Snuffle mat for bun

[Bam]

The BB forums will be down for 3 weeks due to a big update, starting Friday 5 April, and that means we’ll all have lots of free time on our hands 

This spare time should of course be spent doing bunny-related stuff, and I myself will use some of it to make a big snuffle mat for my bun Vilde. In case you want to do sth like this too, I have made a tiny tutorial on how to make a snuffle mat, although I know there are plenty of YT videos on much the same topic. It should be used under supervision in case your bun is a chewer, and it should be taken away when it’s not being used, because that helps keep any toy fun. 

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Swedish Rabbit Welfare Society’s annual event, where we, among many other things, were taught how to make snuffle mats for our buns. The idea behind it is to combine foraging and prolonged eating time for our house rabbits. Studies have shown that wild rabbits spend about 50% of their day foraging and eating, where as a house rabbit “only” spends 25% of their day eating, and in many cases, we  humans have relieved – or deprived – them of having to forage for their food. 

Here is a picture of my bunny Vilde and the snuffle mat I made for him. It’s “loaded” with pieces of pellets, small probiotics pellets, sometimes I add in a few small pieces of carrot or beet root. I’ve served him his breakfast hidden in this mat every day since I got it.

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So, this is what you’ll need: 

1. A rubber mat with holes in it. I bought mine at Dollar store for about 6 Euros (6 dollars approx). This is a rather big mat, it’s 45 x 75 cm or 18 x 30 inches.

2. Fleece blankets. Vilde’s small mat required 1 fleece blanket, Since this mat will be 4 times bigger, I will probably need 4 fleece blankets. Luckily I have many old fleece blankets with chew holes in them, so I only bought  one new one.

3. Scissors

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You start by cutting the fleece into strips. I’ve found 5 cm (2 inches) wide and 25 cm (10 inches) is a good size. You want the strips of fleece to be rather wide so they “fill up” the holes in the mat, or the pellets could fall through and be impossible for the bun to reach. You want the strips to be reasonably long, because if you make them too short, they’re really annoying to work with.

Fold the blanket so you only have to cut a short distance. I folded my blankets once over and then in three to get the strips the right lenght, but that of course depends on how big your blankets are. 

 

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And now the fun begins! 

I decided to fold my strips once over, insert them into the holes and thread the endings into the loop the strip forms. You can make normal knots if you prefer, of course, but loops take up more space = makes the mat more compact.

All four sides of the big holes should eventually have a fleece strips tied around them. The backside of the finished product will then look like it does at the top of this pic:

My mat also has small holes between the rows of big holes. I plan to tie fleece strips in those holes too, to make the mat as dense as possible. That will perhaps make it look less pretty on the backside, but I’m pretty sure the bun won’t mind 

[Q8bunny]

So tempted… but only if I find a suitable hard plastic mat, because Chewie loves to sink his wee pointy teeth into anything rubbery lol

[Bunny House]

Such a good idea! Will definitely make some toys during this downtime

[Asriel and Bombur]

It almost reminds me of cross stitch or latch hook. I used to be big into that stuff as a kid!

[Dface]

I am so about making this (for my buns and the pups back home!!)

I imagine mine will unfortunately want to chew it, but irs worth a try! (under close supervision obviously)

[jerseygirl]

@A&B, it reminds me of latch hook too.

I’m just imagining everyone coming back on after the BB break, sharing their 6 x 8 ft snuffle mats or some other large scale effort.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Jersey: so glad someone else knows what latch hook is! I thought it might have been some weird 90’s kid thing xD

Planning on making the new apartment, Casa De Bunny in the mean time. We’re getting a couple of cat towers and more tunnels. John’s thinking of trying to connect them all and make a maze.

[Bam]

The snuffle mat is finished! 

It was a lot faster to make than I’d have thought. 

More pics on my instagram @vilde_and_effi

[Q8bunny]

A&B You won’t see your two for hours if you make that maze

[Author]

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