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Is my rabbit blind?

L

Lauren25

Young Bun
Hi everyone,
You'll have to excuse my ignorance in this post, it may be that what I'm describing is normal but I'd like some assurance/advice.
My rabbit is a rehomed French Lop who is approx 2 y/o and I've had him for over a month now. He's been to the vets 3 times since I got him and he is perfectly healthy and she didn't mention anything about his sight so I presumed all was well. I have noticed, however, that he relies entirely on scent. For instance, when I have carrot (his absolute favourite treat) he doesn't know it's there unless I hold it right in front of his nose and then he goes crazy trying to get it. He can 'watch' me put some in his cage or right next to him and he won't know it's there until I literally put it to his nose and then lead him to it, using the scent. Is this normal? He only knows where his food bowl is (when i put it back into his cage after filling it) by scent and sound (me rattling it). He has his nose pressed to the floor sniffing it out in an attempt to find it, sometimes even when it's right next to him.
He has no problem getting around his cage and getting in and out but I have read that rabbits are good with scent/ mental mapping. He only seems to know if I'm next to his cage by my scent. Sometimes he is a little clumsy and will fall off something that he has climbed (not very high). For instance he just jumped while exploring and hit his head off a sideboard that he was right next to.
This may be the total norm for rabbits, I don't know how reliant they are upon their sight or if you could even tell if they are looking at you/food/where they are going. Apologies if this is totally normal, I just wanted to hear other people's views as it's been playing on my mind for weeks now.
 
Lauren25 said:
Hi everyone,
You'll have to excuse my ignorance in this post, it may be that what I'm describing is normal but I'd like some assurance/advice.
My rabbit is a rehomed French Lop who is approx 2 y/o and I've had him for over a month now. He's been to the vets 3 times since I got him and he is perfectly healthy and she didn't mention anything about his sight so I presumed all was well. I have noticed, however, that he relies entirely on scent. For instance, when I have carrot (his absolute favourite treat) he doesn't know it's there unless I hold it right in front of his nose and then he goes crazy trying to get it. He can 'watch' me put some in his cage or right next to him and he won't know it's there until I literally put it to his nose and then lead him to it, using the scent. Is this normal? He only knows where his food bowl is (when i put it back into his cage after filling it) by scent and sound (me rattling it). He has his nose pressed to the floor sniffing it out in an attempt to find it, sometimes even when it's right next to him.
He has no problem getting around his cage and getting in and out but I have read that rabbits are good with scent/ mental mapping. He only seems to know if I'm next to his cage by my scent. Sometimes he is a little clumsy and will fall off something that he has climbed (not very high). For instance he just jumped while exploring and hit his head off a sideboard that he was right next to.
This may be the total norm for rabbits, I don't know how reliant they are upon their sight or if you could even tell if they are looking at you/food/where they are going. Apologies if this is totally normal, I just wanted to hear other people's views as it's been playing on my mind for weeks now.
Click to expand...

Hello

It isn't really possible to say for certain whether or not your Rabbit is blind just based on what you have posted. Is your Rabbit a Red/pink eyed white ? They often have somewhat impaired vision.

These links provide some additional information

http://www.vgr1.com/vision/

http://www.disabledrabbits.com/blindness.html

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Eyes_diseases_rabbit.pdf

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/vision.html
 
Lauren25 said:
Hi everyone,
You'll have to excuse my ignorance in this post, it may be that what I'm describing is normal but I'd like some assurance/advice.
My rabbit is a rehomed French Lop who is approx 2 y/o and I've had him for over a month now. He's been to the vets 3 times since I got him and he is perfectly healthy and she didn't mention anything about his sight so I presumed all was well. I have noticed, however, that he relies entirely on scent. For instance, when I have carrot (his absolute favourite treat) he doesn't know it's there unless I hold it right in front of his nose and then he goes crazy trying to get it. He can 'watch' me put some in his cage or right next to him and he won't know it's there until I literally put it to his nose and then lead him to it, using the scent. Is this normal? He only knows where his food bowl is (when i put it back into his cage after filling it) by scent and sound (me rattling it). He has his nose pressed to the floor sniffing it out in an attempt to find it, sometimes even when it's right next to him.
He has no problem getting around his cage and getting in and out but I have read that rabbits are good with scent/ mental mapping. He only seems to know if I'm next to his cage by my scent. Sometimes he is a little clumsy and will fall off something that he has climbed (not very high). For instance he just jumped while exploring and hit his head off a sideboard that he was right next to.
This may be the total norm for rabbits, I don't know how reliant they are upon their sight or if you could even tell if they are looking at you/food/where they are going. Apologies if this is totally normal, I just wanted to hear other people's views as it's been playing on my mind for weeks now.
Click to expand...


Hi there Lauren :wave:

Never apologise - we are here to help if we can :)

It's so difficult to determine whether a rabbit is blind or not. Even a vet and dare I say it - and ophthalmologist can get it wrong!

