When I first got my pet bunny, Miss Cotton Tail, I wasn’t sure exactly how this would work. I read up about how to feed a rabbit and groom them and take care of them, but what else?
Can you play with your rabbit? Cuddle with them? Take them traveling or hiking?
If you are in the same boat as me, or just wondering what other fun things you can do with your rabbit, this guide is for you!
There are many fun activities you can do with your pet rabbit.
If your rabbit is very comfortable with you, you can travel (in your city or country), go hiking, or go camping with your rabbit.
Fun games you can play with your rabbit are reverse fetch, tug o’ war, and the blanket escape.
You can also share a treat with your rabbit and turn this into a game and train your rabbit to run an obstacle course, jump onto your lap, or complete a rabbit agility course.
8 Engaging Ideas: Fun Things You Can Do With Your Pet Rabbit
Bonding with your rabbit is one of the first things you do. These fun, engaging activity ideas will ensure you and your bunny bestie have the best of bonded times.
Here are the best fun things you can do with your bunny:
1. Explore New Places
While a bunny loves the familiarity of routine, you can successfully travel with your rabbit and explore new places, especially if it’s locally.
And you don’t even have to try to think out of the box with this one.
You can just go for a walk in your neighborhood or local park and let your bunny explore.
You get to have fun too since you see your bunny’s curious nature in action and spend time with your bun.
If you are traveling in the car or motor home, remember to get a rabbit carrier and get your bun used to the carrier.
Line the carrier with bedding and hay, and bring along enough water and food for your bunny and your rabbit’s things like toys and a favorite towel or blanket.
2. Go Hiking
Not every rabbit will like to go hiking with you, but there are fur-parents whose bun happily goes with them.
It all depends on the bond you have with your rabbit – that as long as you are there, they know they are loved and taken care of.
When you go hiking, you can leash or harness train your rabbit so they don’t run-off.
Take some rabbit toys, hay, food, and water with you so you can meet your rabbit’s needs.
3. Go Camping
Camping is one of those age-old traditions that people just never seem to get enough of.
Your bun needs to feel safe when they are going camping with you so bring several of your rabbit’s things with you so they can feel safe.
During the day or evening when you camp out by the fire, place your rabbit in a baby playpen with hay and toys.
And when you go for a walk, put a leash or harness on your bunny so they can take a walk with you.
4. Play Reverse Fetch
Bunnies love to pick up and toss objects like a willow ball, small wooden blocks, toilet paper tubes, plastic bottle caps, and other similar toys.
In this game, you are playing reverse fetch, where you fetch the object so your rabbit can toss it again instead of your bunny being the fetcher.
This is a fun, interactive game to play with your rabbit, and you get a bit of exercise too while you fetch!
5. Share a Treat
I love sharing a treat with my bunny, but I know I need to take care that my dwarf bunny doesn’t overindulge because it isn’t good for her to eat so many calories or sweet, yummies.
For example, for my two-pound rabbit, I make sure she only eats two teaspoons of treats a day.
When we share a treat, Miss Cotton Tail gets the whole two teaspoons in one sitting, essentially, so the rest of the day, I just praise her and give her some back rubs as a reward.
I like to share a small apple with my furry pet rabbit.
I take the first bite, and then hold the apple so my bun can take a bite, then holding the apple kinda within her reach, I try to eat as much of it as I can before she steals the apple from me and enjoys it.
Sometimes I like to just chill with Netflix and my bun, and in a small bowl, I’ll either snack on some cucumbers, blueberries, raspberries, carrot pieces, cherries, grapes, or cherry tomatoes and share with Miss Cotton Tail like us humans do when we share popcorn.
6. Play Tug O’ War
You can’t play tug o’ war as roughly with a bunny as you would with a dog or your fellow human friends. With a rabbit, it’s more of a gentle game.
If your rabbit chews and digs on cardboard rolls or sheets, you can pretend to take it away by holding onto the piece of cardboard and giving a few playful tugs as your bunny tries to get the cardboard away from you.
