Rabbits are very intelligent and social animals. They love interacting with others, digging, and exploring. Also, engaging your rabbit with activities and other exercises is essential to keep them healthy and happy.
You may use many tactics to amuse your rabbit, whether you’re a new owner or can’t get your present pet to play. So the question is, how to play with your rabbit? Why is it essential? And what are the other things to consider? So, let’s find out all your answers in this article.
Rabbits enjoy playing games like tug of war or blanket escape to entertain themselves and get treats as a reward. However, providing a safe space and understanding their personality and body language is essential. Consider providing play sessions at most ten to twenty minutes, depending on the game.
This article will briefly discuss how to play with your rabbit, things to know before you play with your rabbit, and how often you should play with your rabbit. So, let’s get into it.
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Playing with my rabbit.
Rabbits are often lively and impulsive, as they can be very playful and spontaneous pets.
However, all we need to do to play with your rabbit is focus on its instincts.
Rabbits enjoy digging, affection, chewing, and exploring as they are naturally curious.
If you wish to play with your rabbit, you must interact with it during the hours when it is most active.
Naturally, the best time for rabbits to be most active is dawn and dust, but as we all know, each rabbit is unique and has its routine.
In addition, a lot of rabbits’ timetables are mainly based on when they eat and when their inner self is awake.
Similarly, another thing to consider while playing with your rabbit is enough area.
If you want to play with the rabbit or make your rabbit happy, enough space is essential.
In addition, if your rabbit is kept inside a tiny cage or outside in a small hutch, there is no chance you will be able to carry out any of these tasks.
Keeping your rabbit in a small cage for a long time can be cruel and causes health issues like obesity or weight gain as they require enough space for exercise and play for their healthy life span.
Why playing with your rabbit is essential?
Rabbits are very active and social animals. In addition, they require socialization and exercise for their physical and mental health.
In addition, they can get quickly bored if they are not interacting with others, which may cause depression and other health issues.
Rabbits require a ton of stimulation to keep them healthy and prevent health issues like weight gain or fat.
It’s a terrific idea to play games with your rabbit to keep them entertained, get them moving, and help you learn more about their behavior.
The best time to play with your rabbit is in the morning and evening because they are most active this time.
However, knowing that every rabbit has a different personality is vital.
In addition, if you have more than one rabbit in your house, you may need to assume each personality and play one-by-one or one-to-one playtime accordingly.
Similarly, dental health is also essential, as rabbits’ teeth continuously grow, requiring constant chewing to prevent overgrown teeth.
So, letting your rabbit exercise by playing with them is essential to keep them healthy and happy.
To entertain your rabbit, you can provide treats, toys, and chews, which are perfect for your rabbit.
Things to know before you play with your rabbit
Understanding your rabbit and its instincts is essential before playing or getting into activities with it.
In addition, every rabbit has a different personality and mannerisms than other pets like cats or dogs.
Rabbits love to play with their human companions as they are social creatures, but you need to ensure that you are not forcing them to play.
In addition, respecting your rabbit’s boundaries and privacy is vital.
Similarly, keeping in mind that not all rabbits will enjoy every type of play is crucial.
To determine which activities your rabbit enjoys most, try exploring a few different games and modes of communication.
So, here are some essential things to consider, and take some time to evaluate your pet and your home before you jump in and start playing with your rabbit:
Safe play space:
It is essential to provide a safe space for your rabbit during playtime to avoid accidents and danger.
In addition, even when you are not available to watch them, rabbits require a lot of space to move around, hop, or run freely.
Playing games on your rabbit’s level, where they have their territories and feel more secure, is best.
The most suitable place is on the floor since it eliminates any risk of falling.
In addition, select a location with enough space for the game or games of choice for rabbits.
However, if you have another pet in your house, you should avoid their access to your rabbit’s space to avoid direct contact, as this could cause risk factors.
You can provide a playpen or bunny-proof room to give your rabbit free access to play safely.
Electrical wires should be safely covered or removed, and other pets should not be allowed during playtime to provide a safe environment for your rabbit.
In addition, you should remove the floor hazards like toxic plants or misplaced medications and block off any gaps where a rabbit could be stuck.
Also read: How To Rabbit Proof A Room?
Pay attention to your rabbit:
Every rabbit has different personalities and behaviors. They can be quiet, curious, timid, or wild.
It is essential to observe or know your rabbit before playing with them.
