We all love our pet bunnies and want to make them happy, but sometimes it’s difficult to understand exactly what kind of love a rabbit needs. That’s why we need to think like a rabbit. What would make a rabbit feel safe or confident? Alternatively, what is likely to scare a small (mostly) defenseless animal? By taking the time to try to understand how our rabbits experience the world, we can learn what it is that makes them happy and we can do something special for them.
Luckily, you don’t have to investigate blindly. I’ve learned a lot over the years from my companion rabbits and the rescue rabbits I work with at the shelter. And I can share with you some of the best tips I have for keeping your house rabbit happy.
Important: This page may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate and an associate to other companies I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.
1. Give your rabbit a massage
Most rabbits really love to be pet. Their favorite places tend to be scritches on their forehead and behind their ears. You can give your rabbit a deeper massage by stroking them down their back and rubbing their cheeks and shoulders.
Young rabbits might not want to settle down for a nice massage, but as they get older rabbits will almost always be happy to sit next to you as you pet them. Some rabbits will even lick you to groom you too. This is a way that rabbits let you know that they love and care about you too!
2. Create a fun play area
Rabbits can have a lot of fun playing in a bunny-sized obstacle course. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. You can easily make a simple rabbit castle for them to play in with cardboard boxes. You could even use cat trees to give your rabbit platforms to hop up on.
Try to create a fun play area by giving your rabbit a variety of tunnels, platforms and caves where they can hide, dig, and chew to their heart’s content. Even if all you can do is get a tunnel from the store and a couple hidey-houses, this can end up creating a really fun place for a rabbit to hang out.
This little cat tree is a really fun habitat item for my rabbit. She loves hopping up on the platforms and using the hiding house at the bottom.
3. Teach your rabbit a quick trick
Believe it or not, training a rabbit to do tricks can actually help them to be more confident and and overall satisfied with life. There are lots of easy tricks you can teach your rabbit, such as giving you kisses and spinning in a circle. Your goal is to help your rabbit develop confidence while they exercise their brain. And confident rabbits are happy rabbits!
4. Give your rabbit the chance to be curious
Like people, rabbits can get bored if everything is the same all the time. Let your rabbit explore a new area of the house, or try making some small changes to the room to give your rabbit a chance to be a curious bunny and explore everything as if it’s new. Curious bunnies are more engaged in their environment. They’ll be more excited to explore and discover the happy new changes.
Some easy ways to encourage curiosity in rabbits include:
- Rearranging the furniture. Even just moving one piece of furniture can make a rabbit’s world drastically different. Every once in a while try moving something around and watch as your rabbit explores the change.
- Introducing new foods. New types of leafy greens or treats can be a great way to encourage curiosity in rabbits. They’ll sniff out the new scent before munching on it to try out the new flavor.
- Giving your rabbit a new toy to check out. A new toy can be a whole lot of fun for rabbits. They’ll sniff it out, chew on it, toss it around. A great way to renew interest in old toys too is to take them away for a couple weeks and then return them as if they were new.
5. Make a comfortable home base
The best way to make your rabbit’s life happier is to give them a comfortable home base. This means that their enclosure should not be a place that your rabbit wants to escape from every day, but instead a safe place where they can relax and play. The enclosure needs to be appropriately sized for your rabbit and you need to make sure to give them mental enrichment activities to keep them occupied.
A rabbit ex-pen is usually the best option for a rabbit home base, since most cages sold for rabbits are too small. It’s also usually a little cheaper than the smaller cages that are marketed towards rabbits. Even if you already purchased a cage for your bunny, you can instantly increase the size of your rabbit’s habitat by attaching one of these ex-pens around the entrance!
6. Give your rabbit a variety of toys
You can also show your rabbit love by giving them lots of toys to chew on and toss around. This keeps rabbits occupied and prevents boredom while also encouraging them to move around and exercise more. The greater variety of toys you can give your rabbit the better. They can choose their favorites and also play with different toys depending on their mood.
Chew toys allow rabbits to use their natural chewing instincts and wear down their ever-growing teeth. These can be wooden chew toys for your rabbit to pull on and dig their teeth into, and they can also include some natural toys. Apple or willow sticks, dried pinecones, loofahs, and woven hay-based toys can be a lot of fun for rabbits.
