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Enrichment ideas for a blind, middle aged rabbit?


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#1 siben

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Posted 03 October 2021 - 11:32 PM

Sorry, first post, please ignore any formatting errors ;;

 

So, about 3 weeks ago I adopted a blind middle aged dwarf lionhead named Juno from the exotic vet I work at.  She was being treated for e cuniculi, and had done several rounds of treatment since being abandoned in March of 2021.  She has cataracts to the point that she cannot see whatsoever anymore, and has a wandering gaze so is often disoriented.  Right now her enclosure is a little over 12 square feet, made of c&c squares, and she sometimes will get playful and hop around, but not often.  She loves her oxbow toy structures (the table, center, and post) which I will alternate out every couple of days when I change her fleece (I keep 2 of the structures  in at a time), and she also loves willow balls.  I am working on re-litter training her, as she stopped using her litter box for pottying after I brought her home, but progress is great there and she almost never goes number 1 on the fleece anymore.  I also have a dog bed I got for her, but she has no interest in it so I took it out as to not waste her already limited space. Her enclosure also sits under a side window, which gets no direct sunlight but lots of indirect sunlight, so I open the blinds during the day so she has a good amount of light. 

 

I just wanted to know what kinds of things I can do to enrich her life?  Her cage looks so bare most of the time and she likes to just sit loafed in a corner.. Is there some other things I could give her to give her life more interest?  She gets 2-3 varieties of oxbow hay each day, pellets in the evening and several types of greens every morning with the occasional berry as a treat. I have foraging toys with hay in them as well as in her litter box, and she loves to eat it from both, so it feels like she gets the stimulation of foraging.  I can't put things with inclines in there because she would easily fall off of them, so I don't know how to give her more exploring opportunities.

 

Also, when I can get my own place without roommates, she'll have an entire room to free roam, I just don't feel it would be safe right now because my room is fairly cluttered and my roommates have a dog.






#2 Zula

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Posted 04 October 2021 - 12:03 AM

Sorry, first post, please ignore any formatting errors ;;

So, about 3 weeks ago I adopted a blind middle aged dwarf lionhead named Juno from the exotic vet I work at. She was being treated for e cuniculi, and had done several rounds of treatment since being abandoned in March of 2021. She has cataracts to the point that she cannot see whatsoever anymore, and has a wandering gaze so is often disoriented. Right now her enclosure is a little over 12 square feet, made of c&c squares, and she sometimes will get playful and hop around, but not often. She loves her oxbow toy structures (the table, center, and post) which I will alternate out every couple of days when I change her fleece (I keep 2 of the structures in at a time), and she also loves willow balls. I am working on re-litter training her, as she stopped using her litter box for pottying after I brought her home, but progress is great there and she almost never goes number 1 on the fleece anymore. I also have a dog bed I got for her, but she has no interest in it so I took it out as to not waste her already limited space. Her enclosure also sits under a side window, which gets no direct sunlight but lots of indirect sunlight, so I open the blinds during the day so she has a good amount of light.

I just wanted to know what kinds of things I can do to enrich her life? Her cage looks so bare most of the time and she likes to just sit loafed in a corner.. Is there some other things I could give her to give her life more interest? She gets 2-3 varieties of oxbow hay each day, pellets in the evening and several types of greens every morning with the occasional berry as a treat. I have foraging toys with hay in them as well as in her litter box, and she loves to eat it from both, so it feels like she gets the stimulation of foraging. I can't put things with inclines in there because she would easily fall off of them, so I don't know how to give her more exploring opportunities.

Also, when I can get my own place without roommates, she'll have an entire room to free roam, I just don't feel it would be safe right now because my room is fairly cluttered and my roommates have a dog.


Hi, I think that is great that you are looking to make her life more enriched. Have you tried things like foraging mats? They are easily available online (often targeted at dogs) but can also be made yourself - there are lots of tutorials on the internet. These are great for working their senses and foraging for foods around on the ground, like they might in the wild.

From my understanding, lots of rabbits enjoy cups that are aimed at babies for stacking. Many will enjoy “flinging them around” or knocking over stacks.

Perhaps you could try training her tricks using treats and voice commands? This is great for bonding with your rabbit, working their brain and keeping them entertained. I know ally~ has trained her rabbit, Odyssey various trick, so she might be able to provide more of an insight.

I hope this helps a bit, and good luck! :)
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#3 siben

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Posted 04 October 2021 - 12:07 AM

Hi, I think that is great that you are looking to make her life more enriched. Have you tried things like foraging mats? They are easily available online (often targeted at dogs) but can also be made yourself - there are lots of tutorials on the internet. These are great for working their senses and foraging for foods around on the ground, like they might in the wild.

From my understanding, lots of rabbits enjoy cups that are aimed at babies for stacking. Many will enjoy “flinging them around” or knocking over stacks.

Perhaps you could try training her tricks using treats and voice commands? This is great for bonding with your rabbit, working their brain and keeping them entertained. I know ally~ has trained her rabbit, Odyssey various trick, so she might be able to provide more of an insight.