In addition, it’s easier to choose activities you and your rabbit companion can enjoy together when you know their preferences.
Never push a noisy game on a reserved rabbit or a slow, reflective game on an irritable rabbit.
Always pay attention to how your rabbit responds to a situation.
Don’t do something if your pet doesn’t enjoy it, as games should be enjoyable for all players.
Also, rabbits can communicate with others through their body language and vocalizations.
Observing their reactions and signs is vital to ensure they are not uncomfortable and scared with the game.
So, here are some body language signs of a rabbit:
- Thumping: If your rabbit is thumping its hind legs, you may need to stop the game because it indicates that they are scared.
- Alert body posture: If your rabbit’s ears are rigid and straight up, facing forward and ready to run, this shows signs of fear or anxiety.
- Binkying and zooming: This shows a sign of a happy rabbit when they run, jumps, or hops in circles around the room and twists in the air.
- Running to hide somewhere: In contrast to a joyful speed around the room, the rabbit will either run away or adopt a fearful, alert body position.
- Confident: When your rabbit is confident, it has a comfortable body posture and upright but relaxed ears.
- Curious: A rabbit expressing curiosity is moving forward to sniff the area. Although the rabbit will have its tail down and ears onward, it is not trembling or fleeing danger.
Be a rabbit:Â
To know your rabbit effectively, you may need to be like the rabbit by looking at the world from their point of view to ensure what they like or dislike about the specific game.
Because they are prey animals, rabbits have the instinct to run, freeze, or fight when they feel threatened.
Avoid trying a game that would stress their body because they have a long back and four legs.
Also, you must ensure that if you roll a ball to your rabbit, stay close to them because they have nearsightedness.
Similarly, rabbits react strongly to noise, so it is essential not to try games with loud noises, as loud noises or sudden movements can scare off your rabbit.
In addition, being a rabbit is the only way to keep them safe and know their preferences and dislikes.
Get a routine:
Always introduce yourself and establish a schedule for feeding, playing, and reorganizing your rabbit’s habitat.
Try to play frequently with your rabbit to interact daily and build a trusty bond.
Try to perform playing sessions roughly simultaneously every day or in the same setting.
Rabbits are brilliant animals; you can tell them when it’s playtime and when it is ending time, as they can quickly learn about your actions and tones.
Say the same sentence each time you want to play with your rabbit to let them know it’s playtime.
However, your bunny may decide it’s time to play by tossing a ball or toys towards you to seek your attention, which means they want to play with you.
How to play with my rabbit?
Rabbits are social and intelligent animals. They are active, curious, and love to play with others and their owners.
Several tactics you may perform to entertain your rabbit, whether you’re a new owner or just having trouble getting your present pet to play.
So, here are some ways to play or engage with your rabbit:
1) Lay on the floor:
You can lie down on the floor with your rabbit to keep them comfortable and safe during playtime.
Laying on the floor is an act to get down on your rabbit’s level so that they don’t see you as a giant.
Since they are prey animals, rabbits are often frightened by large, frightening objects that tower above them.
The rabbit may start hopping straight up to you and spending time with you if you descend to their level and hang out there.
Give the rabbit a chance to interact with you physically or sit on your lap.
While some rabbits are affectionate and eventually develop into sitting on the lap, most enjoy their freedom when playing.
2) Feed them:
Given that rabbits love to graze, scatter feeding is an excellent stimulator.
Even though they are not hunters, they enjoy searching for food and a challenge.
Additionally, because pellets are made up of tiny little crumps, they are excellent for encouraging the rabbit’s hunting instinct.
You could also use pellets or herbal mixes and distribute them on the ground or into their hay.
Also, instead of giving food in your rabbit’s bowl, you can hand-feed them to build a bond.
You can convert feeding your rabbit by hand into a trick-building exercise, but if you do, they’ll spend a lot more time with you and begin associating you with their favorite activity—mealtime.
Also read: Do Rabbits Need Pellets?
3) Provide treats:
When playing, rabbits may be anxious, resulting in aggressive actions. Try getting your rabbit out of the cage with treats to keep them happy.
In addition, you may reward rabbits for their interest in various games and activities by giving them treats.
However, it would help if you avoid giving your rabbit treats in large amounts since this might cause stomach issues.
Also, numerous rabbit snacks sold in pet stores are heavy in calories and bad for a rabbit’s long-term health.
