• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Persistent Eye problem - please help!

Becky H

Young Bun
I adopted my lop eared bun Smithy in March this year. He had a runny eye but it never got worse or better so I never bothered to look into it further.

About 3-4 weeks ago I took him for his Myxi Jab and ever since then his eye (only one side) flared up terribly and has huge amounts of white puss coming out of it. The vet has checked his teeth and it is not that. He has an ifected tear duct and now has an abbsess, his eye ball appears to be being pushed back in his head rather than outwards, contrary to what I've found on the net about eye abbcesses!

Anyway, he's on his 3rd lot of Baytril antibiotics, 3rd lot of metacam (for cats) and I'm putting eye drops in twice a day too as well as cleaning away and squeezing out as much puss as I can. He's had his eye flushed out about 5 times by the vets, only once was this a full flush (where the liquid came out of his nose). Everytime I take him for this his eye end up looking so sore and enflamed, I hate seeing him like that!

The vet said an alternative would be to have his eye surgically removed which I wouldn't mind but the op she said would be £200! I just can't afford that, I can't afford the repeat trips to the vets where nothing seems to be getting any better either.

Somebody please help! I don't know what to do for the best! The vet wanted him in again this week for another flush but I'm not going to take him as it seems to do more harm than good!

Please help poor smithy!

Becky
 
Is there an exotic vet nearby that you can ask for a referral to? This sounds quite specialist to me and would require certainly a very rabbit savy regular vet, an exotic vet would be ideal if available. If you tell us where you are in the country we might be able to make a suggestion of someone recommended nearby if your vet can't suggest anyone.

Has your bun ever had skull Xrays done under a GA to examine the extent of the site of infection and to assess exactly what is going on?

Baytril is RARELY able to penetrate rabbit abcesses and clear up this sort of infection in isolation, and stronger off license antibiotics are usually required, again this is why a rabbit savy/exotic vet is so necessary, your vet can always communicate with one by phone/email for advice on this if necessary. I would expect bun to be on much stronger antibiotics. A c+s test on the pus itself would also be helpful to find the most appropriate antibiotic for this infection.

High pain relief is crucial at this moment in time.

Eye removal is an option and many buns on here have had it done successfully - but I would first want a 2nd opinion and atleast an Xray to find out what is going on inside the skull itself. Good luck x
 
Thanks for the reply,

I'm in North West Leicestershire. My vet never mentioned getting a second opinion from a more exotic experienced vet. I'm not really very happy with them, I had to ask her to check his teeth in case that was the problem and she said "I will check if I can" she could as it happens but would she not have bothered to try to check if he put up more of a fight?! And from what you've said about the baytril I feel I've wasted my money and for what?! A drug that is not able to cope with such an infection.

Oh and nobody has mentioned to me anything about xrays or testing the pus to find out what sort of infection it is!

On the plus side they did do his myxi jab correctly, with some under the skibn on his ear. So they do know something about rabbits! Just not a lot it seems!
 
Thanks for the reply,

I'm in North West Leicestershire. My vet never mentioned getting a second opinion from a more exotic experienced vet. I'm not really very happy with them, I had to ask her to check his teeth in case that was the problem and she said "I will check if I can" she could as it happens but would she not have bothered to try to check if he put up more of a fight?! And from what you've said about the baytril I feel I've wasted my money and for what?! A drug that is not able to cope with such an infection.

Oh and nobody has mentioned to me anything about xrays or testing the pus to find out what sort of infection it is!

On the plus side they did do his myxi jab correctly, with some under the skibn on his ear. So they do know something about rabbits! Just not a lot it seems!

Can you put up a new thread in rabbit chat asking for a rabbit savy or exotic vet in your area :wave: More people look in rabbit chat and many members on here have very good vets.

A skull Xray is essential in my opinion to find out exactly what is going on, where the abcess lies, what tooth root involvement there is and how viable saving the eye will be etc... even if your vet performs the Xrays they can be sent to an exotic referral service for interpretation. However, if surgery is required I would want it performed by a very experienced vet if at all possible especially when dealing with the eyes and teeth - delicate areas in buns and risk of bone infection in the skull is high with dental abcesses.
C+S testing the pus - and even better inside the abcess wall itself is pretty essential really to find the most appropriate antibiotic.
Baytril is the only licensed rabbit abx and generally protocol means that vets have to try this first - so it is reasonable for them to do so, but with such a persistent infection now is the time for them to be thinking outside of the box and pursuing much more aggressive therapy for your bunny.
I suspect there is an elongated tooth root involved here which will require extraction, abrasion and removal of the abcess if possible. Whether or not the eye has to go is a clinical judgement for an experienced vet. Good luck x
 
Becky our vets are nit cheap but doubt they would charge £200 for an eye removal
may be worth you travelling to see our one her name is Subo, she is lovely and very good with buns.
At King Richards Vets, Glenfield Road East tel 0116 2517677
 
Which vets are you using now?

My friends rabbit had an abscess in it's eye and had it removed at Cockburns vets in Coalville. They are expensive though but most vets are. I paid out about £600 altogether on treatment for my rabbit who had a jaw abscess :(
I've decided not to have anymore pets after these ones die as they are just too expensive :(
 
My rabbit has just had her eye removed last Tuesday and I am sitting with a bill in excess of £700 by the time all the pain control, investigation into the cause and cultures have been taken. I am covered by insurance which is a relief, but the cost is a lot more than the operation. If you are on benefits you could perhaps contact the PDSA or maybe ask your vet if you could pay it off in instalments.

My bun presented as unhappy and was diagnosed with respiratory infection and then her eye flared up. She is currently on Baytril until the cultures come back next week and we know exactly what we are dealing with. In her case it could be a tumour or/and abscess.

I hope your bunny can be helped and makes a full recovery. It is a very worrying thing to go through.
 
Back
Top