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Helping near blind rabbit adjust to house move

RabbitBears

Warren Scout
Hi All

I don't post much but lurk and learn far more frequently.

I'm looking for a bit of advice. I am a human companion to a somewhat nervous though very loving 5 yr old lion lop called Smudge, who free ranges in my bedroom. I've recently moved house, my new room is larger than my last which I'm hoping he'll come to enjoy. However for now he just seems terrified, and is largely refusing to leave his litter tray. I know he's got cataracts since I last moved, they've been seen by my vet who said at the last check up that he still had some eyesight but possibly minimal. It's been a couple of days, and I wondered if anyone had any advice to help him feel more comfortable?

Things I've tried so far:

Putting the unwashed rug that was in my last room down next to the tray, so it should smell and feel familiar
Putting water and food in the tray so that he has everything he needs and can explore at his own pace
Leaving all food but hay just outside the tray so that he would hopefully be tantalised to leave
Lifting him out (he stays out for a bit, eats some food, hops over to his house, but I come back to find him back in the tray, and refusing to leave again.

Any ideas folks? Obviously I'm still unpacking as well so the room is changing. Would a smaller area to start help? Or just getting on with finishing arranging everything and hoping he gets used to it? He's currently confining himself to the equivalent of a small cage :( . He was happy to hop about everywhere in my last room but I'm worrying he has worse eyesight than I realised and that was just because he knew where everything was.
I'm hoping to maybe get him a friend in the next year but was recently made redundant so it's not possible at the moment. The room is a totally different size and the door and window are positioned differently, so laying everything out just the same is not possible.
 
I think it's really early days for him, he needs time to adjust and find his way around :)

Keep encouraging him and I'm sure he will be fine.
 
obviously with him being some what blind, I assume its due to the new environment, I would suggest trying making the space slightly smaller for him and have lots of hiding spots for him e.g tunnels, hideaways and boxes. i'm sure he'll be back to normal in a few days when he realises hes not in any danger, you've got to remember rabbits are prey animals and being blind doesn't help, hes making sure he cant smell or hear anything dangerous :) my Noctis was the same when i got him home he didn't want to come out of his cage for at least 5 days, it just takes time and patience and make sure your there with him lots of encouragement and soft speaking :)

he just needs time to adjust and getting him a friend sounds like a great idea especially if hes going blind.
 
also what type of floor is it, i've had experiences with rabbits hating hard wood floors as its hard for them to get around :(
 
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