Cuddly toy for anxious bunny?

[BigJ111]

Hi. I’m looking into getting some kind of cuddly plush toy for our bunny. He had a Gi stasis episode last summer and has a been traumatised I think by his night spent at the clinic without us, and since he has developed some kind of separation anxiety. I simply wanted to check if anyone has any experience with getting a cuddly toy for their bunny, or any advice on what to look for. I know most people would recommend to get maybe a second bunny, but right now, for all kind of reasons, it’s unfortunately not really an option. Thanks.

[Bam]

I have an IKEA bunny plushie. I think as long as its soft and “furlike” and the materials are ok for children, it doesnt necessarily have to be a bunny plushy. One of our members had a plushy cow that her bun loved. Another member’s bun had a plushy orca.

[DanaNM]

“Stuffies” can be great for bunnies to snuggle with. 🙂 You just want to monitor to make sure they don’t chew on it and start eating it. I found a bunny stuffy that was sold as a dog toy for my bunny that was widowed. She wasn’t too into it but if I made it “groom” her she would groom it back.  Dog toys usually are safe because they don’t have buttons or things that will fall off easily.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

Here’s a picture of my bun’s plushie bunny (not good quality pic, but you’ll get the idea). It has embroidered eyes and nose/mouth. My bun has gnawed a little around the ears, but gnawing is allowed, its of course actually eating fabric and/or stuffing that can’t be allowed.

It’s a really good idea to groom your bun’s head with the plushie’s head. In the bunny universe, a bun shows submission by grooming the other bun. The other bun might put its chin on the ground and accept the grooming.

 

[BigJ111]

It’s hard to tell on the picture, but is the plushie roughly the same size than your bunny? I read that they may want to carry the plushie around, so can’t be too big, but at the same time our bunny loves leaning against something, so it can’t be too small either.

[Bam]

The plushy is slightly smaller than my bun, but not by much. It’s not heavy at all though, so she can easily toss it around. If your bun like leaning towards sth, I’d choose a somewhat bigger companion plushie.

 

 

[BZOO]

What about one of the puppy snugglies that has a heartbeat?

[BigJ111]

Yes, thanks, haven’t thought of that. Gonna look into it too.

[Cinnimon&Ollie]

There is also a hop and flop or snuggle bed. There on Etsy and 101rabbits.com but they help a lot with bunny separation anxiety.

[BigJ111]

Thanks a lot, I’m gonna check that too. I actually didn’t know at all about hop and flop somehow.

[Bam]

I sewed a cuddle/flop bed for my bun when she was younger:

It was very easy to sew, but it’s of course easier to buy one, esp if you dont have a sewing machine.

[BigJ111]

That looks awesome. What did you use as filling? is it easily washable?

[Bam]

I slaughtered and old pillow 😃 It’s easy to machine wash and tumble dry.

[Author]

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