2 rabbits 2 issues. Updated Feb 15th

Now, I have two 10 month old Lionhead/Rex cross rabbits, One male, One Female.

Firstly, My male has been playful, happy, and healthy since I got him, and only now has he shown a problem. His eyes seem to water constantly, causing the fur around his eyes to look dirty and gross. :?

I believe it is allergies, but it has proven difficult to track down the problem. First, We thought it was simply the cold weather, being his first winter, but we had a warm week or 2, and they still watered. We then thought it was just light sensitivity, because I keep them in a cozy, but unlighted shed during the winter, and that the snow was too bright for his eyes(Because I usually leave the doors open for about and hour a day). But, I checked on him after dark, and found his eyes still watering.

Next, we believed it was the Timothy hay I was giving them as a treat here and there, but I haven't given him any, and the eyes continue to pour. Now, we think it may be the wood shavings, as we recently changed to a different brand, but my female rabbit hasn't had any issues with it in her cage, and she has quite alot more of it in hers. I also have to replacement for it.

I was also wondering, could it be the straw that covers half of his cage? It hasn't caused any issues until now, and once again, my female seems fine with it.

Any advice would be welcome.


Secondly, when I got my female, she had these wiry little whiskers, but the softest fur I've ever touched in my life. For the first month we believed that she was just the at the bottom of the pile in her childhood, and that they would fall out and make way for whiskers as beautiful as her fur, But when they fell out and never grew out properly again, we got worried.

I also used to think that she gave little kisses as a trick, but now I realize it's because she follows the scent to my lips until she bumps into them. I also noticed that she does this with everything, her food, the shelter I have in there for them to sleep in, and even any treats I give her.

Any advice would be welcome here, also.

Please and thanks,

-Codyroz

If you have not done so already I think a vet trip to a rabbit savvy vet is in order.
With your little boy I would think it may be something to do with his tear ducts.
but an allergy is possible as dust can irritate the eyes and wood shavings are very dusty, it would not have to affect them both for this to be the culprit.
Wood shavings are not the safest of choices for rabbits either in all honesty as they emit hydrocarbons which can cause liver and respritory disorders.
If outdoors it would be better to line the hutch with a dust free hay.

With your little girl, has her eye site been checked?

Did you say they were part rex? My female had whiskers that were broken and a bit stumpy, a bit like split ends. I just put it down to the breed as none of the males have had particularly 'typical' long fine whiskers either. All 4 have been pure-bred rexs.

I hope your boy get's better v soon. And your girl's eyesight is ok.

I believe her eyes are fine, because on occasion she will be busy eating a piece of straw and not be too interested while I change out her water for fresh stuff, I usually just point to the water bowl and she'll hop over and drink her fill. It's also only her nose that happens to bump into things, so I think it's probably because of having no whiskers to tell her that shes getting close to something in her blindspot(directly infront of her).

And my Male has nice long whiskers, and I also noticed that, as far as I could see, that she was the only one in the litter with these wiry whiskers. And yeah, she does have Rex in her, so It may be just the Rex in her, but her whiskers were, although wiry, longer than they are now.

In the winter they are in a shed, but during the summer their outdoors.

Is there a suitable replacement for wood shavings? I did some research, and I see that plain white paper should be good, so should I just shred it and see how they like it?

I think It's most likely the new brand we're using(UFA), so I think I'll see if I can find some of the old stuff and see if it changes anything.

I personally wouldn't worry about the whiskers. Marmite's gradually disappeared, like I say they were a bit like split ends. Their fur is, afterall a freak of nature where rabbit fur is concerned, it goes to reason their whiskers are affected too.

Are you sure she's not a pure rex from a different litter? If you say her fur is beautifully soft, is it perhaps shorter and thicker than her brothers?

Hi
Your little boy may have problems with his teeth which can cause the eye(s) to water. I would get him checked asap. Could be tear ducts just need flushing but a vet will sort him. Good luck!!:wave:

I also think that the eye watering is most likely to be due to his tooth roots. I think you would have noticed if his eyelids were either, in or out turned. He definitely needs to see a vet.

You are absolutely right that rabbits use their whiskers to locate objects close to them, especially their food, & also to guage whether they can get through a narrow space. TBH loss of whiskers is a new one on me. I feel quite upset on the bun's behalf. I hope someone can come up with an answer for you.

There is a thread in the forum asking whether a mini rex should have whiskers. There are a couple of close up head shots of Jack-Janes rexes on there. Sorry I can't post the link, my phone won't let me do it.

It really is just a rex breed thing and nothing to worry about.

It sounds like it's your boy who is the poorly one and needs the vets.

I'm also not too worried about her whiskers, and yes, actually she had the softest fur of the litter.

Most of the litter had the Lionhead, but 2 didn't.(The ones I rushed up to get, as I don't care much for the Lionhead, no offense to the Lionhead owners here.)

And at first, they had the same amount of fur, just different colours, and when they were about 6 monthes old the Male started to get a tuft of fur on his head between his ears, and when winter came, his fur got WAY thicker than it was, and he got a tiny Lionhead, which actually makes him look great, and he puffs up like a ball when he sleeps.

While all this happened, the female's fur got the tiniest bit thicker, and that was all, convincing me to give her more bedding to keep her warm. Ha.

