Bunny Basics: Playing Around All too often, visitors to our shelter are amazed to see the rabbits busy at play: running through cardboard tunnels, climbing in or out of boxes, or chewing on wicker baskets. Project-lovers at heart, the rabbits are alert and active. "I thought rabbits were boring," some visitor always exclaims. Sadly, too many rabbits are relegated to boring existences in empty cages, but it doesn't have to be that way. Rabbits love mental challenges and by providing your rabbit with a few simple toys, you will be enriching his life. You will also be decreasing any negative destructive behavior that occurs when a rabbit is bored, such as chewing the phone cords or ripping up the edge of the wall-to-wall carpet. Most rabbits like both chew toys and toss toys. Providing a few toys doesn't require a big effort or financial outlay. A simple toy is the cardboard roll from the middle of a paper towel roll. You can stuff hay into it to add an extra incentive for Bunny. Also rabbits like to play architect: Take a cardboard box and cut two doors and at least one window in the box (rabbits like to feel that they have several avenues of escape). Your rabbit will take over the redecorating from there. An old phone book, opened on its back, often proves irresistible to rabbits, who turn into furry shredding machines at the sight of one. Heavy cardboard tunnels—the kind used for molding poured concrete—provide excellent tunnels for rabbits. And all kinds of wicker baskets are very popular—just be sure that the basket has no paint or varnish on it. Seagrass place mats are good chewing material, too. Craft stores and import stores are good sources for both items. And never forget that rabbits love any item that helps them make noise. Hard plastic baby keys (make sure the plastic is very hard) are good for rattling; hard plastic baby stacking cups are popular items for tossing. Wire balls with bells safely tucked inside (a popular cat toy) are big hits, too. Another possibility is a plastic Slinky toy—some rabbits love attacking them! Several internet sources offer a wide variety of bunny toys. Busy Bunny, a company whose slogan is "A busy bunny is a happy bunny," specializes in wicker baskets stuffed with hay. Their wicker tunnel is a hit at my house with my rabbits. Bunny Bytes has many unusual rabbit toys, including a play remote control (anyone whose rabbit has chewed off the remote buttons will understand why) and a Bunny Latte, a large wicker coffee cup filled with timothy hay. Bunny Bytes also offers a wide selection of hard acrylic toys with noisy bells. And Bunny Luv has a wonderful 3-story cardboard castle with multiple doors and windows. My rabbits love to race to the top and chew off the decorative edge—it's too frilly for them. --Marcia Coburn This article first appeared in Chicagoland Tails.