My family has fallen in love with a large rabbit(don't know what kind, soft with big ears) and the local petshop. The rabbit has catarcts in both eyes and isblind. Does anyone have experience with this? Whatare the challenges of raising a blind rabbit? Is this anindication of future medicals problems?
Rabbit w/cataracts
- Thread starter iresq
- Start date
Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:
I'd say any sort of trust or bonding might beharder to achieve. Although i'm sure it be a very very strong one if itwas. Besides that I don't know much about it.
Although it might not pose TOO much of a problem. Rabbits I think aremore hearing based and have poor close range eyesight. He might bereally insecure though without being able to see.
Have you had a chance to hang out with him at all?
Although it might not pose TOO much of a problem. Rabbits I think aremore hearing based and have poor close range eyesight. He might bereally insecure though without being able to see.
Have you had a chance to hang out with him at all?
cheryl
Well-Known Member
Hi there and welcome!
My little girl Lulu is blind and has been for just over a year,iactually cried when i found out.But a bunny who is blind is just likeany other bunny they can do the same things as a seeing bunny which ifound out by watching Lulu but the only thing you really have to makesure is that you keep everything in the same spot all the time,liketheir food dish or their water,never move them as the bunny will getvery confused,and you will find out that the bunny will do so wellbeing blind,Lulu can get around just fine,she knows her way around andno-one would suspect she is blind,you can only tell by the whitenessthat is covering her eyes.
When Lulu was first diagnosed,it was a bit hard for her as she wouldbump into walls and she tried her hardest to come find me,she couldhere my voice,so she knew i was close,so what i do now is when iapproach her i let her know i am near and then i will gently pat her sothen she won't get to frightened,which i have scared her quite a fewtimes and i felt very bad for it.
If you do get this bunny,just remember to keep everything in the sameplace all the time,and you will be surprised that the bunny will dojust fine
a blind bunny is just as affectionate as a seeing one,Lulu still lovespats,she licks me and does the same thigs as a bunny that can see
sometimes bonding a blind bunny to a seeing bunny can help also as the seeing bunny will be the blind bunny's eyes
I would give this bunny a chance
cheryl
My little girl Lulu is blind and has been for just over a year,iactually cried when i found out.But a bunny who is blind is just likeany other bunny they can do the same things as a seeing bunny which ifound out by watching Lulu but the only thing you really have to makesure is that you keep everything in the same spot all the time,liketheir food dish or their water,never move them as the bunny will getvery confused,and you will find out that the bunny will do so wellbeing blind,Lulu can get around just fine,she knows her way around andno-one would suspect she is blind,you can only tell by the whitenessthat is covering her eyes.
When Lulu was first diagnosed,it was a bit hard for her as she wouldbump into walls and she tried her hardest to come find me,she couldhere my voice,so she knew i was close,so what i do now is when iapproach her i let her know i am near and then i will gently pat her sothen she won't get to frightened,which i have scared her quite a fewtimes and i felt very bad for it.
If you do get this bunny,just remember to keep everything in the sameplace all the time,and you will be surprised that the bunny will dojust fine
a blind bunny is just as affectionate as a seeing one,Lulu still lovespats,she licks me and does the same thigs as a bunny that can see
sometimes bonding a blind bunny to a seeing bunny can help also as the seeing bunny will be the blind bunny's eyes
I would give this bunny a chance
cheryl
naturestee
Well-Known Member
The medical problems depend on the cause of thecataracts. I know surgery is sometimes possible.One of the possible causes is E. cuniculi infection. It's asingle-celled parasite that causes a wide range of neurologicalproblems and may cause more issues. But not all cataracts arecaused by that.
Is there any way the rabbit could be taken to a good vet before youpurchase it? Also, has the pet shop done anything aboutit? It's usually illegal to sell ill animals. Somedo have vets treat their animals and in that case you should ask to seethe records. You might be able to get them to take the rabbitto a vet too.
Other than that, most of the blind rabbits I've heard of have adjustedpretty well. Some even fool their owners into thinking theycan see, until a vet discovers it later. They do tend to haveproblems with change, so make sure everything is kept in the same placefor him.
Sometimes when they're bonded to another rabbit with full vision, thatbunny becomes a kind of "seeing eye rabbit" for it's blindfriend. So spay/neuter and bonding him to a spayed/neuteredrabbit might be good for him. Just be sure to read up onbonding first, because not all rabbits like each other and you shouldbe able to take care of both rabbits seperately in case they do notbond.
Is there any way the rabbit could be taken to a good vet before youpurchase it? Also, has the pet shop done anything aboutit? It's usually illegal to sell ill animals. Somedo have vets treat their animals and in that case you should ask to seethe records. You might be able to get them to take the rabbitto a vet too.
Other than that, most of the blind rabbits I've heard of have adjustedpretty well. Some even fool their owners into thinking theycan see, until a vet discovers it later. They do tend to haveproblems with change, so make sure everything is kept in the same placefor him.
Sometimes when they're bonded to another rabbit with full vision, thatbunny becomes a kind of "seeing eye rabbit" for it's blindfriend. So spay/neuter and bonding him to a spayed/neuteredrabbit might be good for him. Just be sure to read up onbonding first, because not all rabbits like each other and you shouldbe able to take care of both rabbits seperately in case they do notbond.
ani-lover
Well-Known Member
my rabbit domino has been blind for over a year.at first i was very upset but ive been bonding with him so i earned histrust and now even though he has cataracts he still enjoysdoing his favorite things like riding in thestroller and playing in his carrier. now that he can notsee i tend to talk to him a lot more and he seems to be okabout it even though he doesnt see. he started to get blindin one eye then t spread to the other. he listens and smells to makesure im around when he gets to go for a walk outside of his cage.
i would give this bunny from the pet store a chance, eventhough he may be blind i would talk to him and try to get him to learnhis name, gently pet him and let him sniff your hand and maybe he couldturn out to be your best friend. just have patience and take thingsstep-by-step. you may reach your goals if you do things with cautionanddont be afraid because anmals can sense your fear and your newrabbit may be scared if you go to fast and dont let him get adjusted.
