Advice for helping my deaf and partially blind bunny.

[rimubird1]

I wasn't sure where to post this so I hope I've got the right place.
I've had my suspicions for a month now that Blue- my 5 month old minilop might be hard of hearing. I've just come back from the vets with the confirmation that yes, he is deaf but also that he appears to have limited sight as well! The vet told me that he is in excellent health and she couldn't find anything wrong with his ears, so thank goodness for that. I have instructions to keep a close eye on him and note how he navigates around objects, which I now notice that he gets around them with caution, feeling them with his whiskers.

I'm not sure if anyone can help me with this, but I am having problems letting Blue know that I am there without startling him which seems to be happening more and more. I am starting to wonder if he is gradually going blind because he just isn't seeing me anymore when I come into the room. The vet suggested stomping my feet causing vibrations, which I am trying, and certainly lets him know that I am there. But there are times when this doesn't work because I am climbing down the loft bed ladder and he gets a huge fright when I suddenly appear out of nowhere.
When I get up at night, I always use a torch or switch the light on which works brilliantly (he always comes running over for a cuddle) so has me wondering whether I would be best to get a torch that I can switch on during the day to let him know that I am there. But I have no idea how to find a torch that is bright enough for him to see in the daytime. It has to be very bright. Should I try a lazer torch perhaps? I am not sure if that would create a large enough light for him to see on the floor.

I have no idea what to do though if he goes all the way blind, I don't want to keep giving him frights ten times a day.
I have noticed that he enjoys doing zoomies and binkies in the morning and sometimes during the evening- but this is very occasionally and sometimes he goes weeks in-between. I realize now that this is probably because the cardboard boxes and tunnels get rearranged every so often and he has to get used to them all over again. I'll have to try to keep the room the same so that he get's used to it. But I would like to spoil him with new toys too.

To end this on a positive note though, he is the sweetest, gentlest wee guy, he's quite happy and healthy. We just have to sort out how to let him know that I am nearby.

 

[JBun]

You could try your current torch, and if it's not too bright, maybe shine directly at his eyes to see if he can see it at all and reacts to it. If he does have some vision left, you just don't want to be shining really bright lights into the eyes.

With his bad eyesight, it is good to keep things in the same place, so that he won't have any problems navigating.

http://www.disabledrabbits.com/blindness.html

 

[rimubird1]

You could try your current torch, and if it's not too bright, maybe shine directly at his eyes to see if he can see it at all and reacts to it. If he does have some vision left, you just don't want to be shining really bright lights into the eyes.

With his bad eyesight, it is good to keep things in the same place, so that he won't have any problems navigating.

http://www.disabledrabbits.com/blindness.html

Thank you for your reply. The day before I took him into the vets I had one moment where I wondered about his sight and I shone the torch at his eyes but he didn't move away much. I thought I was being paranoid and left it at that. The idea was to shine it at his feet. Unfortunately the torch I have is too dim during the day, at night I shine it at the floor by his feet, never directly on him.

Being the middle of winter and darker though, I have been flicking the main light off and on when I enter the room, this alerts him. When I tried the vets suggestion of stomping, he became very anxious and fled, so I think he must interpred it as a warning thump. So I've begun to approach him while tapping on the floor with my fingers and stepping on the floorboards that creak. His head instantly popped up and he came straight over, bumping my hand with his head. Success!

I still hope that I can find a good torch though because it still doesn't fix the problem of my coming down the loft bed ladder. At night I switch the torch on while I'm coming down and he's never once gotten a fright because he assosiates the bright light with me, but sometimes during the day I would go up there to grab a book etc. and when I come down the ladder he is snoozing there and it is impossible not to startle him though I try really hard not to. It makes me feel awful so I spent yesterday on the floor with him instead.
Thank you for the article, it was very helpful, I wish I could find more on both deafness and blindness.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Our avatar was deaf and almost completely blind. We made sure everything in the room was never moved and I used to reach out and touch her when I was around. She'd run and binky just like all our other bunnies--Ted was a really big lop that was the same way except his hearing was very good--I used to touch him to let him know I was there or else he would nip if you got close without him knowing.

 

[rimubird1]

Our avatar was deaf and almost completely blind. We made sure everything in the room was never moved and I used to reach out and touch her when I was around. She'd run and binky just like all our other bunnies--Ted was a really big lop that was the same way except his hearing was very good--I used to touch him to let him know I was there or else he would nip if you got close without him knowing.

Thanks for sharing. I'm feeling a bit silly now for panicking and asking around The answers seem so obvious as I've read about them before- I think it was just the shock of finding out and not being able to think- it kind of threw me a bit.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Completely understandable. The most common phrase on the cockpit recorder "Oh sh--!" Jesus Christ is #2 and then it's every thing else in no order. Bad things have a way of freezing up our ability to reason.