When it comes to shopping for chew toys there is a variety of different options available, chewing is after all a bunnies favourite thing to do. Below we take a look at the full range of these including willow toys you bunny will love to demolish as well as wooden toss toys they will love to chuck about and nibble on.
We focus on the benefits to your bunnies well being
Making sure you bunny has lots of interesting chew toys to play with is important for their health and happiness. It not only keeps them occupied, chewing fibrous materials is also good for their teeth and tummies. It can also help stop you bunny from chewing things you don't want like your baseboards, carpet or wallpaper. In this guide we look at each toys positive and negative points with your bunnies happyness in mind.
How we tested them for Value, Fun and Mess
Here at Bunnyproof HQ we tested out some the most popular chew toys on our bunnies to find out how much fun they are, what value for money they give and what sort of mess they make.
If you bunny is a bit of a chewer its best to satisfy these natural urges. Take a look at these acceptable alternatives and see if there is something you think your bunny will like.
1 Willow balls
2 Willow bridge
3 Grassy mat
1Willow balls
Our bunnies verdict
Our bunny loves the chunky willow ball, we have a hard floor so he like the noise it makes as he bats it about. We also prefer them to the grassy variety as they make less mess as they eventually fall apart. They do have a habit of being wedged under furniture so we tend use them for a session where we are playing with our bunny, then we hide them away after a bit, this also make them last a bit longer as it turns out our bunny can eat most of one in one go if he feels like it.
Overall
We would not be without some of these as they always temp our bunny to eat a bit more fiber and a few less treats. Grassy balls but can be a bit messy when they fall apart.Key features
- Great for getting your bunny to eat a bit more fiber and a few less treats.
- You bunny will enjoy tossing the ball around the room.
2Willow bridge
Our bunnies verdict
We have a few of these as we have found a number of uses for them as a toy and to help bunny proof our home. We found a good way of setting them out is to bend them into a semi-circle and leave them on their side as our bunny likes tucking his but inside it for a snooze. We also use them to protect things from being chewed by leaning them up against baseboards and wrapping them around furniture legs or the corners of furniture to protect them.
Overall
Great to use for lots of bunny proofing jobs like wrapping around furniture. We would not be without these toys as they are an essential part of the bunny proofing we have.Key features
- Ideal for using to protect baseboards and the corners of furniture
- Can be made into a great hideaway
- This toy is tough and will last a long time
3Grassy mat
Our bunnies verdict
We didn't know if our bunny would like these at first but they are very popular, so we tried them out, he took to it right away. It seemed to satisfy his urge to tug and chew at the floor which is good because this helped distract him from chewing on our carpet which was an bad habit he had developed. We had to keep this toy to his enclosure as it made a lot of mess and we also used it as a base in a digging box which our bunny enjoyed very much and also helped contain the mess he made as he shredded it to bits. For a simple toy these really do offer great value and are a permanent part of our setup.
Overall
Bunnies love munching these simple chew toys and they are cheap enough to use to cover an area of floor to provide some comfort and a snack.Key features
- Your bunny will love to sit and chew on this, two of their favorite activities
- They are cheap enough to use as an area of floor cover
- They do make quite a lot of mess when they fall apart
4Toilet roll tubes
Our bunnies verdict
We never throw an old toilet roll away, we just chuck them in out bunnies path when the roll is used up. He gets bored of them pretty quickly so when they start looking tired we just bin them. We also like to play a game with our bunny where I sit with him and stack a bunch of them up on top of each other which he then knocks over and tosses about. He never gets bored of this game so it's a great way of keeping his attention when playing with him.
Overall
A free and unlimited source of entertainment. Why not stuff them with hay to make them even more fun to play with!Key features
- Toilet roll tubes are a free and plentiful toy that your bunny will love playing with and chewing
- You can stuff them with hay to make them even more fun or stack them up and make a fun obstacle for you bunny to demolish
5Willow sticks
Our bunnies verdict
Our bunny likes the thinner sort as they seem easier to chew up. We found we could make them even more appealing by pushing them through the sides of a toilet roll tube. This helps makes more of a toy out of it and keeps them together and off the floor. We buy a pack of these from time to time and give our bunny one occasionally, so we don't end up with them lying about everywhere.
Overall
A simple way to give your bunny something acceptable to chew on to help ware down their teeth and give them some solid fiber to chew on.Key features
- A great way of stopping your bunny getting bored and getting them to eat more fiber
- They are cheap and will last a long while if you give them out a few at a time
6Cardboard house / castles
Our bunnies verdict
We would not be without some sort of cardboard box for our bunny to play in and have had some bunnies that have become so attached to the dens the dens they have built over time that when they eventually fall apart and we take them away have become quite upset with us, at least until a new one has arrived. You can obviously use any box that is suitable however we prefer these as we don't have to muck about removing tape or worrying about where they have been stored and they obvious look a lot better. Lastly its 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.
Overall
Way more styleish then a cardboard box.Key features
- A cheap hideaway toy that can be recycled
- A nice big toy that you can get delivered
7Cardboard chew tube
Our bunnies verdict
We got one of these when we brought home a baby bunny and it became a part of his routine hopping through it and he really like it, however when he got older he mostly discarded it as a tunnel and used it as a giant chew . We did try out alternatives such as Alfalfa coated tubes, but they don't seem to prove any more attractive than the basic cardboard ones and created an awful lot more mess.
Overall
Great for bunnies that like to run around, shred paper and play in hideaways. Young bunnies will especially like this.Key features
- A great toy that you bunny will enjoy stripping they layers of paper off and using as a hideaway
- We would avoid ones covered in grass as they don't seem any more interesting and make quire a mess
8Grassy house
Our bunnies verdict
We found our bunny was not that interested in going inside this but loved it as a giant chew toy. We ended up getting him a cardboard box as a hide away as well which he preferred. It also made quite a lot of mess when it start to break down.
Overall
A great chew toy and hideaway while it lasts.Key features
- These make a great chew toy but do make quite a lot of mess when they start to collapse.
- They tend to be on the small side so make sure you get one that's suitable for your bunnies breed.
9Hanging treat toy
Our bunnies verdict
Our rabbit likes making noise so we hung one of these that had a bell on it next to his food bowl, he soon got the hang of ringing it persistently when he ran out of food which was very cute.
Overall
Brilliant for handing fresh treats on and keeping your bunny amused.Key features
- Can be a great way of keeping your bunny interested by mixing chew toys, veggies and fruit.
- They can be a great way of loading up all the treats in one place off the floor.
10Twig tunnel
Our bunnies verdict
This toy was a bit of a special treat as it's quite expensive. Our bunny really loved it, so much so we had to put it away and bring it out when we could supervise him around it as he would have tried to eat in in one go. It did make quite a bit of mess when it finally fell apart so was a bit of a waste at the end.
Overall
A fun toy for your bunny to play in and chew. They can be expensive and if you bunny really like chewing it, don't expect it to last very long.Key features
- If you bunny really like it they can demolish one of these in no time
- They can get messy when they start to fall apart
Whats the best chew toy for my bunny?
- Willow balls
- Willow bridge
- Grassy mat
- Toilet roll tubes
- Willow sticks
- Cardboard castle
- Cardboard chew tube
- Grassy house
- Hanging treat kebab
- Twig tunnel