Creating a rabbit friendly Christmas – tips and tricks for keeping things merry 

Christmas is a wonderful time of year celebrated by many households in the UK. As with many holidays, the festivities start earlier and earlier each year, with some shops selling gifts and decorations as early as August! For our pets however, Christmas can be an uncertain time of year. Things change quickly, and change can be unsettling for small pets, as they do not understand the reasoning for the change. 

In order to have an enjoyable festive period, it’s important to know our pets are also well cared for and not stressed. In this article, we will explore several tips on how to create a happy Christmas for your pet rabbit. 

Tip 1 – Rabbits like to chew 

Rabbits like to chew. In fact, it’s an essential part of their wellbeing that they can chew and gnaw on safe objects and materials to wear their teeth down. Unfortunately, our rabbits cannot tell which objects are safe and which are not; and will opportunistically take a bite of whichever material seems most appealing in their path. 

Top items which will be a danger to your rabbit during the festive period, and as such should be kept well out of reach include: 

Presents and gift wrap  

The exciting patterns, smells and shapes can be enticing to your pet rabbit. Unfortunately, presents under the tree are not a good idea with a house rabbit, or any pet rabbit that gets access to that area. If you want to keep presents under the tree, consider keeping the tree in an area your rabbit does not have access to for ease. This well also be useful for our next chewable object… 

Christmas decorations and ornaments  

As with the presents and gift wrap, these novel shiny objects can be enticing enrichment for the unaware, so keep them out of reach of inquisitive rabbits. As discussed above, keeping the tree and presents (and lights!) in a separate area that your rabbit cannot access is a good way of preventing them having access. You can also use barriers or baby gates that they cannot get through to separate the zone if you still want to give them access to the wider room. 

Christmas trees  

Plastic and artificial fibreoptic light trees are a big no-no, as these can be toxic if ingested and cause harmful stomach problems. Many people believe wooden ‘real’ Christmas trees are fine for rabbits to chew – however this is not always true. Some real Christmas trees are treated with chemicals for fire protection and pesticides which can be toxic to rabbits if ingested. It is important to find out if your tree has been treated and keep your rabbit away from it if so. Chewing a non-treated Christmas tree should be relatively safe, however do be aware that stomach upsets can occur from chewing and ingesting any new materials.  

Tip 2 – Rabbits don’t like loud noises  

Christmas is a time for celebration and many of us choose to entertain and host family and friends in this time. It’s important to remember that as fun as this is for us, rabbits really don’t enjoy loud noises. If you are hosting a party, aim to keep your rabbit away from the hustle and bustle in a safe familiar space filled with their own smells and toys. Check on them regularly to ensure they are not affected by the behaviour. As rabbits are a prey species, they often don’t outwardly show signs of fear and distress so it’s important to notice that their behaviour has not changed from normal and that they are still eating, resting and defecating the normal amount the usually would. 

Tip 3 – Festive food can be toxic to rabbits  

It is really important that our rabbits get their own food throughout the festive period. Don’t be tempted to offer them a small amount of the food on your plate as a ‘treat’, as sadly that could be fatal for your rabbit. 

Many common human foods are actually very toxic to rabbits and can make them extremely unwell and sometimes result in death. Examples of some foodstuffs which can be toxic to rabbits include raw onion, garlic, and potatoes; dairy products like milk, cheese, or yoghurt; chocolate; and rhubarb. This is not a complete list and there are several other foodstuffs which can be toxic to rabbits.  

It is very important before you feed anything to your rabbit you ensure it is suitable food for rabbits. 

If you would like to read more about suitable diets for rabbits check out this article. 

Tip 4 – Think about where you put your lights 

Christmas lights are beautiful to look at and really add to the magic of this festive time of year. In recent years it is becoming more and more popular to light both the inside and outside of our houses, with people having several lights on their trees, fairy lights inside the house and lights on the front of the house and decorating the back gardens. These lights are often on timers to come on in the evening when it is dark to get the maximum impact.  

With rabbits and other pets, it’s important to assess the impact of these lights on their living areas. For outdoor rabbits, ensure outside lights are not pointing directly into their enclosures and are not causing their enclosures to be lit up at abnormal times. This can be very stressful for rabbits as it is a change in their normal safe environment and the light in the evenings can disrupt their normal rest wake patterns. 

For indoor rabbits the same applies. Assess how and where you put lights so to cause the minimum impact to your rabbit. Also ensure that lights are not left on when you are not in the space so that the rabbit does not have to deal with light at abnormal hours of the day. Again, this can cause stress to your rabbit which can be detrimental to their health.  

Tip 5 – Rabbits like new toys too! 

We all love receiving gifts and novel items we have not seen before, and your rabbits are no different. Consider giving them a rabbit safe gift this year of a new toy or enrichment item to make their environment more stimulating and occupy their mind.  

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