We get extremely cold weather here, -30*C and while the male huddles in his warm spot in the corner of his cage, the female prefers to sleep on a spot where she removed the shavings and straw from, and she absolutely LOVES the cold, jumping and playing with little snow-balls I give her to play with. How? I have no idea, her fur looks no different in the summer than it does now. Is this normal for Rexs?


Anyways, back on topic. For his tooth roots, could this issue be caused from a lack of chewing? When he was younger he used to chew on anything he could get ahold of, forcing me to line the inside of the cage with wire to prevent him from eating a hole in the cage and escaping.

Codyroz said:

I'm also not too worried about her whiskers, and yes, actually she had the softest fur of the litter.

Most of the litter had the Lionhead, but 2 didn't.(The ones I rushed up to get, as I don't care much for the Lionhead, no offense to the Lionhead owners here.)

And at first, they had the same amount of fur, just different colours, and when they were about 6 monthes old the Male started to get a tuft of fur on his head between his ears, and when winter came, his fur got WAY thicker than it was, and he got a tiny Lionhead, which actually makes him look great, and he puffs up like a ball when he sleeps.

While all this happened, the female's fur got the tiniest bit thicker, and that was all, convincing me to give her more bedding to keep her warm. Ha.

We get extremely cold weather here, -30*C and while the male huddles in his warm spot in the corner of his cage, the female prefers to sleep on a spot where she removed the shavings and straw from, and she absolutely LOVES the cold, jumping and playing with little snow-balls I give her to play with. How? I have no idea, her fur looks no different in the summer than it does now. Is this normal for Rexs?


Anyways, back on topic. For his tooth roots, could this issue be caused from a lack of chewing? When he was younger he used to chew on anything he could get ahold of, forcing me to line the inside of the cage with wire to prevent him from eating a hole in the cage and escaping.

Click to expand...

Tooth root elongation is part of Dental Disease. DD can be aquired (from the effected Rabbit being fed an inappropriate diet lacking in hay/grass) or DD can be congenital (inherited and a result of poor breeding practices) Some breeds are also more prone to DD than others, Lionheads, Lops and Nethies especially due to the shape of their skull.

A Vet consult is required I think.

http://www.lafebervet.com/small-mammals/?p=928

http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/AcquiredIncisorAbnRabbits.html

http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/AcquiredMolarAbnRabbits.html

http://wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/CongenIncisorAbnRabbits.html

Well, Thanks for all the info, I'll get him to the vet as soon as possible.

Would you let us know how he get's on.

Codyroz said:

I believe her eyes are fine, because on occasion she will be busy eating a piece of straw and not be too interested while I change out her water for fresh stuff, I usually just point to the water bowl and she'll hop over and drink her fill. It's also only her nose that happens to bump into things, so I think it's probably because of having no whiskers to tell her that shes getting close to something in her blindspot(directly infront of her).

And my Male has nice long whiskers, and I also noticed that, as far as I could see, that she was the only one in the litter with these wiry whiskers. And yeah, she does have Rex in her, so It may be just the Rex in her, but her whiskers were, although wiry, longer than they are now.

In the winter they are in a shed, but during the summer their outdoors.

Is there a suitable replacement for wood shavings? I did some research, and I see that plain white paper should be good, so should I just shred it and see how they like it?

I think It's most likely the new brand we're using(UFA), so I think I'll see if I can find some of the old stuff and see if it changes anything.

Click to expand...

HAY! Hay is the BEST form of bedding/linning as it is the most natural, in winter you can also add in straw to keep the warmth in but make sure they do not fill up on the straw as it has no nutritional value.

Well, Idk, I just came to check on him today, and his eyes weren't watering, and his fur looked a bit better around his eyes.

Could it have just been the weather that caused it? Because it was much warmer today, Warmer than the last "Warm" week we had.

Paperbased cat litter is good for litter trays and then hay in the rest of the cage. Plenty of hay available is also important for keeping teeth in good condition and not overgrown

Various thing can cause watering from infection to a physical issue with the tear ducts or eyes. It would be worth having a close look at the eyelashes just to make sure they aren't curling or turned towards the eyes as rubbing can also cause watering.

I don't think weather will cause it unless there is an underlying issue already there in which case it might make it worse I suppose.

One thing I DID notice was that his eyes were wide open, and ears back, usually what he does when we get a windy night, because the whole metal shed shifts and makes a bunch of noises that scares him.

I DO have bad eyes, and I may not have noticed a lash turned Inward, and maybe because he opened his eyes wide enough, it flipped outward?

But would that explain BOTH eyes watering? First it was only one, then the other started.

Just an Update.

He's starting to get better on his own, his eyes are fine whenever I go to see him, but I can't be sure, because the fur is still messed up!

He washes his nose, but I haven't seen him wash around his eye for awhile, is there a way for me to wash up his face, safely?

It can get a bit crusty from the salt in the tears. If you boil some water (to sterilize it) then allow it to cool, you can bathe around the eye with that to wash away the dry discharge. Because it's pure water, when the fur dries it should go back to being fluffy.

I may seem a bit daft, as this might be obvious...

But I went out to wash around his eye, and it finally struck me, "What am I to use to wash his eye??"

So once again, what am I to use, a sponge?

Any clean washing implement, so flannel (face cloth), kitchen roll, cotton pad, sponge etc. would be fine