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.
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.