Bunny With Watery Eye

Hi there, I hope someone can help me. My bunny has a really watery eye - just the one. It is a little pink around the edges but it doesn't look bad, it's just when the liquid dries in his fur it looks a bit sore but he doesn't seem affected by it. I have been bathing it gently with salt water which he enjoys and it got better but recently came back.

He is 6 months old and a house bunny, we use Yesterdays news in his litter trays which i clean regularly and I have always used it. One thing is, he doesn't eat much hay, he picks at it a bit but thats it - if anything he'll eat the alfafa but even then not much. he does eat loads of veg though and a bit of fruit which he gets a nice variety of and dry food.

Sorry for blabbing on, just trying to set the scene. Like I said doesn't seem to bother him, it just looks pink, and obviously I know this isn't normal and i want him to be a well and happy bunny. What can I do about this myself? I know it sounds awful but I don't have the money for the vets at the minute, but if there is any chance that this could be serious I will get it and take him in the drop of a hat.

I read somewhere that putting a herbal teabag on his eye would clear it up - was this person a freak?

Thanks for your help

Most likely he has an upper molar that is growing into his jaw upwards, i.e., it's inside you can't see it. That molar is blocking his nose/eye area, those the watery eyes in 1 side only.

I would do an x-ray

Sounds like it could be bad Poor bunny, I will definitely take him to the vet in that case. Could that be the case even though he is only 6 months old? Or is it even more likely because he is young?

Hi

It could be an infection or more seriously his teeth. Best to take him to the vet to get checked out and as Happy Hopping said, if his teeth need doing then ask for an X-ray to be done at the same time.

Teeth are not the end of the world (as I thought a year ago), they can be managed and your bunny is still young so I would try to encourage it to eat more hay (should be 80-90% of diet) which hopefully will keep teeth down.

One of mine does not eat hay (no matter what I have tried) and has to have dentals very regularly.

Hope he is OK.

Thank you all so much for your help,

Please excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by "if his teeth need doing"?

Thanks again


PS - Yea I totally realise that hay is vital for a bunnies teeth and digestion but he refuses to eat it! I have tried not giving him other food until later to encourage him to 'resort' to eating the hay, instead he just chews on my shoes, books or the tv remotes instead!! Little monkey!

i also wanted to add that quite often, as in almost all the cases of my buns in the past 10+ years, they have a few teeth that needed to be fix, and once it's done, and w/ proper hay diet, no problem since.

If they need to be done e.g. clipping or burring to remove any spurs / level any uneven teeth out.

Please, try anything you can to get him to eat hay while he is so young. Have you tried different types of hay. Try mixing it with grated carrot, try spraying it with some pineapple juice to tempt him. Give him it in toys to play with. You can also by alfalfa cubes which are hay to maybe try to give him a tase for hay.

My bun just had something like this. It started in one eye and was watery but then moved to both eyes. I took him to the vets and they said it was conjunctivitis, he's been having eye drops and it's all fine now.

I was worried it was his teeth at first, luckily it doesn't seem to be. I think the best thing is to go the the vets straight away.

Hope the little one does ok, keep us posted on his progress.

Ohhh you guyyys. You are good to me!

Thanks again so so much for your help and handy tips (I will definitely try out the spraying of the pinepple on the hay!). I will take him to the vets tonight and keep you posted.

:wave: Hi, i agree with everyone else, id take him to the vet and hopefully with him being a youngster its most probally an infection.Talking bout hay, if you go on Hay Experts they do a hay taster pack of different hays, ive opened all the packs and have left them out for Poppy to help herself.They come in brown envelopes im sure your bun will love just tossing them about and finding a tasty treat.Let us know how you get on please, Best of luck.x