The rabbit willow tunnel is a popular utensil used in many rabbit enclosures. It serves as a shelter / hiding place, but can also be offered as employment. For this purpose, there are different sizes and so different they can then also be used. What you and especially your rabbit can do with it, we show you here.

The willow tunnel as occupational therapy

Numerous companies offer willow tunnels in different diameters and lengths. There are not only the pure tunnels to buy, but there are also specimens that are filled with hay. We even discovered one that was filled with a mixture of hay and carrot. For most rabbit owners, a felt pasture tunnel will be uninteresting, because they probably have the hay themselves at home.

Filling is simple, place the tunnel with one of the two openings on the ground and fill it with hay or green fodder. Your rabbit may be a little wilder on this occupational therapy, you can hide things in the filling, which your rabbit particularly likes to eat. But most rabbits don't need this incentive at all and are simply happy about the offered toy.

Rabbit willow tunnel as a place of retreat

Many rabbits look for places quiet and dark are to take a nap. For this purpose, willow tunnels are an ideal place. Unfortunately, these tunnels are often only available up to a maximum diameter of 22 cm. This is unfortunately a bit narrow for large rabbits and so most willow tunnels are only suitable for medium-sized rabbits. But these have then great fun to retreat in it or use it as a toy.

Because the narrow tube feels like a tunnel in the wild and is therefore gladly accepted by the rabbits. Often the pasture tunnel is also used to simply take an observation position in it and look what else is happening around you.

Rabbit eats willow tunnel

Well, the willow tunnel was probably chosen as an occupational material by your rabbit and it has developed a taste for it. Not only the things that were put into it are eaten up, but the complete willow tunnel. We hear this statement again and again from rabbit owners and we have to admit that the rabbit did everything right.

Because willow is completely harmless to rabbits and some rabbits, maybe yours, taste willow great. So why not nibble on it a little and eat it up. At least that was tasty. You don't have to worry about it as a rabbit owner either, on the contrary, rabbits know what's good for them. At least almost always.

The willow contains acetylsalicylic acid, which we humans know as the active ingredient in aspirin. Thus, some discomfort in the rabbit can lead him to use the willow as his personal medicine cabinet. Or simply because it tastes delicious to him. The second point is the abrasion of the teeth, which is perfectly supported by the long fibers of the willow.

Both the bark and the wood inside consist of very long fibers and the rabbits have to chew on them for a long time until they are broken down. This is an excellent contribution to healthy tooth growth.

What are the variants of willow tunnel?

The two best known variants are the normal willow tunnels, which are available as a simple tube, once filled and once unfilled. These are then available in different diameters and lengths. The common diameters that exist are 15 cm, 20 cm and 22 cm. The length is also different and is usually between 30 and 40 cm. Meanwhile, there are also willow tunnels with a branch.

These tubes then have a length of up to 50 cm and mostly in the middle a branch with a length of 20-25 cm. Through these willow tunnel variants also fit larger breeds. Often these are offered also made of grass. Another variant are sleeping caves, these are then no longer round, but angular and still we a tube formed. They usually have several exits.

However, these sleeping burrows have a small inner diameter and are therefore only suitable for smaller breeds. Which pasture tunnel you prefer for your rabbits, that is up to you. However, when buying, make sure that only willow or grass was used in the production. So you can be sure that your rabbit will not hurt himself.

Letzte Aktualisierung am 2024-05-05 / Affiliate Links / Bilder von der Amazon Product Advertising API