How to build a cardboard castle for your dwarf rabbit
Building a cardboard castle for your rabbit is a simple and inexpensive way to keep them engaged. Your rabbit will spend hours “remodeling”, chewing new doors and knocking down walls.
Do rabbits like to play in boxes like cats do?
Boxes are wonderfully versatile toys for rabbits. So, the primacy is not only for our feline friends.
Whether it’s made of wood or cardboard, boxes can serve as:
• A hiding place that contributes to the rabbit’s sense of security and reduces stress
• A source of entertainment for playing hide-and-seek
• A platform to jump on and off of, or to sleep on
• A way to increase chewing time
If you’re using cardboard boxes, you may want to keep a supply ready for when your rabbit destroys the current one. And don’t worry, they will do so with great pleasure and lots of fun. Even wooden crates will eventually be consumed. There is no danger in this, and chewing is essential to smooth out the teeth evenly.
Any box the rabbit can crawl into is fine, but heavier cardboard is better, if only because the box will last maybe three hours longer.
However, be careful with the box material. If cedar is used, oven-dried wood and excellent ventilation are essential because untreated cedar oils can be irritating to the rabbit’s airway lining. Plywood treated and pressed cardboard should be avoided. This is because arsenic is used in the manufacturing process of both.
Necessary materials
The materials needed for building the castle are:
- Cardboard boxes
- Scissors or a knife
- Pieces of cardboard
- Cardboard tubes (e.g. paper towel or toilet paper tubes)
How to
The ideal box should be wide enough for your rabbit to move around inside, but not too high that they can’t jump in and out of it. The first step is to remove any tape, so your rabbit doesn’t eat it or get its fur stuck to it.
To create a simple castle, you can use scissors or cardboard to create entrances (doors) that allow your rabbit to enter. The size of the opening obviously depends on the size of your rabbit.
To create a more elaborate castle, you can combine two or more boxes of different sizes. For example, a large box can be used as a container for a smaller one, creating rooms inside the castle.
If you want, you can also stack the boxes and create ramps so that your rabbit can move from one level to another.
The only trick is to use your imagination and make sure the structure is safe. Your friend will do the rest, you’ll see!