I hope this helps a bit, and good luck! :)

thank you so much!!! I will definitely be trying all of these ideas out!


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#4 ajuniceu~

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Posted 04 October 2021 - 10:04 PM

Hello!

 

That's great you were able to help her and that you're looking to make her life more enriched :)

 

I agree with Zula, and that's me that has taught her bunny tricks! There's a video on my youtube channel linked in my signature that has tips on how to teach your bunny tricks :)

Most rabbits are extremely food motivated and there's lot of fun things for you and your bunny that can stem from that. If she often appears bored and is loafing in the corner, that may be because rabbits are extremely social animals that benifit from lots of interaction. You can try hand feeding her veggies, or teaching her tricks using treats to lure her :)

 

Do you think you could perhaps share a picture of her enclosure through imgbb.com or imgur.com? I could provide more insight on enriching the enclosure more :)

The cage does sound a little small. I'm not sure what you have in there but I'd consider the necessities to be: at least one hideout with 2 exits, a couple different toys (eg throwing, chewing, foraging, digging), litterbox, water dish and hay :)

 

Is she spayed? I find that with rabbits that are vision impaired, getting a buddy for them can help a lot. If you're able to find a neutured, male rabbit you can consider bonding them. In my opinion, rabbits do best in pairs as they are highly social animals. Many shelters offer something called "bunny dating", where you can

Keep in mind though if you have two rabbits I wouldn't have an enclosure any smaller than 40 sq feet and make sure they can get plenty of playtime outside of their cage each day.

 

Other things you could do include adding a foraging box/mat like Zula suggested as these provide a lot of enrichment. I personally like to use a cardboard box, put some brown packing paper and shredded printer paper in, and then sprinkle some herbs around! Like you said, willow balls are great and I like to stuff herbs in there for my bun too! For feeding pellets, you can get something like this https://www.amazon.com/Niteangel-Treat-Snack-Animals-Yellow/dp/B06XXKWBCP/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=niteangel+treat+ball&qid=1633356112&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRjNCVTlMTjE0OVhaJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDY4MzgyM0dJWEc1T0JDWDBSVCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTgzOTE3SFFPV1JGMUU1VERNJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==so it takes longer for her to eat and make it more interesting.

 

You could try adding a second level and ramp to her cage with more grids for more enrichment, though I'd reocmmend having both the second level and the ramp having a side so she won't fall off and montitoring how she uses it for the first couple times so she's okay.

 

Hope this helped!


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#5 siben

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Posted 14 November 2021 - 10:29 AM

Hello!

 

That's great you were able to help her and that you're looking to make her life more enriched :)

 

I agree with Zula, and that's me that has taught her bunny tricks! There's a video on my youtube channel linked in my signature that has tips on how to teach your bunny tricks :)

Most rabbits are extremely food motivated and there's lot of fun things for you and your bunny that can stem from that. If she often appears bored and is loafing in the corner, that may be because rabbits are extremely social animals that benifit from lots of interaction. You can try hand feeding her veggies, or teaching her tricks using treats to lure her :)

 

Do you think you could perhaps share a picture of her enclosure through imgbb.com or imgur.com? I could provide more insight on enriching the enclosure more :)

The cage does sound a little small. I'm not sure what you have in there but I'd consider the necessities to be: at least one hideout with 2 exits, a couple different toys (eg throwing, chewing, foraging, digging), litterbox, water dish and hay :)

 

Is she spayed? I find that with rabbits that are vision impaired, getting a buddy for them can help a lot. If you're able to find a neutured, male rabbit you can consider bonding them. In my opinion, rabbits do best in pairs as they are highly social animals. Many shelters offer something called "bunny dating", where you can

Keep in mind though if you have two rabbits I wouldn't have an enclosure any smaller than 40 sq feet and make sure they can get plenty of playtime outside of their cage each day.

 

Other things you could do include adding a foraging box/mat like Zula suggested as these provide a lot of enrichment. I personally like to use a cardboard box, put some brown packing paper and shredded printer paper in, and then sprinkle some herbs around! Like you said, willow balls are great and I like to stuff herbs in there for my bun too! For feeding pellets, you can get something like this https://www.amazon.com/Niteangel-Treat-Snack-Animals-Yellow/dp/B06XXKWBCP/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=niteangel+treat+ball&qid=1633356112&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRjNCVTlMTjE0OVhaJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDY4MzgyM0dJWEc1T0JDWDBSVCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTgzOTE3SFFPV1JGMUU1VERNJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==so it takes longer for her to eat and make it more interesting.

 

You could try adding a second level and ramp to her cage with more grids for more enrichment, though I'd reocmmend having both the second level and the ramp having a side so she won't fall off and montitoring how she uses it for the first couple times so she's okay.

 

Hope this helped!

Sorry for the late reply, haven't been on much since I have a lot of animals I look after and work has been taking most of my time.

