I know other people have been talking about their deaf or potentially deaf rabbits lately. After reading some of the things other people have been saying, I'm really starting to think Leopold is either partially or fully deaf. Everything just keeps adding up. First of all, you can never catch him completely asleep. It seems he's always ready to go if he needs to. He doesn't care too much about the vacuum. Wooly has gotten used to it, but Leopold has always been passive about its presence. Then there is his "lack of listening". If you catch Wooly doing something wrong, you can yell "no" and he will stop to look at you. That is usually all it takes to get him to stop. Leopold, on the other hand, completely ignores you. I will yell at him, stomp my foot, shake stuff. No reaction, he just keeps doing it. At first I thought maybe he was just being a stubborn little brat. No reaction at all though seems to fit more with him not being able to hear you. I will often throw something (soft) at him to get his attention. Then he knows I'm there and knows he needs to stop whatever he's doing. Finally, there is the way he communicates with you. He doesn't have "normal" bunny language. I have never heard him vocalize. Not a grunt or a honk or anything. Even when he's trying to get away from you when you're cutting his nails. There's just this weird scoffing sound. He never thumps either. And he bites. Hard. He will bruise me and even break the skin. Wooly doesn't do this. He will grunt and just put his teeth on me. It seems to me that Leopold is overcompensating because maybe he can't hear and therefore does not know some of the bunny language. Does all of this add up to you guys to? Or am I imagining it? Should I ask the vet about it? I wonder if they would even be able to tell for sure one way or the other.

They were doing their synchronized grooming thing (both grooming themselves in the same way at the same time) earlier. They had no idea I was standing in the doorway. I clapped as loud as I could. Wooly jumped. Leopold, well, Leopold just kept on grooming himself as if nothing had happened. He didn't even flinch. I went in there, got within a few feet of him and clapped several times. Still no response. Then he was apparently finished, went to bring his head up, and was like holy crap how the heck did you get in front of me?

Does Samson bite you hard? Leopold doesn't bite me because he is scared. He is just annoyed and wants me to stop doing whatever it is I'm doing. He bites down hard, as if he doesn't know any restraint. Wooly doesn't do this. He will grunt, then swing around and place his teeth on me. He never bites down. Wooly also thumps when he's scared and Leopold has absolutely no reaction to the thumping. It's as if Wooly knows the language, but Leopold does not. Maybe I'm just reading into it too much. I don't know.

Pepper and Piglet also have selective deafness. For instance when eating the day bed cushions or destroying something else they have gotten hold of a herd of rhino could stampede through the place and they wouldn't twitch and ear. Call out the word greens or treats and they appear like a flash from their hidey holes. They can also tell the sound of the hay bag being opened yet Mummy scalding for bad behavior is ignored. I have discovered that Rabbits and Cats share many similarities!

As to biting, Piglet has never done it. He use to hang onto my finger with his teeth when he wanted my undivided attention as a baby bun but now he is really mellow except when it comes to grooming time then he is a long eared bandit and makes me chase him round the day bed. (he is the instigater BTW and he loves it, binkies his brains out trying to get me to catch him he plays the same game with the babies) Pepper however was very aggressive and use to charge and nip. Not now though, if she is having a Miss Crabby Pants day she will punch and grumble but a quick scratch behind the ears and she melts. I got to the bottom of it though, my original bunny sitters who took day care when they were first rescued favoured Pepz as she was black and over handled her whilst Piglet was left alone and ignored. Balance is now restored and Piglet loves to sit with you on the day bed whilst Pepper loves to be gently stroked and never bites or nips anymore just the occasional growl when she wants to be left alone. I sacked the original Bunny sitters after they failed to bring them home and I had to go and get them (the deal was I dropped them in the morning and they brought them back when I got home from work. My new Bunny sitter for the hot weather is a saint and has been brilliant. Both bunnies (plus the babies) love her and come running as they know Cathy will usually have broccoli leaves and fresh grass with her when she visits.

Posted By Sam and Lady's Human on 12/28/2011 06:56 PM
Samson would bite hard if I don't move fast enough She's just a little... temperamental. She did once, hard enough to bruise, after I had to pick her up for something. I've since found other ways hah.

See if he reacts to you stomping around him, he should be sensitive to the vibrations if he is deaf.

When exactly does Leopold bite? I assume he's fixed right?

I will try the stomping thing. I will have to do it when he's not looking though. Yes, he is man no more. He has been neutered for quite some time now (he's almost 2 years old). He bites when I'm doing something that displeases him and he wants me to stop. So usually this is when I'm grooming him or something. He's fine being picked up, he actually comes pretty quietly now. No fuss, no struggle, I just scoop him up. I will put him in my lap and start doing what I need to do. When he's had enough, he will tell me by nipping. I don't think it's a mean nip, I really think he just doesn't realize he's hurting me. I have squealed before, but this gets no reaction from him.

