themselves, but it will also help protect your house from being destroyed.
Foraging activities
Foraging toys and activities are a simple but effective way of providing your rabbit with enrichment. By hiding favourite vegetables or treats in toys, or by hiding them around their enclosure, your rabbit gets encouraged to search and forage for their food, keeping them mentally engaged and stimulated. You can easily make foraging toys yourself with small cardboard boxes and tubes, making it an enrichment activity that is also friendly on the pocket. Make sure to only feed your rabbit food and treats that are safe for them.
Get creative with cardboard
Enrichment doesn’t have to be expensive, and the most amazing things can be built with cardboard boxes. Castles, houses, and tunnel systems can be built from cardboard boxes and cardboard panels. With cardboard toilet paper rolls one can make things like treat dispensers, mini agility courses, and other puzzles. Another plus from cardboard is that it’s cheap, so you provide your rabbit often with new materials to keep things interesting. By providing your rabbit with things to climb and explore, they can engage in their natural behaviours such as hopping, jumping, and scent marking.
Chew Toys
It’s essential to provide your rabbit with chew toys. A rabbit’s teeth grow throughout their lives, and chewing helps wear them down to keep them at a correct length. Not only help chew toys to keep your rabbit’s teeth healthy, they will also help prevent depression and boredom. Some examples or chew toys are chew balls which can be tossed around and chewed on and wooden gnaw toys. To keep your rabbit interested you can rotate their toys. Make sure that you use materials that are safe for rabbits as chew toys might accidentally partly end up getting ingested.
Puzzles and Snuffle Mats
Snuffle mats and rabbit puzzles are a great way to mentally engage your rabbit. It will engage their problem solving skills, and they have to search and forage for their food within the puzzles.
Teaching tricks
Rabbits are intelligent and playful, and can be taught a variety of things. Not only can they be litter trained, you can also teach them various tricks such as fetching objects and coming when called. When training your rabbit only use fear free and positive reward-based methods. Working together with your rabbit as a team in a positive manner doesn’t only provide them with enrichment, it will also strengthen the rabbit-owner bond.
Obstacle Course / Agility
While not all rabbits will have the required build, ability, or temperament, some rabbits can learn to do obstacle courses, and there are even comparative agility contests for pet rabbits. The obstacles for the course can be bought in pet stores, but can also be made as DIY projects. Before starting agility, speak to your vet to ensure that your rabbit has a suitable age to start agility, and is physically fit enough. Unfit rabbits can injure themselves, and juvenile rabbits shouldn’t participate until bones and joints are fully developed.
Conclusion
Rabbits need plenty of enrichment to prevent them from getting bored, and lead fulfilling lives. Enrichment activities don’t have to be expensive or complicated, but they will improve the well being of your rabbit significantly.
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