A bored rabbit chews skirting boards, digs carpets, and gets destructive. This guide gives you cheap, safe, homemade enrichment — foraging toys, dig boxes, and chew objects — you can build from household items in minutes to redirect that energy and keep your rabbit busy and happy.
Most destructive rabbit behaviour is boredom looking for an outlet. Give that instinct a legal target: foraging toys that make them work for food, dig boxes for burrowing, and safe chew items. You can build almost all of it from cardboard, paper, and untreated wood for next to nothing. Rotate the toys so they stay novel.
A bored rabbit chews skirting boards, digs carpets, and gets destructive.
Rabbits are built to forage, dig, and chew for many hours a day. In a bare room, your skirting boards and cables become the only interesting things to gnaw. Enrichment does not just entertain — it redirects hardwired behaviours onto objects you are happy for them to destroy, which protects your home and your rabbit's teeth and gut.
The easiest win is making your rabbit work for food. Stuff a toilet-roll tube with hay and a few pellets and fold the ends. Scatter their daily pellets across a snuffle mat or into a hay pile instead of a bowl. Hide small forage portions around the room so exploring is rewarded. This slows eating, adds mental work, and turns one meal into an hour of activity.
A hay-stuffed cardboard tube turns feeding into foraging and takes two minutes to make.
Digging is a deep instinct, especially in does. Fill a sturdy cardboard box or shallow storage tub with shredded paper, plain hay, or a piece of untreated seagrass mat, and let your rabbit burrow. A dig box gives that urge a target so your carpet corners and sofa survive. Refresh the contents when they get flat or soiled.
A dig box satisfies the natural urge to burrow and protects your carpet and furniture.
Offer a rotating supply of safe things to gnaw: plain cardboard, untreated apple or willow sticks, seagrass mats, and wicker balls. A cardboard castle or stack of boxes with doorways cut in gives both chewing and hiding. Chewing is not optional for rabbits — their teeth grow continuously, and gnawing keeps them worn to a healthy length.
You do not need to spend much. Cardboard delivery boxes, toilet-roll tubes, paper bags (handles removed), and untreated willow are all free or cheap. In a small flat, a single dig box, one hanging forage toy, and a rotating cardboard hideout already transform a bored rabbit's day without taking much floor space.
Is cardboard safe for rabbits to eat?
Small amounts of plain, unprinted cardboard passing through are generally fine, but it is a chew toy, not food. Remove tape, staples, and glossy printed sections first.
How much enrichment does a rabbit need daily?
Aim for foraging or chewing options available all day, plus fresh interaction and exercise time out of the pen. Even a few rotated items make a big difference.
My senior rabbit ignores toys — is that normal?
Older rabbits may prefer gentler enrichment. Try low dig boxes, softer forage, and ground-level hides. A sudden total loss of interest, though, warrants a vet check for pain or illness.
Are shop-bought toys better than DIY?
Not necessarily. Homemade cardboard and forage toys are often just as engaging and far cheaper. The key is safe materials and regular rotation, not price.
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for professional veterinary advice. If your pet is unwell, please consult a veterinarian.
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