Odd Rabbit

[KytKattin]

My newer rabbit, Hubble, seems to drink a huge amount of water daily. In a typical day he drinks between a 1/3 to 1/2 of his 16oz waterbottle. Because of that he seems to pee a ton too. On a good note, the pee is normal looking, there’s just a lot of it. This rabbit has other problems that a vet said came from malnutrition in his youth. His front legs are abnormally short and his nails grow almost to the sides. I think he also might have been kept in a very small cage and/or is mentally impared as he never moves more than a few feet, ever and even when he’s out, will just pee and sit in it instead of moving someplace else. He also doesn’t ‘get’ the litterbox idea at all and poops consistantly everywhere. Peeing is slowly making a turn for the better though so I’m thinking there’s still hope! He is eating some greens now, and I think his water consumption is going down a little bit because of that. He still is weird about his hay though, and attacks pretty much anything I put in there with hay. I don’t really understand this rabbit. Haha. He likes to eat the hay, but will attack like a tissue box stuffed with it, or one of those wire balls that you can stuff with hay and hang on the side of the cage. I would just put the box on the ground (where he likes it), but then he’ll pee in it. To be honest, his agressiveness (or playfulness?) towards the box is the most life I ever see from the rabbit, so I keep putting one in there since at least it gets him to do something other than sit. Well he also liked his new high-sided litterbox and dug around in that. Anyways, theories or ideas on this rabbit would be great. Maybe this really is just normal rabbit behavior and since Nova is part dragon I haven’t ever experianced this before.

BTW, I don’t know his age, or how long ago he was fixed. Everthing down there is shrunk and looks like it’s been long gone, but I really don’t know. From what I guess, he’s a mini-lop/dwarf mix, but since he didn’t get proper nutrition as a babe, it’s really anyones guess. And yes, in the picture he is standing up as much as he can.

[Sarita]

Oh, he’s cute. I think your vet is probably correct. Poor nutrition is probably the reason for his high water intake.

Is there such a thing as normal rabbit behavior :~)

[Beka27]

he is so cute! i have never seen ears like that, i think he’s just adorable. i did have a thought but i might be way off (def wouldn’t be the first time… lol.) regarding the hay in a box or basket or ball, do you think part of his malnutrition might have been that he did not receive food regularly, or the food was difficult for him to reach or eat. while WE might see hay in a box/basket/ball as containing it, he might view it as restricting him from the hay. have you tried just handfuls of hay in the cage. it’ll be a bit messier to clean up, but the important thing is that he’s getting as much as he wants to eat.

[skibunny8503]

My other bun, Mickey goes to the bathroom all over the place now too.  I don’t think he drinks as much as yours does though.  He hardly moves and just stays in his little wooden box all day long.  (although he might not move that much because of his cataracts).  I cleaned out his glands yesterday and noticed how he has “shrunk”.  He’s 12 years old, so that might give you an idea that he could be an older bun.

[bunnytowne]

How long have you had your puffy cheeked beauty.?   HE may be an older bun. 

Also about his litter habits.  Perhaps he was stuck in a small cage that wasn’t cleaned often so his cleanliness isn’t that important to hiim.  Maybe it warped his natural instinct to be neat and not pee and just sit there.

Also perhaps he was only kept in a small cage and not let out so is frightened of wandering around more.  Does he let you hold him?

The water issue may clear up when he begins to feel secure that he will be properly taken care of.  I can’t imagine a person who would let him be malnurished would  clean his cage or let him out to play.  That may be what has affected his mental state. Besides being malnourished.  He apparantly didn’t develop properly physically and perhaps mentally too from all that mistreatment.

Don’t you wish we could treat people like they mistreated their animals. GRRRRR.

[bunnytowne]

The poops he may be just marking right now and it will die down hopefully.  I also hope that his natural instincts for being clean will kick in.  From what you stated he may just get the litterbox idea yet.

Be patient with him.  It will take him some time to realize he is free and has a loving safe home.

[jerseygirl]

Maybe look at getting some blood and urine analysis done to rule out renal issues or even diabetes.

As for his limited movement, this could be from his past habitat/malnutrition. I don’t know why but something about your description of Hubble’s behaviour toward hay box, litter box and his style of movement makes me think he might have low vision (???).  He seems to treat the hay & litter like a diggy box and gets alot of stimulation from this compared to anything else, from what you’ve said.   ?????Just some thoughts!

