DIY Hanging Rabbit Toy

Hanging tubes give our curious rabbits the chance to tug and pull on a toy hanging on the side of their enclosure. You can hide treats in the middle of the tubes along with your rabbit’s hay or leafy greens. This kind of toy can be a variety that is great for their mental enrichment, and it can help them eat a healthy diet, by increasing the amount of hay and leafy greens they’re eating.

Tools needed:

• A pen (or similar pointy object)
• 3 or 4 empty toilet paper rolls
• Twine or string
• Hay or leafy greens
• Rabbit treats

Step by step directions:

1. Poke holes in the center of each of the tubes. I use a pen to poke a round hole in the top and bottom of each tube. Try to make sure the holes are lined up on the top and bottom in the center of each toilet paper roll.
2. Tie a big knot at one end of the string and thread it through the first tube. Make sure the knot at the end of the string is big enough that the tube won’t end up sliding off the end. 
3. Tie two more knots in the string above the first tube. Make the first knot above the tube to keep it in place. Then the second knot will be the base of the second tube, so make sure you make the knot big enough that the tube won’t just slide over it.
4. Thread the second tube onto the string and make two knots above it. After you’ve placed the second tube on the string, make the same knots above this one. The first to keep the tube in place, and the second to be the base of the third tube.
5. Repeat with the remaining toilet paper tubes. You can use as many toilet paper tubes as you like. I usually use three or four when I’m making this hanging toy. After you’ve finished adding the cardboard tubes, make sure you have enough excess string on the top to tie the toy to the edge of their cage (or wherever you plan on hanging it).
6. Stuff a handful of hay or leafy greens into each toilet paper roll. This part gets a little messy as the hay gets everywhere. Take some generous handfuls of hay or greens and get them inside the cardboard tubes. This will take a little bit of stuffing, but don’t worry, it doesn’t have to look neat.
7. Hide a treat in the center of each tube. After you’ve managed to get the hay or greens into the cardboard tubes, take small pieces of carrot (or some other treat) push it into the middle of each of the tubes. You want to stuff it in as far as it will go so that your rabbit will have to do a little bit of work to figure out how to get it out.
8. Using the excess string, hang the toy so your rabbit can play with it. Once the toy is complete, you can tie the toy wherever you want for your rabbit to play with it. I usually hang this toy up on the side of my rabbit’s enclosure.