Is there a more rewarding sight than watching a bunny grow, mature, and flourish into a wise, old age? I love senior rabbits—they’re opinionated, affectionate, and often just as inquisitive as younger bunnies. If you’ve shared your life with a senior rabbit before, you know just how special gaining the love of an elder bunny can be; whether you’ve been together for years or rescued each other much more recently.
With age can come decreased mobility, lower stamina, and potential disability, though. How do you keep your bunny’s mind stimulated when their body can’t keep up like it used to? Here are three game activities to play with your senior rabbit made with items you may already have lying around at home.
THE MUFFIN BUN: Get a clean muffin tin with 6 or 12 wells. Put a few pellets or some of your bunny’s favorite treats in the wells, then cover the top of each well with a wad of crumpled up paper. Set the tin on the floor and watch your bunny toss or nose the paper obstacles out of the way to get to the treats.
Wide muffin wells are easier for elder bunnies to maneuver than the smaller trap doors on store-bought logic games, and simple moveable puzzles like the paper balls make for a challenge that’s still achievable with limited mobility or stamina.
MAIL TIME: My rabbits go crazy for the sound of any crinkle. This game combines that instinct with some common household items. To play, simply grab a clean envelope and a plain piece of paper. Fold the paper and place it in the envelope, then pretend to open mail with your bun. They will enjoy nibbling paper corners, tearing the envelope, and stealing the whole piece of mail right out of your hands! I always recommend a new envelope and paper insert for this game to make sure there’s no toxic inks and to keep rabbits safe from the spread of RHDV2.
Bonus: Mail Time can induce adorable old-bun binkies when your rabbit is retreating, and this game usually ends in head rubs once the mischief is out of the way.
SNUFFLE MAT: This is perhaps the cutest game of the bunch. You can either buy a snuffle mat online or make one yourself.
What you’ll need: A large piece of felt for the backing, a needle and thread, and smaller pieces of felt to sew on for hiding treats.
What you’ll do: Sew one side of a felt shape onto the felt backing so it flaps back and forth. Don’t make the shapes too large or cumbersome. It should be something your bunny can flip out of the way with relative ease. Repeat this with as many felt flaps as you would like.
When everything is sewn together, hide treats under the felt flaps and present to your bunny. Your rabbit will look adorable nosing through the flaps of a felt vegetable patch looking for their food. And because the felt is plush, buns with arthritis or gait instability will fall over into something soft if they lose their balance. Most felt is machine washable, too, so don’t sweat incontinence or an accident. Toss the snuffle mat right in the washing machine and play again tomorrow!
While your elder bunny may not be able to hop around with agility or jump on top of their rabbit castle anymore, there are still plenty of activities available to keep you and your senior rabbit happy and engaged for many elder years to come.
Reviewed by HRS staff
Author: Alyssa NedbalPhoto Credit: Alyssa Nedbal
Journal Issue: House Rabbit Journal, Summer 2021
