Blind bunny

[Kimberly1]

I am new to the forum and i have just adopted a five year old blind bunny.   I am looking for suggestions on care and any helpful tips or suggestions.   Thank you very much!

[LittlePuffyTail]

One of the forum leaders had a blind bunny. I’m sure she will be along soon with some advice.

[Sarita]

What a very lucky rabbit! Is the rabbit a single rabbit or part of a bonded pair?

Was he/she in a foster home? If so, I would definitely try to get some tips from the foster family on what they are doing to help him manage. I think having a routine will be very important for him. Make sure that he knows what to expect when.

[tobyluv]

I had a bunny who went blind due to cataracts. It’s possible that he still had some sight, but if he did, it was very little sight. Of course, it was helpful to him that he already knew the house before he went blind, and especially the room that he stayed in the most (the living room). He did occasionally bump into a table leg or other furniture, but he navigated pretty well over all. I made sure that the furniture was always in the same place, and I also made sure not to leave any objects laying around that he could stumble over.

I found this article about bringing home a blind bunny. Maybe it will be helpful.

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-care-blind-bunny-232037.html

[LBJ10]

Is this your only bunny? It might help if he has a friend who can be his eyes.

[RabbitPam]

K&K is the forum leader who had a blind bunny that I just loved, Chuck. I will send this reply as an alert to ask her to comment on your post. That was very kind of you to adopt. I bet he’s (she?) a sweetie.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome!!

I think we all have this really big soft spot for those ‘special’ bunnies

I adopted Chuck and he was completely blind. You’d never have known it though, and actually people often commented that -are you sure he’s blind? He just went slowly, and did just great. But he really blossomed when I found Noot and they bonded immediately. I think Noot became his ‘seeing eye bunny’; well I know that he did, because I’d never seen Chuck notice veggies as quickly as he did when Noot was there to alert him to them.
If you can get your blind bunny into a bonded pair easily that would be ideal.

So as for tips-I would say you just need to absolutely hazard proof your house=really you must baby proof your house. This has to go beyond your normal bunny proofing (tips here https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/8/PID/940/Default.aspx) and think like a baby; babies can fall down stairs and would never be left to decide to avoid them on instinct alone. So you too must make sure any stairs or any drops are completely blocked off, and be diligent. If it’s a baby gate, make sure it’s up before your bunny comes out. Make sure all your guests or anyone living in the house knows when your bunny is out. Bunnies are quiet and he won’t know to avoid feet.

As long as you can keep the area he’s in safe, he’ll do just fine. Animals adapt to all kinds of disabilities with little to no problems Can’t wait to see pictures! Do you know why he’s blind (i.e. genetics, cataract, surgery, injury?)

[jerseygirl]

They do cope so well. I sometimes forget Jelly is blind. When I first had him home, I made sure to keep his surrounds the same so he could navigate. And I talked to him as I approached and always said “up” before I did pick him up so he had a audio clue as to what was about to happen. Now though, I don’t need to do all this because he just senses SO well. I’ve noticed he knows when I approach I think thru sense of smell and from sound.

Routine is important for all rabbits but would especially benefit blind rabbits.

One thing I read one time, is to dab a tiny amount of essential oil at base of door frames. It was said to help a blind rabbit (or any pet) find their way around if allowed more access to the home.

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