We actually aren't sure if she is spayed or not (though I saw the channel Rabbits101 say its impossible to litter train an unfixed rabbit? Juno is almost 100% about not peeing out side the box but still only about 40% on pooping, so I'm not sure if that's indicative of anything?), but she is scheduled for her spay this coming Tuesday, so we will have to find out then.  She also just recently got her RHDV vax and did really well with that!  She has settled in pretty well I believe, but as of now it seems she will be highly e cuniculi positive for life, and will need to be retested for it every 3 months or so to ensure we put her back on panacur + baytril cycles when her levels get close enough to being actively dangerous, we are honestly shocked she's gotten this far without a head tilt.  As of now, I am working with some hamsters on EOL care, when they are no longer with me I will be removing some furniture that will no longer be needed in my room so I can expand her pen to hopefully 30-40 square feet.  If she becomes more responsive to potty training after her spay, I would love to try rabbit proofing my whole room, and already have plans on finding another rabbit (male and neutered, hopefully also around her age but not a requirement) who is also e cuniculi positive ( I simply would not be comfortable bringing home another rabbit who would have to be exposed to parasites like Juno's if the new one was healthy).  She's definitely not enthusiastic when it comes to interacting with me, but she does seem to enjoy when my roommates put their dog in their room and we let her hop around the house supervised for a while.  Also, due to fairly cold temps here and our heating system refusing to stay on without motion activation, I also have a heat mat on low with a chew proof cord that she can't even access under one of the two layers of fleece I'm using for the cold seasons. 

 

Juno also is not very food motivated to be honest.  She refuses timothy hay 100% unless I put foraging mix on it or if its the botanical type from oxbow, so her main daily hay is orchard with botanical or oat as a treat every few days (perks of working at an exotic vet is getting hay for wholesaler prices when the office orders boarder supplies and retail stock!  had to find a way to store the 9 pound box in my room though lol!). the only treat I can get her to come to me for is the probiotic treat she gets each evening, she loves them a ton.  She also gets an oxbow joint support treat which she will eat, but is not nearly as excited about as the probiotic.  I think I'll try breaking the treat up into smaller bits so I can work on teaching her tricks, and she does perk up when I say her name now, since it's what I say before I give her the treat or greens.  She also isn't very into her pellets, which she only gets and 1/8th cup of each day (oxbow garden select), but even when she was at the vets office they tried several brands and types of pellets with her and nothing ever really enthused her.  She will eat them all if I had a pinch of foraging mix (tropical carnival bio treat, but want to replace this with herbs ordered from small brands marketed to rabbit's herbs soon), and only about half of them if I leave them plain. I do plan to try the Essentials version of Oxbows food when she runs a bit lower on food.  I am far too anxious of my own limits to attempt a pellet free diet, especially since she doesn't hold weight well and has in fact lost a bit of weight (1.2 kilograms to now 1.0 kilograms) since living with me despite me finding out only a week or so ago that I had been giving her 1/4 cup of pellets each day (was using a measuring spoon without the measure written on it, under the assumption it was 1 tablespoon and not 2).

I also have an over abundance of toys that I cycle though when I clean her cage, and I usually leave 4-8 different toys besides her toy structures in her cage at a time.  Originally when I brought her home, I was going to use an old Living World 'rabbit' cage as her litterbox, with a ramp leading in and out of it, but she never figured out the ramp and I ended up having to scrap that idea and just give her a cat litterbox.  I am absolutely considering adding a shelf level using the squares, but I want to know if it would be okay to leave in, even if she decides she has no interest in it?  That way it creates a darker area in her enclosure with more sense of safety if anything frightens her (we live somewhat near a police precinct so there are occasionally siren noises nearby, I've never caught her seeming frightened over them, but I always were one day it'll catch her off guard at the wrong time and freak her out, you know?).  And I would definitely be sure to keep a wall against all sides of the lofted area, I am always concerned about her getting up on top of something and falling, so I am overly cautious to a fault.  I'll be asking my coworker who uses c+c cages for her guinea pigs for advice on how to set up the loft area on Tuesday. 

 

Thank you so much for all of your advice, and your concern for her well being and happiness.  She matters a ton to me, sass and all, and hearing feedback from others about her care, positive or constructive, matters a lot to me. I do not know how to put images up, and her enclosure is a little more plain than usual right now as I simplified it leading up to her surgery, but when she is back and healed up and I can show her full set up not in hospital mode, I'm sure there are a 1000 tutorials up that can show me how to get an image posted on here.


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#6 siben

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Posted 18 November 2021 - 02:23 AM

Hey there, just thought I'd give an update. My little bun ended up passing away due to a really bad reaction to anesthesia. She lasted about 12 hours after first going under sedation before she couldn't hold out any longer. We believe it may be due to her being severely affected by e cuniculi, so to anyone reading this in the future who has an e cuniculi positive rabbit, please consult with your vet as to whether anesthesia is safe for their case. My vets office will from now on be much more wary of putting symptomatic rabbits with e cuniculi under anesthesia outside of severe emergencies, and I will be taking a break from taking in special needs animals to let myself grieve, as there is a good chance I may lose another special needs pet tomorrow.
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