If you’re unsure what toys to get your rabbit, I recommend the toys from Small Pet Select. You can get a nice variety of safe and healthy toys so that you can figure out which ones are your rabbit’s favorites (and you can get 15% off your first purchase if you use the code BUNNYLADY at checkout).
You can also make your own DIY toys with cardboard toilet paper tubes. These can often be just as much fun for rabbits as toys you’ll get in a pet store, but they are pretty much free to make.
7. Respect your rabbit’s boundaries
Most new caretakers expect rabbits to be cuddly pets, the reality is usually very different. In fact, most bunnies absolutely hate being held. Being held makes rabbits feel trapped and scared. If you really want your rabbit to know how much you love them, it’s important to respect how they feel and avoid holding them too much if they don’t like it.
The happiest rabbits feel confident and in-control of their life. This means that they are not constantly being forced into situations that make them scared and uncomfortable. As caretakers, we need to keep an eye on our rabbits body language and listen to what they are telling us, so that we can respect their boundaries.
8. Give your rabbit lots of attention
Domestic rabbits are descendants of a very social species of rabbits. In the wild they would have lived with a family group living together in underground tunnels. Because of this, rabbits actually have social needs that you need to take into consideration.
This means rabbits should not be treated as cage animals, but instead as companion animals that spend the day interacting with you and your family. They can hang out with you as you work or watch TV in the living room. Many caretakers even take steps to free roam their rabbit so the bunny never has to be kept in an enclosure at all.
9. Give your rabbit a yummy treat
There is nothing that rabbits love more than some yummy treats! While you want to avoid giving your rabbit too many treats since that would be bad for their digestion, this is an excellent excuse to reward them with their favorites sometimes. Treats can immediately give rabbits a reason to zoom around the room and binky up to you for a taste of something yummy.
The best kinds of treats to give rabbits are pieces of fresh fruits and vegetables. Strawberries, carrots, bell pepper, and banana can be great hits with most rabbits, but every bunny has their own preferences. Small Pet Select sells dried fruit treats for rabbits that you can check out to see what your rabbit prefers. My bunny actually likes all of the flavors! (Don’t forget to take 15% off your purchase by using the code BUNNYLADY at checkout)
Try to introduce new foods every once in a while to see what your rabbit likes best. Then you can use it to reward your rabbit for coming to hang out with you, or for having good behavior and chewing on their toys instead of the baseboards.
10. Give your rabbit a digging spot
Give your rabbit a way to use their natural digging instincts in a productive ways. Try putting cardboard down on the floor for your rabbit to dig into or using old fleece or cotton blankets for your rabbit to tunnel under. You can make a cardboard digging mat or make a whole digging box filled with crumpled paper and hidden treats for your rabbit to play with.
11. Introduce your rabbit to a companion
By far the best way to make a rabbit happy is to introduce them to a companion rabbit. They can spend all their time together, groom each other, and make each other very happy. However, this isn’t a step that should be taken lightly.
The problem is that it’s not easy to bond a pair of rabbits. Rabbits can be very territorial and slow to trust other rabbits. It can take many months of slowly introducing rabbits in a neutral space before they are actually a happy couple. While it is great to bring a second (or even third or fourth) bunny home, you also have to make sure you are prepared for a long bonding process.
Tips and Tricks Newsletter
If you are new to caring for rabbits, check out the Bunny Lady bimonthly newsletter. Right after you sign up, you’ll receive a FREE pdf rabbit care guidebook. I put together a guide that goes over all the basics of rabbit care so you have it all in one place. Then you will receive tips and tricks about rabbit care straight to your inbox so that you know you’ll be taking excellent care of your new rabbit.
Recommended Products and Brands
Important: These are Affiliate links. As an associate to Amazon, Small Pet Select, and Chewy.com, I may receive a small commission from qualifying purchases.
The two brands that I use when buying food for my rabbit are Oxbow and Small Pet Select. These both have high quality rabbit products and are companies that care about the health of our small animals. If you are purchasing anything from Small Pet Select use the code BUNNYLADY at checkout to get 15% off your first order.
- Hay: Second Cutting Timothy Hay from Small Pet Select
- Pellets: Oxbow Garden Select Food for Rabbits
- Treats: Oxbow Simple Rewards
- Toys: Small Pet Select Natural Toys
- Enclosure/cage:A rabbit exercise pen
- Rabbit carrier:SleepyPod Mobile Pet Bed
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