That said, if you really want to find out whether your rabbit has sight or not, or if there's anything going on within/behind the eye that may be causing an issue, I would recommend that you get your vet to refer you to an eye specialist for a thorough exam. You may then be able to pick up on potential issues and deal with them straight away, if there are any.

What you have described is not exactly the norm for rabbits, though red eyed whites do have a difference in that sometimes they can 'scan' their environment. I've found the info here quite useful:

http://www.vgr1.com/vision/
 
Thank you both! :) He is not a white/red eye, he is a fawn/blue colour with dark eyes. He often has his eyes closed and even when they're open it seems like his fur hangs over them quite a lot - I can't really see his eyes unless I lie on the floor and look at them from underneath. Maybe this could be contributing to it? Just this morning when I put down his food he was frantically sniffing everywhere to try and find it, even though it was right next to him. He has started jumping on top of his cage which makes me think that he must be able to see if he is doing that, so perhaps he has more of an impairment, rather than being completely blind. He seems happy enough but if it starts to become more of an issue, I'll get him referred. I think I'm bothered by it more than he is! Thank you x
 
My Morning is a blue crossbreed (upeared, though) and diagnosed as functionally blind by the vet. She doesn't react to things until it hits the floor. She boxes and grunts if startled. However, she is one of my cleverest rabbits. She climbs up and down the stairs with very little issue (sometimes misjudges steps and scurries up rather than clean hops), and has the whole house mapped out in spite of her differences to the rest. As a whole, like your Frenchie lad, it generally bothers us more than her. Her other senses have made up for the lack of sight, and being in a group means she can follow the lead of the other rabbits if her lack of sight is failing her.
 
Thanks tlcwrites that's good to know, it sounds a lot like Thumper. He doesn't hop in and out of his cage, he more so sticks his head out, hangs it over the ledge until it hits the floor (almost using his nose to guide him), then scampers over the ledge rather clumsily, often bashing off the ledge and knocking the cage while he does it. He hops back in using the same method. Thumper is very rarely startled, he is extremely chilled out and no loud noises/other animals bother him. But once in a while, and very randomly, I can walk by him and he will get such a fright and run away. It's always extremely random and it's as though he hasn't heard or smelt me prior. This will happen very rarely but it makes it even more odd when it does. Is there anything visibly different about her eyes? I can't really get a good look at Thumper's as he often has them closed or very squinted.
 
Lauren25 said:
Thanks tlcwrites that's good to know, it sounds a lot like Thumper. He doesn't hop in and out of his cage, he more so sticks his head out, hangs it over the ledge until it hits the floor (almost using his nose to guide him), then scampers over the ledge rather clumsily, often bashing off the ledge and knocking the cage while he does it. He hops back in using the same method. Thumper is very rarely startled, he is extremely chilled out and no loud noises/other animals bother him. But once in a while, and very randomly, I can walk by him and he will get such a fright and run away. It's always extremely random and it's as though he hasn't heard or smelt me prior. This will happen very rarely but it makes it even more odd when it does. Is there anything visibly different about her eyes? I can't really get a good look at Thumper's as he often has them closed or very squinted.
Click to expand...

There's nothing particularly different in her eyes. She certainly doesn't have issues in terms of having them closed or squinting. The only difference is she doesn't tend to blink if something approaches them. The vet, when testing, nearly literally poked her in the eye, poor thing. She was mortified!
 
I'm not sure about the clumsiness.etc, but I've definitely found that some of my buns are the same with food - often I have to guide them right to it, as they scurry around and don't seem to see where it is :) x
 
I don't know if it's his fur in the way of his eyes, he seems to have a lot of fur around them. I don't suppose there is much to be done about that - he isn't long haired but it just seems like his eyes aren't fully open. From what I can see, his eyes look normal too! I don't think I've ever noticed him blink, come to think of it, especially not when I'm right by him. Bless her! I don't think Thumper would be too happy about that either - he's only ever 'thumped' once and it was towards the vet! :p
 
Thanks TheThreeB's that's good to hear - that may be the case with Thumper too! He may just be a clumsy bun - he's very large after all! X
 
Lauren25 said:
I don't know if it's his fur in the way of his eyes, he seems to have a lot of fur around them. I don't suppose there is much to be done about that - he isn't long haired but it just seems like his eyes aren't fully open. From what I can see, his eyes look normal too! I don't think I've ever noticed him blink, come to think of it, especially not when I'm right by him. Bless her! I don't think Thumper would be too happy about that either - he's only ever 'thumped' once and it was towards the vet! :p
Click to expand...


I find the loppy type buns, especially if a bit more long-haired, can seem like that with their eyes. All fur and no eyes!

I'm sure if the need ever arises you'll know when to get him checked out at the vet :)
 
Thanks MightyMax - I've never had a lop before and haven't had rabbits since I was much younger so seemed strange not being able to see his eyes. Hopefully it's just me needlessly worrying as always, he seems very happy and that's all that matters I suppose!
 
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