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Bright orange crust by eyes!

R

rebeccaemms

Warren Scout
Hi everyone

Last week I noticed a tiny spot of bright orange crustiness next to my female Roxy's eye - just one eye - I tried to pick it out thinking it was just pollen/ dirt but it wasn't coming out easily so I left it and it disappeared. This morning my male rabbit has the same thing in just one of his eyes. I don't want to be alarmed if it's nothing but I've never witnessed this or heard of it before and just don't know what it could be - neither rabbit has had any distress with it.
I've tried to take a couple of pics but they haven't come out too well as the spot of orange stuff is so tiny. If anyone has any ideas what it is please let me know.
Thanks

DSCF2371.jpg


DSCF2368.jpg
 
Looks like a bit of conjunctivitis to me.
The Buns may have accidently scratched the corner of their eye whilst scratching their ear, particularly if the nails on their back feet are long/sharp

I'd also check the Buns ears for mites. Itchy ears can lead to over vigorous scratching. If the eyes continue to look sore in the corner and there is more discharge your Vet may want to prescribe antibiotic/anti-inflammatory eye drops.

Janex
 
Ok, went to the vets yesterday - she said it's a parasite on the eye corners called Harvest Mite! She had never seen it on rabbits before - only dogs, sheep etc!!! Bit of a worry as she didn't have anything to treat it with as the only licensed treatment was for larger animals. She has give me some Bayer 'Advantage' for flea treatment but I'm a bit concerned about that actually getting rid of the mites. Upon closer inspection the mites are not just around the eyes but deep in the ears and also may be under the fur in various places. The vet did say they are not harmful just uncomfortable for the buns and very itchy and eventually they will go on their own. I'm concerned about using flea treatments on my Benjamin though as he often suffers a bad reaction to flystrike treatments etc and goes into a panic if anything is applied to his skin - actually ripping the fur out if he can get to it - if he can't he runs around in a blind panic til the irritation has worn off! I'll let you know the outcome as the vet is due to ring me this afternoon to let me know whether the Bayer Advantage will actually help with the mites.
 
Yep, they are harvest mites - they only last till the end of September thank goodness:D
They are in the long grass, the bushes, everything :roll: so it's pretty hard to stop the buns getting them - they usually go around the nose and eyes.
You can put some vaseline or baby oil on them as this starves them of oxygen and kills them off.
They are usually most active during the months of July to September, but with the way the weather is changing all the time it can sometimes be as late as October before they disapper altogether.
 
The vet phoned me yesterday after speaking with a collegue and suggested I bring the buns back and we vaccinate them with ivomectin - which I understand may prevent further re-infestations which are likely to happen as our garden borders loads of long grass near a school. Hopefully this may do the trick although I was a bit nervous - had to sign a disclaimer as the product isn't licensed for use on bunnies or something! The buns seem ok today - Benjamin was a bit tired and laid down a lot last night but that's probably a result of two vets visits in two days and a jab for myxi and a jab with ivomectin all within 24 hours!
 
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