Are you looking for a new chew toy to stop your rabbit getting bored?
To help you choose we have reviewed the most popular types of Willow chew balls, Grassy mats and Cardboard castles to show 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 chewing behavior as well as the benefits to teeth and tummies 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 chew toy for your rabbit.
Bunnies love chewing on things especially they can toss them about and twiggy or woven balls are perfect for this.
They come in a variety of materials including Willow, Wicker, Rattan and Grassy woven types, all of which will not only make a tasty fibrous treat which is good for your rabbit tummy but will also help wear down your rabbit teeth which grow constantly throughout their lives.
You will often find Chew balls in packs which include a variety of shapes and materials which are good value for money and can be swapped out to stop your rabbit getting bored and overlooking them.
They also come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, often the more detailed they are the more expensive they are however, intricate shapes don't really seem to matter to bunnies that much so you may as well go for good value and get a multi pack of simple toys.
Make sure you choose ones that are made from all-natural material and avoid home decoration products as they may look the same but can be treated with varnishes or fire-retardant chemicals that can be bad for your bunnies tummy.
Our bunny loves the chunky willow ball, we have a hard floor, so he likes the noise it makes as he bats it about.
We also discovered we prefer the twiggy variety as opposed to the grassy types 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 while 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 a single go is left unattended.
Chewing toys work as a great alternative to help distract your rabbit from destroying other things in your home.
Rabbits need a constant diet of fibrous material to help their digestion and tough materials also help wear down their teeth
By leaving these toys out where you find damage occurring, typically around furniture legs, wallpaper, baseboards, and carpet, you can provide them with the roughage they need and help avoid costly repairs.
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.
Grass mats combine two of a rabbit's favorite things to do, sitting about and eating which is why this simple toy is such a favorite.
They can be made from a variety of edible materials such as sea grass or reed grass that is woven together to make a sheet big enough for your bunny to sit on.
They often come in multi packs of 5 or so mats so you can use them individually as a toy or as a lot of bunny moms have discovered you can also place a few of them side by side to make an extra comfortable bedding surface. They are cheap enough to be replaced when needed.
Be prepared to put up with quite a bit of mess though. They can spread bits of grass about and when they start to fall apart you may end up having to take them away as this can get very messy.
We did not know if our bunnies would like these at first, but they are extremely popular, so we tried them out, and they took to it right away.
It satisfied his urge to tug and chew the floor which is good because this helped distract him from chewing on our carpet, which was a bad habit he had developed.
We had to keep this toy in our rabbit's 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 which helped contain the mess.
For a simple toy these really do offer terrific value and are a permanent part of our setup.
It is important for your rabbit's health and happiness that they get lots of things to chew.
They need a constant supply of fiber to help their digestion and grind down their teeth that can grow a few inches each year.
Many of the things around your home such as your base boards, carpet and wallpaper can substitute for the grass and woody material rabbit would naturally seek out.
This is why it's important to provide your bunny with lots of interesting things to chew before they end up being on the menu.
This wooden adventure toy is very versatile and can be used as a hideout, a chew toy and can also be very handy for bunny proofing around the home.
They are made from a series of thick wooden sticks that are joined together and can be bent into a variety of shapes of your choosing.
You can create an arch with them which can make a great hideout toy for your rabbit to play in. You can also, as the name suggests, use them to make a bridge. However, it is quite flexible so a larger rabbit may bend it out of shape.
They have a soft wooden bark that can be chewed, and your bunny will enjoy picking this out between the logs. Underneath the bark there is some tough wood that makes this toy resilient enough to be left out as a permanent shelter.
They come in a variety of sizes, but you will need a larger one if you want to turn it into a hideout.
We recommend choosing a natural looking Willow bridge with a bark as opposed to the more colorful stained varieties.
We have a few of these as we have found many uses for them as a toy and to help bunny proof our home. We found a clever 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 rear end inside it for a snooze.
We have also found we can use them as a foraging toy by scattering some treats over it as these would fall into the ridges. Our bunnies enjoyed fishing the treats out and it made them last a lot longer.
Sometimes bunny proofing parts of your home can simply mean protecting them from chewing damage and this toy is ideal for this. It's heavy enough to not get moved out of the way and flexible enough to fit it up against areas that need covering over.
You can wrap it around table and chair legs or lean it against baseboards to keep them out of reach. You can bend it around the corners of furniture to protect the soft wooden or material edges or lay it on carpet to stop it being tugged up.
It is tough enough to leave out all the time and can be packed away if you do not want the mess. Keeping a few of these handy can be ideal to make bunny proofing easy and avoid expletive repairs.
Grass chew toys are a favorite for rabbit's and this one is big enough for your rabbit to sit inside.
