As some of you know, Wick is unusual in that he doesn’t chew on anything. Because of that, he has no toys, so now that I’ve found a nice way to engage him, I thought I’d share! Wick-approved is quite the emblem, haha.
Supplies:
1) Toilet paper tube (bare)
2) Scissors
3) Pellets or treats
Directions:
1) Cut the toilet paper tube into rings, keeping the rings whole. Try and make them the same size, but make one or two slightly wider. You’ll want at least 5 rings that are a little over 1cm wide, or a little less than 1/2 inch wide (depending on your unit preference).
2) Begin ball assembly. Hold one ring and stick another one through it so from a top view, it’s an X. Repeat this and create a top view of an asterisk * . I’ve found five is the minimum to hold structure.
3) Shift rings slightly to make a hole for putting in food. Insert treat or pellets into the ball and adjust the rings so they’re closed again. For pellets, you’ll need more rings and potentially wide rings in the mix to hold them in.
4) Present to rabbit!
What’s great about this is you can adjust difficulty. The more rings, the more difficult, because your rabbit needs to learn how to pull the rings off or destroy the ball more effectively. I thought Wick would need to stay at the lowest difficulty (5 rings) because he’d just push the ball around with his nose, like a bloodhound sniffing a scent trail. Now, I put can together 6-8 rings, plus put a wider ring around the entire thing so he works a bit harder. He’s not really playing, more just trying to get food, but it’s great stimulation for him!
Here’s Wick with a pellet-filled ball. His techniques are pawing the ball, tossing it, and pushing it: http://www.instagram.com/p/BbkzkgClko_/
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.
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