When I'm grooming Wooly and he has decided he has had enough, he will grunt and just put his teeth on me. He's saying "stop mom, I don't like this anymore". He is sure not to hurt me, he is just communicating with me. Leopold is communicating as well, just not as uh gracefully.

Posted By Roberta on 12/28/2011 07:20 PM

Pepper and Piglet also have selective deafness. For instance when eating the day bed cushions or destroying something else they have gotten hold of a herd of rhino could stampede through the place and they wouldn't twitch and ear. Call out the word greens or treats and they appear like a flash from their hidey holes. They can also tell the sound of the hay bag being opened yet Mummy scalding for bad behavior is ignored. I have discovered that Rabbits and Cats share many similarities!

As to biting, Piglet has never done it. He use to hang onto my finger with his teeth when he wanted my undivided attention as a baby bun but now he is really mellow except when it comes to grooming time then he is a long eared bandit and makes me chase him round the day bed. (he is the instigater BTW and he loves it, binkies his brains out trying to get me to catch him he plays the same game with the babies) Pepper however was very aggressive and use to charge and nip. Not now though, if she is having a Miss Crabby Pants day she will punch and grumble but a quick scratch behind the ears and she melts. I got to the bottom of it though, my original bunny sitters who took day care when they were first rescued favoured Pepz as she was black and over handled her whilst Piglet was left alone and ignored. Balance is now restored and Piglet loves to sit with you on the day bed whilst Pepper loves to be gently stroked and never bites or nips anymore just the occasional growl when she wants to be left alone. I sacked the original Bunny sitters after they failed to bring them home and I had to go and get them (the deal was I dropped them in the morning and they brought them back when I got home from work. My new Bunny sitter for the hot weather is a saint and has been brilliant. Both bunnies (plus the babies) love her and come running as they know Cathy will usually have broccoli leaves and fresh grass with her when she visits.

I thought maybe he just has selective hearing too. But there are all these other factors too, so that's why I think maybe he is hearing impaired.

Okay, I just went to check on them. Leopold was lying on his tummy, head up, facing away from the doorway. He couldn't see me. I stomped my feet on the floor. Wooly looked up at me. Leopold still didn't budge. He was like a little statue. Again, I approached him. He couldn't see me. I couldn't come up squarely behind (furniture was in the way), so when I reached out to touch him he caught my hand in the corner of his eye. He jumped up and seemed startled. Again, he looked like he was saying "how the heck did you get in here?".

So I don't know what that means. You would have thought he could feel the vibrations, but he didn't move. Just poor Wooly is wondering why I keep coming in there and making loud noises.

Posted By LBJ10 on 12/29/2011 07:11 PM
You're thinking of Wooly? Maybe because he's so unbelievably adorable? :p

That is true

Make sure that the treat bag is closed completely as shaking the treat bag could create a yummy scent and cue Leopold.

Sounds like Leopold is probably deaf or hard of hearing, sorry Wilbur relies on Totoro to know when it's treat or meal time too, it's so sweet. I guess Wooly and Totoro are hearing ear bunnies (like seeing eye dogs lol).

Posted By bunnyfriend on 12/30/2011 07:35 PM

Sounds like Leopold is probably deaf or hard of hearing, sorry Wilbur relies on Totoro to know when it's treat or meal time too, it's so sweet. I guess Wooly and Totoro are hearing ear bunnies (like seeing eye dogs lol).

Yep, it seems that way.

Posted By Sam and Lady's Human on 12/30/2011 07:39 PM
What'd he do when he saw the treat bag?

Well, I had to flash the bag right in his face before he even realized I had it. Then he came over.

Here are some great tips for people who have deaf bunnies.   http://www.ohare.org/vol2_1.htm#deaf

Posted By RabbitPam on 12/31/2011 05:38 AM
Great article - I bookmarked it.
Some of those tips are very good even if you do not have a deaf bunny, so everyone might want to check it out. I especially like tooth purring with your face on theirs so they feel the love.

Its funny that you picked that one out because I actually do that with Vivian.  She is not deaf but I learned that if I do the tooth purr while I bury my face in her soft fur and she does the soft tooth grind back.   Jack used to just tooth purr back if he heard me do a tooth purr to him and I miss that because Vivian doesn't respond back that way.  However, I discovered she would when I was giving her kisses on her back and she'd purr back only when I made kiss noises or she could feel tooth purrs.

 I haven't done any "decoding" of the number or set of tooth clicks yet but it sure will be interesting to try!