Are you looking for a Cardboard toy to give your rabbit something to chew and stop them getting bored?
We have reviewed the most popular types of Cardboard chew tubes, Boxes and Pop-up Tents and Tunnels as well as Cardboard castles and tell you their good and bad points.
We tested them with our rabbits to share their reactions as well as rating them for Value for money, Mess and Noise nuisance.
We explain how these toys can help control unwanted behavior and how they provide entertainment to keep your rabbit healthy and happy.
Don't waste money on a toy that may end up being discarded, take a look at our round up below so you can choose the best cardboard toy for your rabbit.
Fun:
Value for money:
Mess:
Noise: Silent
A simple hideout and chew toy combined. Your rabbit will love sheltering in and shredding the paper of this simple tunnel toy.
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Fun:
Value for money: Affordable
Mess:
Noise: Annoying
If you had to choose a chew toy that will keep your bunny occupied the longest, then a cardboard castle has to be the winner.
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Fun: Irrisistable!
Value for money: Very expensive
Mess: A bit untidy
Noise: Annoying
Most rabbit parents discover this toy provides the all-round entertainment for their rabbits and the best thing about them is its free!
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Most pet stores stock Cardboard chew tube as they are excellent value for money because they combine a tunnel toy, shelter, and chew toy all in one.
These colorful tubes are made from thick cellulose board, which is safe for your rabbit to chew, and they will soon discover they can strip the layers of papery material off which keeps them endlessly entertained.
They come in a variety of sizes so it's important to check you choose a tube that is big enough for your rabbit to hop through comfortably especially if they are a larger bread.
They can be left out as an activity toy for your bunny to jump through and make a great hideout toy for your rabbit to relax in when they want a bit of shelter.
They do roll about quite a bit so work better on carpet or you can simply push it up against a wall or wedge something next to them.
When they got older, they mostly discarded it as a tunnel toy and used it as a giant chew toy which they enjoyed.
We got one of these when we set up a room for some baby bunnies and it became an instant hit.It was a part of their routine to hop through it, which they loved.
It did leave quite a bit of shredded paper everywhere, but this was easy to tidy up.
We did try out alternatives such as Alfalfa coated tubes as we thought it would be more fun, but they don't seem to get any more attention than the basic cardboard ones and created an awful lot more mess that quickly spread about.
A frequent problem with bunnies is wallpaper chewing. They love getting their teeth under the paper and then tugging it off strip by strip.
Short of fencing off all the walls in your home there is not much you can do to prevent it other than try and provide your rabbit with more fun and acceptable alternatives.
Carboard chew toys are typically made of lots of layers of papery material and when your bunny gets the hang of stripping this off, they will hopefully leave your wallpaper alone.
Fun:
Value for money:
Mess:
Noise: Silent
If you had to choose between all the chew toys here that will keep your bunny occupied, then a cardboard castle has to be the winner.
Your bunny can spend hours customizing it how they want by stripping ribbons of paper off it, chewing away at it to customize the entrances and even adding extra entrances.
The additional shelter it provides in a room will help your bunny feel more secure and give them a place to call their own in a room you share.
It's best to avoid products with print on them as eating the ink is not great and simple Cardboard castles are the best as your bunny will be more interested in a shape than its decoration it could be covered with.
We would not be without some sort of cardboard box for our bunnies to play in and they have often become so attached to the dens they have built over time that when they eventually fall apart, they have become quite upset
You can obviously use any box that is suitable, however we prefer these as we don't have to muck about removing tape or worry about where they have been stored and they obvious look a lot better.
We often combine these with other tunnel toys to make them even more fun especially if you through a few treats in as well.
Lastly it's worth noting that box munching can be noisy so you may want to keep this out of a bedroom, or you may be kept up all night.
There are lots of ways a cardboard box can help with the bunny proofing you do around the home.
Rabbits love shredding and tearing things up with their teeth and a solid box will give than something to satisfy this need and hopefully distract them from seeking out wallpaper and soft coverings around your home.
It can also help satisfy your rabbits instinctive need to tailor their environment and can be a good way to stop your rabbit tugging up your carpet or chewing under your bed or behind your sofa.
It is also a simple defense against chewing and can simply be used as a way of protecting areas of your home that are a focus of this unwanted behavior by placing it in the way.
Fun:
Value for money: Affordable
Mess:
Noise: Annoying
If we had to recommend any toy that will keep your rabbits endlessly entertained, then a cardboard box would be at the top of the list and the best thing about it is it's free.
Cardboard boxes made an ideal hideout toy which is why most rabbit parents have one in their home.
They work so well because they not only give your rabbit a nice big shelter to feel safe and relax in, but they also let your rabbit have fun shredding the paper and customizing the box till they get it just how they like it which keep them endlessly entertained.
If you do want to give your rabbit a box to play in, then there a few things you need to consider.
The first thing to do is choose a good box. It needs to be big enough for your rabbit to turn around. If it is a large box, then make sure it is sturdy and can be folded up tightly, so it does not collapse on your bunny.
Choose a box made of plain cardboard without heavy ink printed on it or coloring and avoid boxes with plastic or shiny finishes. Also make sure the box has not had chemicals stored in it or has been stored anywhere that may have left chemical residues on it.
The best sort of boxes come from supermarkets that was used for food as you know this will be the safest.
Next you need to prepare the box. It is important to remove any staples and tape as this can be dangerous if your rabbit eats it. Boxes that are glued together are also unsuitable.
Lastly fold the flaps of the box over themselves so it holds together tightly to stop your bunny falling through it if they jump on top of it.
