More Cardboard Tube Toys (Part 2)
The first toilet roll rabbit toys went down well i.e. Scamp had fun destroying them. So, I thought we’d have a go at the cardboard balls that Schuette suggested. Scamp loves his treat ball and destroying things so they look like the perfect toy for him.
First thing you do is chop the toilet roll tube (or kitchen roll) into slices about a centimetre (half an inch) across to make hoops.
I found each toilet roll made about 6/7 hoops and that was about right to make one ball.
Once you have your sections you push one over another, then another over those two, overlapping them at different angles to cover the gaps until you have a ball. At some point before the gaps get too small (usually the 2-3 hoop mark) you pop in something tasty. I started with pellets but found they fell out as soon as Scamp made a little hole so moved on to pieces of carrot and cabbage leaf.
Once you’ve got all the hoops added they should look something like this:
Finally you add a rabbit and it ends up looking like confetti!
Here’s a video of him enjoy them too. Thank you very much for the idea! We’ll be trying hay stuffed tubes next .. I think I’ll wait until just before cleaning time because I can see Scamp getting hay everywhere!
Tags: homemade-toys, rabbit-enrichment, rabbit-toys, Scamp, treat-ball
Thanks for more ideas. Bella and Buttons loved the last one, and it was funny watching them try to get their tongues into the treats , before they realised they would have to shred it!!!
[...] for you bunnies. Now i could type out the instructions for you but you might as well hop over to The Rabbit House and follow their instructions and watch the [...]
This is really great! My bunny loves them, I even wove some Timothy hay into the sides! Is it bad for them to eat so much cardboard?
These treat balls are a great boredom buster. My Netherland dwarf lop “Frodo” loves to toss them in the air, roll them about and he actually manages to hold them. Thankyou for a great idea. A big thankyou from Frodo too!
I’m glad Frodo is enjoying them so much – thanks for letting me know!
Just thought you would find it interesting to know Frodo latest trick with these balls is to carry them over to his water bowl (we found he liked the bowl better then the bottle) and drop them in for a few seconds, so that they softened, then he could get to his treats a lot easier….hmmm master mind in the making me thinks ;o)
Thanks for ideas Penny is really happy now!!
i love that idea of toys lol i never thought of that i make ( with nontoxic ink) a bunch of paper ina ball them you put an elastic band away most rabbits just go for the treat in side but if you see them going at the elestic band take it away imediatly
Thanks for taking the time to comment
I’d suggest rather than a elastic band, try some sisal or other natural fibre string. They can be so quick at nibbling sometimes it’s best to keep avoid things like rubber bands.
are you sure scamp is a rabbit? he looks like a hare? his very cute!
He does doesn’t he! He’s definitely a rabbit though, when I got him (I hand-reared him) his eyes were still closed, where as baby hares are born with their eyes open!
We can’t wait to go try this for our mini-lop!
WOW these treat balls are AMAZING! I gave one to my bunny, and at first he wasn’t very interested, and just went on running around the room. Then, after a few minutes, he got interested, and he rolled them around for a while, gnawed the rings, then somehow got them all out of place and got his celery and lettuce treat! He is really HAPPY now, thanks so much for the idea!