Good luck with bunny:bunnydance:
i would give this bunny from the pet store a chance, eventhough he may be blind i would talk to him and try to get him to learnhis name, gently pet him and let him sniff your hand and maybe he couldturn out to be your best friend. just have patience and take thingsstep-by-step. you may reach your goals if you do things with cautionanddont be afraid because anmals can sense your fear and your newrabbit may be scared if you go to fast and dont let him get adjusted.
Good luck with bunny
:bunnydance:hi everyone,
it's a shame someone didn't adopt that poor bunny.there is asurgery that can be done to fix the cataracts.my zoe had surgery on herright eye on oct 10 for gentic cataracts as she has it very bad in botheyes.the eye dr could only do the 1 eye at a time because of how bad itwas.now zoe can see great out her right eye she's waiting on gettingher left eye done.as soon as zoe gets the okdrclintoncan fix her left eye she's getting it done asap.butit's not cheap it costs 600 dollars an eye.
you have to be very careful when you have a blind bunny.they hop intothings can get hurt or in zoe's case she was scared to come out of herroom on her own so i had to go in get her but you must talk to thebunny first i forgot & zoe got scared when i picked her up igot kicked almost bit.then i talked to her she calmed right down.
good luck
michelle
it's a shame someone didn't adopt that poor bunny.there is asurgery that can be done to fix the cataracts.my zoe had surgery on herright eye on oct 10 for gentic cataracts as she has it very bad in botheyes.the eye dr could only do the 1 eye at a time because of how bad itwas.now zoe can see great out her right eye she's waiting on gettingher left eye done.as soon as zoe gets the okdrclintoncan fix her left eye she's getting it done asap.butit's not cheap it costs 600 dollars an eye.
you have to be very careful when you have a blind bunny.they hop intothings can get hurt or in zoe's case she was scared to come out of herroom on her own so i had to go in get her but you must talk to thebunny first i forgot & zoe got scared when i picked her up igot kicked almost bit.then i talked to her she calmed right down.
good luck
michelle
Haley
Well-Known Member
iresq: any updates on what your family decided?
Thanks for all the input. We arestruggling with this decision because we are already a house of pets (2dogs, 2 cats, bearded dragon, and fish). We also have threeboys aged 10, 8 and 8. We definately love animals.I probably should have stated the above with my originalpost. We have an active house and I am afraid we might havetoo much going to care for thisanimal.
I am not sure if the petstore will allow a trial period or a vet visitbut good questions to ask. The rabbit was definately not shyabout being held and loved - and that's probably what hooked mywife. I don't think surgery would be an option. Don't reallyknow about the pet store selling sick animals but was told they wouldgive us the rabbit ($150) if we bought the rest of the setup fromthem.
I have asked my wife to check the local SPCA to see if there areanyon bunny death row (that's how we got most of our animals).
I am not sure if the petstore will allow a trial period or a vet visitbut good questions to ask. The rabbit was definately not shyabout being held and loved - and that's probably what hooked mywife. I don't think surgery would be an option. Don't reallyknow about the pet store selling sick animals but was told they wouldgive us the rabbit ($150) if we bought the rest of the setup fromthem.
I have asked my wife to check the local SPCA to see if there areanyon bunny death row (that's how we got most of our animals).
Haley
Well-Known Member
I think checking local rescues is great.
It might be difficult to have a blind rabbit if you have lots of otheranimals and younger children. Both tend to be a bit unpredictable andcould easily scare the bunny.
I cant believe a pet store is charging 150 for a rabbit! Thats insane.Maybe you could ask to speak with the manager or something. I dontthink they should be selling a blind rabbit. Special needsbunnies require more attention and care. I hope that they are at leastinforming people of the necessary care this rabbit will need.
Anyway, let us know if you adopt a bunny. Theres so much great info here on housing, food, how to cut costs etc.
Good Luck!
Haley
It might be difficult to have a blind rabbit if you have lots of otheranimals and younger children. Both tend to be a bit unpredictable andcould easily scare the bunny.
I cant believe a pet store is charging 150 for a rabbit! Thats insane.Maybe you could ask to speak with the manager or something. I dontthink they should be selling a blind rabbit. Special needsbunnies require more attention and care. I hope that they are at leastinforming people of the necessary care this rabbit will need.
Anyway, let us know if you adopt a bunny. Theres so much great info here on housing, food, how to cut costs etc.
Good Luck!
Haley
chrisl1976
Well-Known Member
hello
Contact the House Rabit Society and see if they will give you theemailn address of one of thier moderators.....there website chatroomhad a Moderator from Central Illinois on their that had like 3-4rabbit...one of which who was blind. I believe her screenname was poopbun7. She might be able to let you know the upsand down with caring for a special needs Rabbit.
From the way she talked, he did very well in thier environment.
Contact the House Rabit Society and see if they will give you theemailn address of one of thier moderators.....there website chatroomhad a Moderator from Central Illinois on their that had like 3-4rabbit...one of which who was blind. I believe her screenname was poopbun7. She might be able to let you know the upsand down with caring for a special needs Rabbit.
From the way she talked, he did very well in thier environment.
