Possibly deaf?

[LaylaLop]

So Mumford, who is kind of skittish, seems to not react to sounds. When I go in the bunny room and make a sound (clap, whistle, click, etc.) Layla moves her ears around while Mumford stays perfectly still. If I move my body, he then moves, or if I hit the ground he feels it and perks up.

Today I was vacuuming up stray poops in front of their cage and when the vacuum started up Layla sprinted to the back of the cage and was scared whereas Mumford stayed by the front and even came over to investigate the "moving tube". He only shook his head when the suction was tickling his whiskers/fur. When their poos/bedding gets sucked up into the canister it makes a loud noise and Layla would jump at some of these but Mumford didn't seem to notice. He was lying on his mat about a foot from it all. This could explain why he's skittish when my dog walks by and doesn't respond well to calming noises when holding him. Basically you just have to cover his eyes and then he's fine.

Does this sound like he could be deaf? Anyone else have experience with a deaf bunny?

 

[Bonnie Lee]

Awww i hope someone can give you the right information

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

Its a little strange that he does not move his ears. He could very well be deaf. My lionhead doe Muppet is blind and can be skittish on the floor. But once you pick her up she just goes limp. Special needs bunnies require some special care but are totally worth it.

 

[toyabrooke]

We have an English Angora and for about 6 months we were certain he was deaf - we would take him for walks and would seem unfazed with the dogs and birds around, when you clapped right next to him he wouldn't even blink, and he was not scared by the loudest noises you can imagine.

It turned out though, he was just the most laid back and carefree bunny you could ever meet! He can hear just fine, but he just couldn't care less This may even be the case with your bunny!

 

[MandyK]

It does sound like he's deaf, but only a vet would be able to tell for sure. I've never had a deaf bunny, but I have a deaf dog and his disability never caused any problems (he went blind as well later, that's a different story!)

It might actually be a little helpful to a rabbit in a home, since he'll be less skiddish to things like the vacuum. Try testing his hearing with things he WANTS to hear - like a noise of a treat bag. He might just be ignoring you!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Some of ours don't like the shop vac at all, some don't care, and Nikki and Serena are always climbing over it and trying to look up the hose in operation. Ted used to raise his head up, but if no treats were forthcoming, he'd go back to sleep.

 

[LaylaLop]

I just found it odd since he's usually very skittish towards things, but even if he is deaf it doesn't really change my wanting to keep him or anything. It's just he doesn't respond to sound, but it could be he's ignoring me, or partially deaf, or fully deaf. Hard to say, but regardless, he's cute and he and Layla are getting along well

 

[qtipthebun]

You can train him to respond to hand motions anyway....motions for a treat and for "go back to your cage" work particularly well.

 

[LaylaLop]

If he sees the food scoop he goes back to his cage at a sprint. It's Layla that refuses to go back in...