Grass hideouts are made into a box shape so are a lot more stable than grassy tunnels a box.
They are made from natural edible grass such as Sea grass and come with an entrance up one end. These entrances are a bit small for a larger rabbit, but do not worry, part of the fun will be customizing the entrance, then the floor, then the walls till they are demolished.
They tend to be on the small side as they are also for gerbils and other small critter so make sure you check the measurements and get one that's suitable for your bunnies breed like a Large grassy hideout house
We found our bunny was not that interested in going inside this toy but loved it as a giant chew toy.
We prefer to use a large cardboard box as a hide which can have an entrance and an escape hole that is big enough for our rabbit to lay out and turn around in. That said it did become a go to toy and a feature our rabbit would lay next to.
Like most grassy toys it generated some mess that spread about and once it started to break down it fall apart pretty quickly.
This toy combines chewing and exploring sheltered spaces which make it ideal if you are struggling to keep your bunny out from under your couch or from under your bed.
In fact, it's often sensible to block off these spaces which can make your rabbit environment a little boring so by satisfying there natural need to explore and seek out new sources of food with a toy like this you can make sure they stay healthy, happy, and out of harm's way.
It's important to your rabbit's health and wellbeing to have lots of soft fibrous material to chew on. This can also help distract them from chewing your base boards, carpet, and wallpaper.
There are many different types of willow or apple wood sticks available that you can buy from pet stores that your rabbit will enjoy munching or tossing about.
Starting by chewing the soft bark and eventually eating the soft wood inside.
They come in packs with multiple sticks inside or bundled in packs with a variety of other chew toys.
We recommend trying to find ones that are fresh looking, typically produced by a company that sells products with organic credentials as old sticks that have been stored for a long time will have dried out and lost some of their flavor.
Our bunny did slowly work their way through these sticks, mostly chewing the soft material on the outside. They prefer the thinner sort however they mostly discarded them after a time, and they ended up lying about.
We found we could make them a bit more appealing by pushing them through the sides of a toilet roll tube. This made them a fun toy and helped keep them together off the floor where they tended to pick up dust.
If your rabbit has a habit of chewing the soft wooden materials in your home such as your base boards or wooden furniture, then providing them with interesting alternatives can be an effective way to distract them from this destructive behavior.
Although these toys are not the most interesting chew toys, they do come in packs so you can pull a few fresh sticks out each time which will draw your bunnies interest.
Toilet roll tubes make great toss and chew toys and the best thing about them is they are free!
Instead of putting their toilet roll tubes in the trash many rabbit parents have discovered that they can be repurposed as a rabbit toy.
Rabbits are curious creatures who will always be intrigued by something new to nibble or toss about so they can be simply left out for a time when you have a fresh one.
If you build up a collection of them that can also be stacked up or used as skittles which bunnies enjoy.
You can also make them even more fun by filling them with hay which is an easy way of getting your bunny some essential fiber or hanging them with some string which will appeal to your bunnies foraging instincts
Your rabbits will enjoy chewing at the course cardboard which is an easy way for them to wear down their teeth and they are ideal for tossing about.
It's also important to make sure they are clean and have not been stored next to any bathroom cleaners or chemicals that may have contaminated them.
We recommend you watch how much of them they eat. Eating a lot of paper material is not ideal so if you do notice this happening, it's best to only bring it out when you can supervise this.
If you want to buy a load in one go you can always Buy cheap toilet roll tubes online
We never throw an old toilet roll away instead we just chuck them in our bunnies path when the roll is used up. Our bunnies do get a bit bored of them when they start looking tired, however it is no loss to bin them as we have an unlimited supply.
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 is a fun way of keeping his attention when playing with him.
They also make a great filler for our bunnies digging box and our bunnies love digging around in them and making a rustling noise with them
When you keep rabbits in your home many of the things, they would naturally do often become an annoyance.
Rabbits are naturally curious animals and spend much of their time foraging for new things to eat.
Although a tidy and orderly environment is more suited to us it leaves little opportunity for them to explore new things without it causing unwanted damage.
This is why toilet toll tubes are so good as they are free and in unlimited supply. There are lots of things you can do with them and it's no problem to put them in the trash the moment the novelty wears off.
Rabbit's love to forage for food and reach up to try to find new things to eat, that is why chew toys that dangle down which you can hang treats and veggies on are a source of endless fun.
A hanging treat toys is an easy way of feeding your rabbit some of the additional food that supplements their diet such as fruit and treats. They help keep the food in one place and off the floor.
They are typically made from a metal skewer that you can push a range of yummy things onto and a clip to attach it with. If your rabbit likes making noise, then you can also get them with a bell on the end to make them even more fun.