[KytKattin]

The more greens I add to his diet the less he drinks, though compared to Nova he still drinks a ton (though that being said, she hardly drinks anything at all). Since he seems (relatively) normal otherwise I’m guessing that it was his way of compensating for a lack of other nutrition. I also thought that he might have not consistently been given water so it’s become a habit to drink often and a lot when water is available.
He is definitely a sweetheart about being picked up. He has never displayed any sort of aggression towards me or Nova. He doesn’t like to be held for long, but he does let me hold him. He likes it better when he’s in his litterbox or on a pillow and I pick him up though. I totally agree that he has very low vision as well. When I first held him he kept looking at me in the oddest way, like he was trying to figure me out. With Nova as well, he doesn’t seem to see her until she gets close to him.
I’ve had him for about 2 months now. I’m going to fix his cage, so to speak, so that it opens fully from the top, thus making it easier to clean so I can keep it super clean and maybe start to make him a normal rabbit.

[KytKattin]

So I fixed his cage and I’m going to get him a new litterbox that has high sides but doesn’t have high sides that clip on because he’s peeing through that. Urgh. Haha.
I also think that he may be completely blind. He doesn’t seem to see me when I put my hand in the cage or move my hand quickly towards his face. He doesn’t seem to have problems knowing when he’s high up though, like my mom had him on her lap on my bed and he hopped off her lap and onto the bed, away from the edge. When I put him on the floor he seemed to move around without much problem either, and he did actually move around more. I have never actually let him out in my room, typically I take him into the kitchen. It has the same type of floor, but I think he could hear his cage (I was cleaning it) and it was comforting. He did kind of end up in a small space between Nova and his cages though and had some difficulty finding his way out. So if he’s blind he does cope well enough. His little cute but odd ears move around a lot. When he’s relaxed, as in the picture, they are kind of forward floppy, but when he’s moving they shift around all over. I’ve never seen a rabbit with such control over his ears!
I feel kind of bad naming him Hubble, after the telescope, if he can’t see. It just doesn’t seem right.
Also, I ordered the clicker training book for rabbits as I was thinking that it might be the way I can litterbox train him. Does anyone else use it and does it work? Or a better question, would it work for a blind rabbit?

[(dig)x(me)x(now)]

I wish I could give you advice, but I don’t know much on the topic! He seems like a personality though!

[bunnytowne]

I was thinking …  since you call your bun odd…..  Maybe name him Odd Thomas.      there are some Dean Kontz books about a charactor named Odd Thomas.    Friends just called him Odd. 

Glad to hear he is moving about a little more.  Maybe as he gets more relaxed and learns his way around he will do better. 

clicker training.   No idea. 

[bunnytowne]

thats neat about his ears.  cute.

[KytKattin]

He is definitely completely blind. I did some more tests with him today and he responded as if he was blind. First, while he and Nova were in a completely dark room together and I switched on a bright light, Nova squinted and he did nothing. Second, I came back a while later and was very quiet instead of greeting him and Nova like I normally do. He could still here my breathing and movements though, but it made him very nervous and his ears were twitching back and forth and he was standing up tense. The moment I talked to him he relaxed. I’ve also noticed this mildly when I open the top of his cage and don’t talk to him. I’m glad that he trusts me though! Third, and probably the most deciding test, was me putting my finger as close to his eye as I could without touching whiskers or eyelashes. None of my other animals let me get that close! I was practically touching it. He really does handle being blind so well!

Also, here is a video of him, Nova, and my dog Peach in the kitchen. This was from the first time they all met. I’m the one sitting on the ground with a towel in case I needed to break things up (which I didn’t, yay!). I can’t get it to post so just copy and past the link.

 http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/NaturalFilly/Bunnies/?action=view&current=100_1770.flv

[KytKattin]

Oh and bunnytowne, my last name is Thomas so I don’t think I should be redundant by naming him Sir Odd Thomas Thomas. Haha.

[jerseygirl]

Aww poor Hubble, the dog puts his butt right in his face! He does that head bobbing thing too which is common with low vision I think.  Oh and don’t feel too badly bout naming him Hubble.  It’s a cute name and I love the irony!  He won’t mind, seems he’s managing his disabilities like a champ!

