help he's blind..

hello, i am worried about one of my rabbits, i've only had him a week and got him from a local paper advertising him as a lionhead lop. when i got there he was in a very poor made do smelly n drafty damp hutch, i imedietly felt sorry for him and wanted to improve his quality of life, but appart from his obvious lack of care the thing i noticed most of all was his eyes, they seemed very strange even scarey looking and of a very strange colour, when i aproched him he diddnt seem to mind but when i picked him up he very much pannicked, i thought it was just shock/stress. so i took him home and got him settled, next day i opened the door to my rabbit shed and he shot straight into the side of the cage, then the other side too, when i finally caught him he was so scared and shakey, i took him to a big playpen i have in my garden and popped him in, for a run about n a bit of excersize n fresh air the sun was shining i thought he would enjoy it, but no he was running into the sides again frantikly, i have now decided he is blind, the help i need is to ask your oppinions as to wether i can offer him a quality life or not, please if anyone has any ideas please please advise thanks dazy,

I think a few people on here have blind buns who get on fine - i imagine its like people if you give him his space that he gets used to he will learn where things are and if you talk to him when you approach him so he knows that you are there he should start to get used to things

Might be an idea to take him to the vets for a checkup though

There is no reason why you cannot offer this bun a good quality of life, particuarly in comparison to what he previously had. The important things to do is always put things in the same place for him, so that he can always find things such as food and water. When you put him back in his hutch place him in the same spot so he can get some idea on where he is. Always talk calmly to your bun so he knows that you are approaching and try to spend time with him with his feet firmly on the ground so he knows where he is.

Janice

Speak to Jane (JCO) she bound to have a couple'a blind ones tucked away :wink: xx

beckiboo186 said:

Speak to Jane (JCO) she bound to have a couple'a blind ones tucked away :wink: xx

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:lol:

Are you totally sure hes blind in both eyes??Is there a glaze over both eyes or one??
I have a bunny whos blind in one eye,and she has a glaze over one eye,if i approach her on the blind side she will go to bite me,its more of a start for her but im usedto it now and i dont approach her on the blind side and shes fine.

Yeah I agree with Janice, ideally also I'd attach a run directly to his hutch so he can discover it and come and go as he pleases, I should imagine that would be far less confusing for him than being picked up and moved to a run. When you do have to take him out, I agree that you should always put him back in at the same place - ideally right in front of his food as he will then smell it and recognise where he is. I guess time will tell whether he settles and is happy, but I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be, once he has worked out his bearings.

What do his eyes actually look like? You should take him to the vets to be checked over. I had a french lop who I had had 3 days and I noticed his eyes looked a bit strange, had a strange blueish colour to them and they were slightly bigger than a normal rabbits. He did go completley blind in both eyes, he had glaucoma! This is a very very painful condition. He was on treatment for a few months but the intraocular pressure wasn't being controlled so he had both his eyes removed. He coped really well with being blind and was a really affectionist bunny, we had a really strong bond because we had gone through it all together.

It may be that your bun is actually in pain and that is why he is so skittish. I would definetley get him checked over as soon as possible! but just remember its not the end of the world if he is blind!

beckiboo186 said:

Speak to Jane (JCO) she bound to have a couple'a blind ones tucked away :wink: xx

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Hiya!! Yep, I have a couple of blind buns tucked away!! :wink: I would really advise you to get your Bun checked over by a Vet. There are many reasons why a bun may be unsighted and it is important to exclude conditions such as Glaucoma. There is no reason why a totally blind bun cannot enjoy a good quality of life. But firstly you need to make sure you know what you are dealing with and whether any longterm treatment is needed. Jane xx

Isn't it good to pair up a blind bunny with another rabbit who can see, so they can help with their sense of direction and whatnot? I could be making this up, but I'm sure I've read it somewhere that blind rabbits find life easier with another bun to help them!