Henry - Poorly Eyes

Hello Everyone

Please be gentle with me as this is my first posting.

I took my 6 month old bunny to the vets today as I had noticed since Tuesday that his eyes looked a bit red. I had been bathing them with salt water. Anyway firstly the vet said that he should not be fed ANY dried food just fresh fruit and vegetables to ensure his teeth are ground down.

She then said eye problems are generally caused by two things. Teeth problems or a could be a symptom of Myxomatosis. I asked if his teeth looked ok and she said she couldn't really tell about his back teeth without putting him out. His eyes are sore but are not weepy. He has been eating and does not have a crusty nose at all. I have only owned Henry for a few weeks now and I got him from a registered breeder. She said if it is Myxomatosis he will deteriorate over the weekend. She has given me eye drops to administer in the mean time and I have to take him back early part of next week. I have contacted the breeder to see if he has been vaccinated against Myxo. Henry is a house rabbit and spends the majority of his life indoors and only goes outside to be in his run daily.

I am really upset as I thought perhaps the eye soreness was caused by maybe a draught in his eye while he was outside or maybe an allergic reaction to sawdust etc.

Henry is fed on fresh veg/fruit daily and some dry mix. He is cleaned out 2/3 times a week and eats premium hay with dandelions in it.

To be honest the vet was very patronising and I felt as tho she was criticising my care of him. He is a very well looked after, very much loved bunny.

What do you all think??

Many Thanks
Kerry x

Welcome to the forums!!

Were you bathing around the eye with salt water? Also, did you boil the water first? How much salt did you put in the water?

I'm wondering if maybe the eye is being irritated by the salt water, by either impurities that weren't boiled out from the water, or too much salt being in the mix. (I recently learned about all this myself, so no criticism here! )

I wouldn't necessarily jump to myxomatosis or teeth problems for an eye that looks red.

Also, there are mixed feelings on whether or not to give pellets. I personally do, because you would have to provide a wide variety of vegetables to get all the nutrients and minerals that a rabbit needs. I kind of think of pellets like a vitamin supplement, so both my buns only get 1/4 cup of pellets per day with unlimited hay, and a big bowl of veggies.

Also, if you could post a picture of Henry's eyes, we might be able to give some better suggestions.

Once again, welcome!

Henry

Thanks for your reply.

It was a cup of boiled water with a tiny bit of salt.

The vet was very critical to be honest. I said I fed pellets and she told me I must wean him off of these and just onto fruit and veg. I have been feeding him a dry mix and his veggies etc.

I fear of taking him back next week as I feel the vet is determined that he may have Myxomatosis. His eyes aren't bulging and he doesn't have any other symptoms. Is it possible for rabbits to just have sore eyes due to an infection?

I will try and get a piccie at some point.

Kerry x

mrsdoubtfire said:

Thanks for your reply.

It was a cup of boiled water with a tiny bit of salt.

The vet was very critical to be honest. I said I fed pellets and she told me I must wean him off of these and just onto fruit and veg. I have been feeding him a dry mix and his veggies etc.

I fear of taking him back next week as I feel the vet is determined that he may have Myxomatosis. His eyes aren't bulging and he doesn't have any other symptoms. Is it possible for rabbits to just have sore eyes due to an infection?

I will try and get a piccie at some point.

Kerry x

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I have seen plenty of sore eyes on this forum from a wide range of things.

It might be worth finding a vet that is more open-minded too. With rabbits, so many treatments are still not fully tested and accepted, so you often have to suggest other solutions to your vet if the traditional treatment does not work. It's better to have a vet that will work with you to find the solution, rather than have them give a snap diagnosis like myxi.

Unfortunately, I don't have much bunny eye knowledge, but on these forums, I've heard of something being stuck in the eye, allergies, infections, etc... Hopefully someone will come along soon with more eye experience for you.

Thanks again I appreciate any advice and reassurance.

Kerry xx

Hello and welcome to the forum:wave:

Sorry to hear you felt got at by the vets we'll be gentle with you!

I notice you mentioned sawdust/woodshavings which I would suggest are not a good idea for your rabbit as they can cause irritation and they let of phenols which can be harmful - perhaps you could switch to Megazorb or paper based litter such as yesterdays news, or simple shredded newspaper until you can get one of the others, and see if that helps.

It is widely agreed that rabbits don't need a lot of "hard" food as I call it (pellets or mix) but by far the most important part of their diet is hay which should make up 90% of their diet and the other 10 per cent can be a mix of veg and pellets (I'd be careful about fruit as it is so sugary). Make any alterations over a 10 - 14 day period.

I think if you want to bathe his eyes I would just use cool, boiled water.

I would also consider whether you are using any cleaning products/air fresheners in the home which could be affecting him - just to rule that out.

I don't have experience of Myxi but you will find lots of info on here if you do a search.

Hope you get to the bottom of this soon.

Henry

Many thanks for your reply. Where can I get hold of the paper based litter? I live in the South West near Yeovil.

Kerry x

Thats a good question? to which I don't have an answer! How about doing an internet search and looking for stockists in your area? Or do a search on here and look at threads about what litter people use, I know some people use cat litter which you can get in the supermarkets and pets@home etc but it must be a particular kind and not clump forming but please check.

I use carefresh for my house bun- made of recycled paper and my vets use it too. You can get it from pets at home these days I notice, but I first got mine from the hay experts.

I've had a fair share of eye problems myself in the past (looking for advice on giving eye drops now!) but touch wood none of it has been teeth or myxi related yet. Though if he hasn't been vaccinated it might be good to do so!

Are there other vets in your area? Think its often worth finding one you get on with!! Mine are brilliant and have narrowed by bun's eye probs down to 'dry eye,' but to be honest the first thing my vet asked about was drafts, bullying by other buns, allergies- all the things you've said really are quite feasible!!

To be fair, if you read some of the many threads in here, you'll find vet that doesn't know anything about rabbits. So I would much prefer a vet who's critical, because it shows he cares about your bun.

Welcome!!
Not sure if this is 100% accurate but I when one of my guniea pigs had a sore eye I was advised to bathe it with tea as it has natural goodies in it. Just boil water with a tea bag in there once the water is cool use that, and it really seemed to work. x