Rabbit doesn’t want to play

[Rachel]

My rabbit doesn’t initiate play with me. I’ve had him for about 10 years, and he’s comfortable around me (doesn’t show signs of stress). However, he never initiates play with me by chasing me, throwing and running after toys, or anything like that. I’ve gotten him to shred paper and knock over stuff, but he never seems very interested in it. He loves to be pretty and constantly expects pets, which leads me to believe that he’s not scared of me. Is there anything I can do to stimulate play time?

[bunnydrop]

10 years！ isn’t he too old to play? i heard that a old pet (applies to cat and dog too) seldom give response to human tricks, and their expression would exhibite kind of a ” how childish, i’ve pass that age” look.

my bunny is 9 month and also shows no interest to play with me, she used to do bunny dunce at her 5th month, but not any more. besides she can’t bear me to hold her longer than 3 seconds, then she would attempt to get back to ground. i wonder if that’s a personal or common character to all rabbits?

[bunzmcfunz]

Hopefully someone with an older bun responds, but I’d agree as rabbits get older they tend to mellow out a lot.

If she’s never really played with you she might be a little set in her ways by now.

Our buns are just under 3 years old, but we encourage play just by keeping them generally stimulated with lots of toys. Sometimes we’ll wave a piece of paper or cardboard in front of one or roll a willow ball with a bell towards her. Other than that they get a lot of outside time and generally do their own thing.

I wouldn’t worry, different buns have different personalities. Yours sounds affectionate and that’s half the battle! Haha

[Waffle65]

My bunny just turned 9, so I know what you mean about being more mellow at this age. Some days all Kiwi wants to do is just chill by himself, and I have to respect his space, but most days I can get him to interact well. I’ve found that Kiwi responds best to toys that make sounds, especially things with bells. He loves throwing noisy balls around and will go back and forth with me. However he also seems to get bored with toys rather quickly. Are you regularly introducing new toys and things to him to try? I find a lot of the rabbit/small animals toys sold in stores are all the same and Kiwi doesn’t have much interest in them. I’ve started purchasing cat toys (nothing with cat nip or anything soft his teeth could get stuck in) and he absolutely loves them. I find cat toys to be more interactive for bother of us, and he seems much more interested in them. I got him a large cat tunnel to hop through and he can’t get enough of it. I’ll sit next to one end of it and he will run back back and forth through it, always stopping to get my attention. He also loves the wands with a toy attached to a string on it. He will chase me around if I have one.

Have you noticed at all that he’s developing any signs of arthritis or joint troubles? At around 8 years old, Kiwi began getting more mellow than usual and not playing quite as much. The vet says they don’t see any arthritis yet, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Since then I’ve been giving him an Oxbow Joint Support supplement everyday, and I’ve noticed a huge difference in his activity level. It took some convincing at first, but Kiwi thinks they are treats now and loves to eat them. Not at all saying he’s sick or anything, but just something to think about if you don’t see him running around much.

[Waffle65]

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