You can also find a single use option that is threaded on a piece of string and often comes with bits of apple wood and treats.
Be careful to check if the toy is a Hanging treat toy for rabbits and not for parrots which look similar but are not suitable.
One of our rabbits likes making noise to get attention so we purchased one with a bell on and hung 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 and became a bit of a game in the end.
Placing food above your rabbit's litter tray can be an easy way of encouraging them to maintain good litter traying habits.
If you do find the mess spreading outside the litter tray or worse your rabbit starts peeing and pooping on your carpet, couch, or bed then this toy will help bring their litter training back in line.
These attractive hideouts are not only great fun for your bunny to play in, and the soft twigs are also good for chewing so this toy is guaranteed to be a favorite.
They come in various materials like wicker and willow, and you can get a full tube or a half tube shape. We recommend the half tube as it will be a lot more stable as rabbits tend to crash around these toys.
We also recommend getting the largest size you can as this will be more comfortable if your bunny wants to use it as a shelter.
Make sure you buy a Twig tunnel made specifically for bunnies or other small animals, not a home decoration which often comes treated with varnish or flame-resistant chemicals.
This toy was a bit of a special treat as it's quite expensive. Our bunnies really loved it, so much so we had to put it away and bring it out when we could supervise them around it as they would have tried to eat in in one go if they could.
It did make quite a bit of a mess when it finally fell apart so it was a bit of a waste in the end.
Chewing toys can help provide an alternative to the fiber your rabbit may be seeking out in your home by chewing your furniture, baseboards, and wallpaper.
This toy is ideal as it not only provides an acceptable alternative source of fiber that they will enjoy munching it will also give them a shelter to relax in or around which can help satisfy their instinctive need to tailor their environment by chewing.
We know how important it is to your pet rabbit's health and happiness to have lots of toys to chew on. They can stop your bunny getting bored, they can act as a distraction from unwanted behavior such as chewing carpet, baseboards and wallpaper and wooden furniture and they can be a source of fiber that can be good for your rabbits tummies and help wear down their teeth.
We created this review because we understand how hard it can be to get this choice right. Every rabbit is different and there is a wide range of chew toys available that all have their merits.
Simple wooden blocks can be great as they last a long time however, your rabbit may lose interest very quickly. Grassy mats on the other hand can be lots of short-lived fun but can leave you with a scene of destruction.
We hope by looking more closely at the good and bad points of each type of toy and by understanding the way it will affect your rabbit's behavior you will be able to make the best choice for you and your rabbit.
Chew toys have many benefits to your rabbits health and this is at the center of our reviews. We consider how good they will be in providing Fiber to help your bunnies 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 would not promote a product for any reason other than we feel it is a suitable choice based on our own experience and the experience of the members of our bunny proofing Facebook group.
It is important to provide your rabbits with lots of safe and acceptable chewing toys to satisfy their constant need to chew. Woven willow balls, cardboard castles and grassy mats will keep your rabbit healthy and happy and can help stop them chewing your baseboards, carpet, and wallpaper.
Rabbits are constantly looking for roughage to eat. Woven willow balls and grassy mats are great for providing digestive fiber and can help stop your rabbit eating your carpet, baseboards, and wallpaper. Cardboard castles and twig tunnels will satisfy their need to customize their surroundings.
Rabbits are natural foragers and are always on the lookout for something new and interesting to eat. It is important to provide your rabbit with lots of new and interesting chew toys such as woven willow balls, cardboard castles, and grassy mats to keep them occupied when you are away.
You should not give cat toys to your rabbit. They can often contain glue or catnip and synthetic materials such as cloth or string which could make your rabbit unwell if they eat it. Only give your rabbit toys designed specifically for rabbits.
You should not give dog toys to your rabbit. They can often contain synthetic materials such as rubber, cloth or string which could make your rabbit unwell if they eat it. Only give your rabbit toys designed specifically for rabbits.
You should not give baby teether to your rabbit. They can often contain synthetic materials such as rubber, cloth or string which could make your rabbit unwell if they eat it. Only give your rabbit toys designed specifically for rabbits.
It is important to provide your rabbits with lots of safe and acceptable things to chew on or your baseboards, carpet and wallpaper could end up on the menu. Chew toys made from willow, rattan, carboard, apple wood, sea grass all make great chew toys.
Rabbits are always on the lookout for something new to eat. It is important to provide your rabbits with lots of new safe and acceptable chew toys or your baseboards, carpet and wallpaper could end up on the menu. Make sure you swap them out constantly to keep your rabbit interested.
Chew toys designed for rabbits are safe for your rabbit to eat in small amounts. It's important to monitor how much they eat, especially papery materials as these can cause a blockage if your rabbit eats too much.