Hello
i recently brought milo some toys, i brought a carrot what hangs from the top of the cage and some wooden chews but milo dosent seem to want to to near them, im not sure if its because we have only had milo for 2 weeks so milo is still trying to get used to the enviroment and being handelled. i have also tried to give milo some treats but dosent seem to want to eat/touch them. im just wondering because milo is still young if this is why milo wont entertain the toys, just dont want milo to feel bored/restless as hes the only one bun we have as we couldent take his other friend in the cage cause the pet shop owner said he was suffering with wet eye. any advice would be good. i do get milo out quiet alot and let him adventure around.
Hi!
First of all, I wouldn't worry about the toys. My rabbits tend to ignore toys which don't involve food they like. The best kind of toys in my experience are forage boxes (which you can make at home - spread herbs/leaves/safe foods through their hay), grass or leaf "rings" that you can hang from things (mine love chewing them down to get at them better) and anything involving cardboard - say a toilet tube with some herbs and hay stuffed in it, so they have to work out how to get to the herbs. What treats are you using and how are you feeding them? Treat foods in our household definitely fall into one of two categories - either "I'll ignore that, urk" that never get eaten or "This is so delicious I will literally trip you over and steal it from your hand to get it". And how is his eating more generally?
In terms of handling, are you keeping this to a minimum? When we first got our first bunny, we thought that picking him up, stroking him, sitting him on our laps would all help, but in fact the opposite is true. Leaving them be in their own space (unless for necessary things like grooming or nail clipping) and spending time down with them there will be much more likely to win a rabbit's trust. I'd lie on the floor and read a book - Monty would soon come over to sniff at me (eat my hair, chew the book, anything he knew he wasn't allowed to do!) Also, some bunnies (most?) will never handle well. Monty no longer finds it stressful to be picked up when we have to groom and things, but it doesn't stop him wriggling and scratching to get away!
Even single bunnies don't tend to get bored provided that a) they have plenty of space with a variety of different things to explore (which can just be different pieces of furniture you don't mind sacrificing, a litter tray and a dig box) and b) somebody is around most of the time to interact with them. It's better to have two, but we started with just one in order to get to know bunnies and how they work without the stress of two, and although he could get lonely for bunny company sometimes, he wasn't unhappy or bored. What sort of set-up is Milo in and what sort of space is it?
It might be worth investing in some high quality food-toys, like a grass ring, if you want to provide him with something nice (bunnies definitely seem to have a refined palette!) but I don't think it's anything to be concerned about if he's ignoring toys, provided he's otherwise well, happy in his environment, and not showing any signs of illness.