[Lightchick]

Oh, I hope K&K sees this thread! She’s got a blind bun, too…she might have some tips! Of course her bun is blind and deaf, so he’s a little different, probably…

[KytKattin]

Yeah, my little dog is weird like that when she first meet something. After that she’ll left him alone and went to play with Nova. I probably will just leave his name now since it’s habit, but it just goes to show that I shouldn’t name an animal the first night I get it! I will say that him not being able to see made me feel better about him having a bright pink litterbox, even though I’m not sure rabbits can even see that color anyways. Does K&K have a thread on her bun? I’ll have to look that up!

[bunnytowne]

awe so Odd Hubble is blind.  Or close to it.   As he adjusts to his new surroundings he will be ok.  They memorize where things are.   I know one thing is don’t move stuff around it confuses them.  Hopefully he will be exploring and memorizing where things are so he can move around easier.    Ok no Odd Thomas Thomas.    What a coincidence.   Mr. Hubble should be just fine.

someone did have a post asking how to help a blind and I think deaf rabbit.  I am sure it will pop up in search section

[jerseygirl]

K&K’s thread is in the FAQ section.
There is also this one: https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/forumid/2/tpage/1/view/topic/postid/79909/Default.aspx#79912

Maybe on your next vet visit, get it confirmed and see how far gone his vision is.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Ahhh I’m here!

I’d agree, from what you’ve said and the way he acts in that vid, he is either blind or extremely close to it. I find that Chuck will not move around if there are not ‘edges/walls’ where he is put. If I put him down on the ground, he’ll run scared back to his area. He loves the couch though. I spread a blanket out on it, with some toys and I put him up there. It was Dave’s idea and I thought he was stupid, as Chuck could fall. But he quickly mapped out the edges and loves being on the couch and is very comfortable there.
Since the two are bonded (yes?) you could try putting a jingly bell on a harness on your other bun, maybe in small periods building up, so that he could follow her around? We did this with a blind horse at our shelter and they made out great together.

[KytKattin]

Thanks for the link Jerseygirl!

K&K, they aren’t bonded per say… More of casually dating neighbors. Since Nova is very territorial they are only allowed to be around each other out of their pens in a different room (which I see now causes problems since he doesn’t move because he doesn’t see). Also, since he can’t see, when I put him in Nova’s area he gets nervous since it’s pretty big, and just sits in one place. Plus her cage isn’t really set up for a rabbit that isn’t housebroken and he pees a ton. Eventually I’ll get confident enough to have them both out in the room together, but I want to give the spay a full 6 months to work so that Nova doesn’t make him fearful by going hormonal. Though 4 months is probably good since she’s a dwarf and things should go through her system faster. I know that she does like having another rabbit she can see though, and that them living close is the first step to bonding. I can tell he’s getting more confident in my routine every day, and I did get that clicker training book so we’ll see how things go from here. I am back at school full time though (chemistry this semi, urgh) so I don’t know how much time I’ll have for a while.

[Beka27]

i think 4 months post-spay, that’s very likely Nova’s personality at this point and not the hormones. she may mellow further as she ages (4, 5, 6 years old) but if you are serious about trying to bond them i would not be afraid to start now in smaller steps.

did you do bunny dates? i’m sorry, but i don’t fully remember the story.

[KytKattin]

Yes, I have done quite a few dates, but as I said Nova is really territorial in my room. When I did have him in her cage and her just out in my room she acted vicious towards him through the bars (biting the bars, trying to bite him, thumping). The same thing happens if he has run of my room and she is in her cage (but she is getting better with that one). If he is in his cage and she has run of the room then she’s fine though, just as she is fine if we’re in another room and they both have free run. She doesn’t actually acknowledge him during those situations (except what you see in the video, walking up to him and then running away). He doesn’t really move when he’s out in a different room though. Also, when he’s out in my room he tends to migrate towards her I think because she’s making noise, and probably the smell as well.

 

Edit: Oh, and we’ve finally made a big step in his peeing! Now he is only doing it in two of the zones of his cage instead of all 3, but he’s still sitting in the zone he’s not peeing in!

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