So, my bunny is kind of special.

[Julijello]

My rabbit is a blind. I adopted him from an SPCA a few weeks ago. He had been beaten and due to it ended up blind.

He has LOADS of personality even though he cannot see. He's gotten used to me talking and calling him and even enjoys just hanging out with me.

What I am wondering though is are there any fun things I can do with him that don't require eye-sight. I mean, it'll be hard to train him to do things for fun or even play with him, but does anyone have any ideas?

I wanna give him a good life and I want him to experience as much as possible.

Here is my boy. C:

 

[Nancy McClelland]

He is gorgeous. Treat him like a normal bunny is all I can say. They have an amazing sense of smell and hearing.

 

[jujub793]

:yeahthat::

 

[funnybunnymummy]

I don't think rabbits are impaired by blindness the way humans are. I think a rabbit's vision is better in the distance than up close anyway, and they definitely have a blind spot right in front of their face, so I think they still depend a lot on their sense of smell and hearing even when their vision is perfect.

I don't know that you could teach him something like rabbit hopping or agility, but I'd bet he could learn games like 'find the treat' no problem!

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Julijello]

I had never thought about find the treat!
We'll see if I can try and get him into that.

 

[BertNErnie]

can you not build him any ramps to enjoy? smell and hearing will deffinately make up for the loss of sight! he is lovely give him plenty of kisses :inlove:

how about a lovely digging box?

 

[Julijello]

I'm scared to put in ramps. I don't want him to fall and hurt himself. :c

 

[CB Millicent]

We have a rabbit who had some sort of neurological incident after spay surgery (stroke? who knows--blood was negative for EC). She is very wobbly and we built her a ramp up to her cage. It has high walls on each side, and is covered with non-slip grippy stuff that is sold in the cabinet liner section of the store.

You could do something like that for your bun! Maybe even pad it with carpet scraps?

I was really concerned about Cinnabun when I realized her symptoms won't go away, but the vet said, "Look, she's not a human and isn't suffering psychologically from this. She isn't worried about what she looks like with a limp or what the other buns will think if she needs a ramp. She just wants to live and enjoy what she has, she isn't mourning, YOU are."

I thought that was good advice. So I think your bun is probably the same. He doesn't really "realize" he's blind in the sense that he thinks about it and worries about it all the time. I'll bet if you found him a nice stuffed animal to love on, and maybe a soft hanging toy that is suspended in the same place all the time, he'll play with it. He might be able to smell toilet paper rolls stuffed with hay and toss them, too.

Thanks for adopting a special bun! He is beautiful and I'm so happy he has a good home!

 

[naturestee]

In addition to the other suggestions, I bet he'd love toys that make noise. Get him some plastic cat balls with jingle bells or hard plastic baby rattles. Give him a hanging toy with a bell and some yummy sticks on it. Ring them for him so he can find them, and let him go at it!

Anything with smell is also good- hay and herbs or treats in a paper tube or paper bag, treat balls, etc.

Blind rabbits usually have a great quality of life. You'll be amazed at how well he gets around. My bun with cataracts still binkies through the living room. He just sniffs around to make sure my daughter's toys aren't in his way first.

 

[MiniLopHop]

Your boy is so cute! He looks a lot like my Becky. She came from the SPCA and has neurological damage from being hit in the head. She can sort of see, but not as well as normal.

I agree that toys that make noise are her favorite. She loves to toss things with bells. I also take small paper bags, hide a treat and a bit of hay in the bag and she will dig/chew it out. Also cut the ends off an oatmeal box, put a treat in the middle, wad up balls of paper to fill the box. She will work at that for a while. I think rabbits in general are happy if they have little projects to keep themselves entertained.

I would recommend not moving the furniture much in his area. They will memorize where things are and it's easier if big things don't move frequently. I think that is why Becky has a tendency if I move her toys she will hop around and move them all back to the "right" spots. When I clean I put them all in her "toy box" which is easy for her to get in and out of. She will then drag them all back out to the same specific places, but it takes a while and it's a job for her to do.

Thanks for giving a special bun a chance

 

[HappyFarmBunnies]

As others have said, toys that make noise are the best, as well as those that are tactile--try fun things of different textures for him to chew on, and some soft fluffy things to snuggle with. Paper bags are the cheapest and best toys I have ever found, but be prepared to clean up a huge mess afterwards! Haha.

Make sure not to move things in his environment either so that he doesn't feel wrong-footed if something is not where he expects it to be.

Good for you for adopting a special bunny. HOW someone, a human, can beat and abuse an animal as completely harmless as a bunny rabbit is just beyond me...I mean, a cat can swipe and bite you back maybe and a dog can potentially inflict serious damage, but what is a bunny going to do?

Seriously...where's my tar and feathers?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:

 

[Julijello]

Thank you so much everyone.
I'm going to try and and incorporate everything !

 

[Jenk]

MiniLopHop wrote:

Your boy is so cute! He looks a lot like my Becky. She came from the SPCA and has neurological damage from being hit in the head. She can sort of see, but not as well as normal.

Thanks for giving a special bun a chance

Thank you, Julijello and MiniLopHop, for each giving a formerly abused bun a new lease on life.

I can't add anything new to this thread; all the great advice has been given. I'd just like to say that he is absolutely adorable and, thus, snorgleable (snuggleable + snortable). :biggrin: Please give him extra pets and kisses for me.

By the way, did he come with a name that you plan to keep for him, or are you kicking around any particular names? (If he's had a name for a while, especially at the shelter, it would be kind of you to let him keep it. After all, he could be attached to it by now and knows that it refers to him.)


All the best,

Jenk

 

[MiniLopHop]

If the shelter gave him the name then sure, but if the abusive family gave the name then I would change it. With Becky I started calling her by her previous name and she would flinch! It broke my heart. It only took a couple times for me to know she HAD to get a new name!

Now she knows her name and will periscope when I say it, looking for treats and snuggles rather than cringing expecting mean hands. It baffles me how anyone could hit a bun, particularly such a cute little loppy. She is such a good girl too (not that I hit my naughty buns either, but she's so good and never gets into trouble!)

 

[Lucy500]

I cant add any advise, but I just want to say bless you for giving this cutie pie another chance at a happy life. It is also beyond me how someone could ever hurt a bunny, those people have no shame and dont deserve the wonderful gift of having a pet rabbit.

 

[Jenk]

MiniLopHop wrote:

If the shelter gave him the name then sure, but if the abusive family gave the name then I would change it. With Becky I started calling her by her previous name and she would flinch! It broke my heart. It only took a couple times for me to know she HAD to get a new name!

Excellent point. If his given name seems to frighten/pain him, please, do change it. He definitely deserves a new lease on life in every sense of the term.
:big kiss:


Jenk