How to Build a Bunny Box

What Is A Bunny Box?

A bunny box is basically a large cardboard box with door holes and extras.

Start with a large cardboard box about two feet by three feet and eighteen inches high. Then, add layers of flattened cardboard boxes to the bottom until the pile is about three inches thick. You can also put a smaller box inside the larger box.

One rabbit may be most interested in taking down the walls, while another loves digging through the layers of cardboard at the bottom. Regardless, they both enjoy "interior decorating," which can consist of moving the little cardboard box around inside the bigger box. Leave one side of the smaller box open, so they can crawl around inside that as well.

One thing to keep in mind is the placement of the doors. In one first attempt at a bunny box, the little box inside was large enough to cover up both doorways. One rabbit moved the box and cut off his access to both doorways, leaving him frantic. Additional escape routes were added to resolve this problem.

Avoid making the box too tall. A bunny box low enough to the ground allows the rabbits to jump on top of it and play up there as well.

The Baby Bunny Box

A favorite toy of most baby bunnies is a shoebox with little windows and doors cut out, leaving the flaps as awnings. Consider placing the doors cater-corner and sticking Popsicle sticks through the walls in certain places.

Baby bunnies especially love playing "flee the monster," racing into one end of the box, then popping diagonally out the other side. They also enjoy nibbling the awnings and Popsicle sticks, peeking out the windows and jumping on top as "King of the Mountain."

As the bunnies grow larger, they'll still love a cardboard box playhouse with windows and doors, but their new favorite game will involve racing through a network of cardboard tunnels made of long, narrow boxes from a golf store or hardware store, slit lengthwise and propped up to make a rough half-cylinder.

Baby bunnies also love circling under the brim of a plain straw hat, sitting in it or on it and eating it up. Digging at tipped flower pots with a little potting soil still in them is always fun and tossing and chewing baby-sized rings cut from toilet roll tubes is never dull.

And don't forget, they can they climb! Basically, baby bunnies love everything adult bunnies love, but scaled to their size.