Instead, choose nutritious snacks like raisins, diced apples, pineapple, strawberries, celery, and plain shredded wheat.
In addition, to play a variety of activities without worrying that your rabbit would overindulge in sweet food, cut their treats into little, bite-sized pieces.
Also read: Can Rabbits Eat Pineapples?
4) Tricks:
You may strengthen your relationship with your rabbit and encourage play by teaching it tricks.
Additionally, it provides mental stimulation to prevent boredom in your curious rabbit.
You can grab a treat and repeatedly practice conditioning them until they get it properly.
Rabbits can be taught to remember their names, spin, and high-five, and doing so will be immensely stimulating because they are brilliant animals.
In addition, you can train your rabbit to perform easy tricks like spinning in a circle or climbing up into your lap.
You can also teach your rabbit to complete challenging agility courses so they may race through tunnels and jump over obstacles at will.
Also read: How To Train a Rabbit?
5) Reverse fetch:
Although it is not in a rabbit’s nature to go hunting by grabbing anything and bringing it back to you, they enjoy picking up and tossing stuff around with their teeth.
In addition, they will like picking up and throwing a ball with tooth grips if you give it to them.
Making your rabbit fetch the toy back for you might make this behavior into a game.
Rabbits enjoy many objects, including toilet paper tubes, stacking cups, plastic bottle caps, little wooden blocks, and many other toys.
When you give one of these toys to your rabbit, it will throw it away before being placed back in front of your rabbit.
6) Blanket escape:
Rabbits love digging or chewing on things, as these are their favorite activities.
They love playing with blankets, but occasionally they need to be reminded of how much they want to play under them.
Put a big towel or a thin blanket on top of the rabbit, as they will have to move the blanket around them to escape.
The rabbit usually instantly turns around and tries to figure out how to go back under the blanket after finding their way out.
In addition, lift the blanket’s edge, re-enter your rabbit, drop it, and continue playing.
However, Some rabbits will become frightened if a blanket is suddenly placed on top of them, so be sure to observe your rabbit’s personality and body language to ensure they are entertained.
7) Blinky with your rabbit:
Binky refers to your rabbit’s expression of happiness, bouncing and twisting in the air while experiencing complete and utter ecstasy.
Babies and young rabbits are more likely to engage in this behavior; as a result, they frequently perform binkies and zoomies.
However, if you have a middle-aged or elderly rabbit, you won’t do this very often.
Still, if you have a younger rabbit and want to help induce some binkies, they might be influenced if they witness you or another bunny performing them.
8) Tug of war:
You may play a straightforward game of tug of war with your rabbit if it enjoys chewing, such as cardboard.
Rabbits love to dig and chew on things; providing them a piece of cardboard or any other safe chewable, and they will pretend to take it away, grab and pull.
However, exercise caution when engaging in a game of tug-of-war with your rabbit.
In addition, you need to be gentle with your rabbit and not pull so firmly that you break your rabbit’s teeth.
Instead, it’s better to hold onto the cardboard piece and slowly tug on it.
In addition, you can pick it up again if your bunny manages to escape with the cardboard due to your loose grip.
9) Petting your rabbit:
Petting your rabbit makes them happy because they love affection.
Simple things like petting your rabbit as it approaches you can be used to interact and play with them.
In addition, older rabbits are more relaxed when being petted because they are not too active and want to be calm with you.
To do this, wait for your rabbit to nuzzle your hand before petting it briefly when it approaches you.
After some time, pause and wait with your hand down for your rabbit to touch it once more, as they like physical touch.
However, you must be gentle, not pocking or hurting your rabbit.
How often should you play with your rabbit?
Interacting with your rabbit for around an hour every day is best.
In addition, play sessions should typically take at most ten to twenty minutes, depending on the game, because of their demanding nap schedule and requirement for freedom to eat or drink.
The suitable time to play with a rabbit is typically in the morning when it is most active.
The rest of the evening will be perfect for stroking and caressing.
However, younger rabbits may require your full attention because they are more active.
Conclusion:
- Understanding your rabbit and its instincts is essential before playing or getting into activities with it.
- Rabbits enjoy digging, affection, chewing, and exploring as they are naturally curious.
- Rabbits love to play with their human companions as they are social creatures, but you need to ensure that you are not forcing them to play.
- Naturally, the best time for rabbits to be most active is dawn and dust, but as we all know, each rabbit is unique and has its routine.
- Interacting with your rabbit for around an hour every day is best.