It’s fun to see how tenacious your bun can be to keep a hold of the cardboard.
7. Training
Rabbits are smart, so you can train them to perform a variety of tricks.
Train your rabbit to:
- Come when you call them
- Jump up on your lap
- Give you kisses
- Give you a high five
- Spin in a circle
- Complete an obstacle course
- Use a cat tower
- Jump over hurdles
- Run through a rabbit maze
- Run through tunnels
- Compete in a rabbit agility course
8. Play With a Blanket
It’s fun and cute when your baby or toddler tries to escape from underneath a blanket or sheet. You can have the same fun with your rabbit.
Gently place or throw a large towel, single bedsheet, or lightweight blanket over your rabbit and watch as they figure out how to get out.
Miss Cotton Tail loves this game so much that once she’s figured out how to get out from underneath the blanket or sheet, she immediately tries to get back underneath for another successful try.
I simply lift the sheet or blanket so she can get underneath.
With this game, it’s essential to watch your rabbit’s body language as they can easily get scared.
If your bun doesn’t seem like they are having fun, choose another activity to have fun with them.
Why Should You Do Fun Things With Your Rabbit?
Just like with your family and friends, there are various reasons why you should hang out together with your rabbit.
Here are the specific reasons you should be doing fun, engaging things with your bun.
Fun activities:
- Help you bond with your pet bunny, which fosters love and trust
- Meet a rabbit’s social needs – they have someone to keep them company and spend time with
- Meet a rabbit’s mental needs – these animals are intelligent, and like any other muscle, their brains need a workout too
- Meet a rabbit’s physical needs – rabbits need to exercise to stay healthy, and fun things can include letting your bun work out
Learn Your Rabbit’s Body Language to Know They Are Having Fun
Knowing what your bunny likes to do helps you ensure they are also having fun. That’s what a partnership (even one with your furry bestie) is all about, right?
It’s all about consideration and spending time together that you both enjoy.
To be sure your fluffy-tailed buddy loves the activity, check out their body language. If your rabbit is happy, they will:
- Binky
- Do zoomies
- Be curious: the rabbit will inch forward and sniff, and their ears will be relaxed but forward-facing, and their tail will be down
- Be relaxed: their whole body will be relaxed even if they are upright
If your rabbit isn’t having fun, their body language will indicate this too:
- Tense and alert body language with their ears upright and eyes popping
- Thumping
- Run away
- Make unhappy noises like growling, snorting, hissing, or whining
Tips for Having Fun With Your Rabbit
When planning activities you can do with your rabbit, follow these tips for the best results:
- Meet your bun’s natural habits. A rabbit likes to explore, chew, dig, forage, burrow, hop, and climb, so use these natural abilities and needs to your advantage when choosing fun activities.
- See things from your bun’s perspective. These small mammals are prey animals, so anything new might seem scary to them. It’s vital that you remain calm. Don’t pick your bunny up if you don’t have to and don’t make your rabbit feel trapped or threatened.
- Watch your rabbit’s body language so you are sure they are okay and enjoying the activity.
- When possible, stay on your rabbit’s level so you don’t look big and imposing.
- Don’t force your rabbit to do something, and if they are uncomfortable, stop. Try something else your bunny will be more comfortable with.
- Plan your activity for early morning or evening since this is when your rabbit will be most active.
- Have fun with your rabbit as much as you can and as often as you can – the more you play with them, the more they’ll trust you and be willing to engage in fun activities with you.
- Keep treats with you to reward your rabbit and get them to associate the activity with having a good time. You can also praise your rabbit so you don’t overfeed them with treats.
Final Thoughts on Fun Things You Can Do With Your Rabbit
Spending time with your rabbit is an absolute joy, and there’s so much you can do with your rabbit too.
Remember not to scare your bun, and where possible, play on their level until they fully trust and know you.
Not every rabbit will take to hiking, camping, or traveling, so go slow and choose a different activity if your rabbit ever feels uncomfortable.
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