If you are worried about this, you could always get some Cardboard box online.
We would not be without a cardboard box for our bunnies to play in. We also like customising them on a theme to make this a bit more fun.
Our bunnies enjoyed a spooky haunted house at Halloween and a fort for them to defend.
We collect boxes now and never pass up the opportunity if a box is available to grabs, especially the double skinned sort.
Box munching can be a noisy business so we tend not to keep a box in our bedroom as when our bunnies get going on putting in a new entrance their munching can get annoying.
One way a cardboard box can be especially useful when bunny proofing is to simply use it to block access to a place where your rabbit has picked up a habit of chewing.
You can use it to cover areas of carpet where your bunny has been chewing and tugging up the carpet.
It can also be used to push up again baseboards or wooden furniture to stop the soft wood being munched.
Rabbits can be tenacious when they have a chewing project on the go so you may need to weigh it down with a large ceramic tile or some other heavy object to stop it being moved out the way
Fun: Irrisistable!
Value for money: Very expensive
Mess: A bit untidy
Noise: Annoying
Cardboard scratch toys are most commonly sold for cats however, they can make a great toy for bunnies as well.
They are made from lots of sheets of corrugated carboard that are sliced across the grain.
They can come in packs as simple sheets, or you can buy them in a bigger block that is free standing.
Your rabbit will enjoy digging into and chewing the soft cardboard.
As with all cardboard toys it's important to make sure they do not eat to much as this can be bad for their tummies.
If you do find this is the case, you may be better off with a grassy mat as this will be a more natural chew toy for them to eat.
Our rabbits love wearing out their teeth on cardboard, so this treat was an instant success.
We also found that you could scatter some treats over it, and they would get hidden in the folds making this a simple add-hock foraging toy.
This was an effective way to let them have some treats without them scoffing them too quickly.
You can never have enough new toys to keep your rabbit occupied and their novelty can wear off pretty quickly.
These toys work well because they offer a distraction and can be a good way of curbing some of your rabbits unwanted chewing behavior.
Fun: Very exciting
Value for money: A bit pricy
Mess: A bit untidy
Noise: quiet
Keeping your pet rabbit healthy and happy is crucial, and having plenty of toys to play with is an essential part of achieving that. However, toy expenses can add up quickly. This is where cardboard toys come in handy. They are inexpensive and can often be obtained for free.
Cardboard boxes and castles make great shelters. Your rabbit will love customizing to suit their own needs. Chewing cardboard can also offer a source of fiber and help wear down their teeth.
They also can act as a great distraction from unwanted behavior such as chewing carpet, baseboards and wallpaper and wooden furniture.
When it comes to choosing the right cardboard toys for your furry friend you really are spoiled for choice however, there are some old favorites that every bunny patient keeps to hand as they have proven to be invaluable to keep your rabbit's teeth in good condition and stop them getting bored.
Toilet roll tubes can be lots of fun to nibble on and toss about and nearly always to hand. Cardboard boxes and Castles can become a much-loved hideout for your rabbit that will enjoy customizing into the perfect hideout.
In this guide we review the most popular types of cardboard toys, many of which are free and try to give you an idea of what to expect from the toy and your rabbit's reaction to it. We discuss their pros and cons to help you choose the best toy for your rabbit.
Cardboard toys have many benefits to your rabbit's health and this is at the center of our reviews. We consider how good they will be in providing Fiber to help your rabbits tummy, how helpful they are in wearing down your rabbit teeth and the positive and negative behavior they could cause when you introduce them.
We examine what each toy is made from and guide you on how good the materials are for your rabbit to digest. We would not review toys that are glued together or constructed from materials we consider harmful.
Every rabbit is different, and we understand they will treat the toys in different ways. Some rabbits will overindulge when eating a toy which may be a problem if they eat too much, other rabbits may simply ignore the toy.
In this guide we help you understand how quickly they can be consumed and whether this may be a problem.
In this guide we also show you the many ways each toy can be used to help you rabbit proof your home, this is after all our specialist subject.
Some toys can be good at providing the digestive fiber you rabbit may be seeking out by chewing your baseboards, wallpaper and wooden furniture.
Others can help satisfy your rabbits instinctive need to tailor their environment and can be good at stopping your rabbit tugging up your carpet or chewing under your bed or behind your sofa.
Others can simply be used as a way of protecting areas of your home that are a focus of this unwanted behavior.
In this guide we match the rabbit proofing problem with the toy so you can make sure you are providing a safe and acceptable alternative that will satisfy your rabbits instinctive needs and avoid expensive repairs to your home.
We have been house rabbit owners for over 20 years and have tested out all of these toys here at Bunny proof HQ with our own bunnies, they didn't seem to mind too much. We share their reactions and tell you how these toys performed over time.
We know every rabbit is different, so we have gathered lots of advice from our rabbit proofing Facebook group which has over 50K members at the time this article was written.
This has helped us to discover what toys seem to be a success and what toys have caused unexpected problems.
To help you compare each toy we have given them a rating on three criteria, Value for money, fun and mess.
Value for money - How expensive they are compared to how long they will last
Fun - How much time your rabbit will spend with the toy compared to its other toys
Mess - How much mess may spread about and how hard it is to clean up
Noise - How much of a nuisance this toy may become especially if left out during the night
We created these reviews to help other likeminded rabbit owners with help and advice. We are not affiliated with any other companies or organizations.
We chose these cardboard rabbit toys based on our own experience and that of the 50K members of our bunny-proofing Facebook group.