what could cause recurring eye problems?

I am currently speaking to an owner about her bunny.
He is 4 years old and has recurring eye problems.

I asked her about the 2 obvious things I know - which would be head tilt or dental.

She said that she doesn't know if he is a head tilt or has dental problems, but that the vet said his eyelid seemed red and inflamed.

The problem is in the left eye, it gets weepy and sore and seems to occur around twice a year.

It clears up with a 1 week course of eye drops.

The reason I ask is that she is trying to find a new home for him (she clearly loves him very much) and I have offered to try and help her find one (not with me, i really couldn't take him)
But it would be a lot easier to find a forever home for him if she knew what it was causing the eye problems, or had an idea of what to ask the vet to try and discover what is wrong.

Sorry for the long post

Im not offering advice or a diagnosis, because Im not a vet and I havent seen the bunny.... But it does sound like a blocked (or part-blocked) tear duct. This often happens with dental problems.
Whatever the reason, she should get a bunny-savvy vet to check him over.

FarplaceRescue said:

Im not offering advice or a diagnosis, because Im not a vet and I havent seen the bunny.... But it does sound like a blocked (or part-blocked) tear duct. This often happens with dental problems.
Whatever the reason, she should get a bunny-savvy vet to check him over.

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Thanks, I am just waiting for her to message back and I will mention this to her in my reply

I stumbled across the ad on preloved. she is giving him away and wants the perfect home for him - kudos to her for not asking for money and for being upfront about his health problems.
from messages so far, she genuinely seems to care about him - normally i skip past ads on preloved, but this one i couldn't

have asked her if she would consider putting him up for rehoming on here - think she is far more likely to find a home for a dental bun on here than in the "regular world"

No experience with it myself but my first thought was teeth too. Does she change anything in bunnys environment around the time the eye problems turn up? Possibly a reaction to new hay/sprays/cleaning products?

I agree that she would be more likey to find a home for him on here, good that she is being honest about his health problems rather than giving him away to the first person who asks. To put a rabbit up for adoption her you need to pm SOAD.

Where is she and perhaps someone could suggest a bunny savvy vet in the area?

There is a really good bunny vet in Holmes Chapel at Cheshire Pets. Her name is Molly Varga and she is a bunny specialist. I was referred to her with one of my buns last year and would recommend her. Ooh i wish i could take the bun

Coineanach said:

No experience with it myself but my first thought was teeth too. Does she change anything in bunnys environment around the time the eye problems turn up? Possibly a reaction to new hay/sprays/cleaning products?

I agree that she would be more likey to find a home for him on here, good that she is being honest about his health problems rather than giving him away to the first person who asks. To put a rabbit up for adoption her you need to pm SOAD.

Where is she and perhaps someone could suggest a bunny savvy vet in the area?

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Thanks for the advice
Just sent a message about the cleaning supplies etc.

Ta, I shall pm SOAD tomorrow - just waiting on a picture of him.
She is in chester. That's a good idea, I will start a thread tomorrow when there are a few more people about and find out which vets are the best

I think it's nice to see genuine people out there - i know he is being rehomed, but she really does care about him and wants to find him the right home and isn't trying to make a quick buck. not all would be so honest about a problem like that, especially since she said at the moment his eyes are fine - he could be given to anyone and they would be none the wiser until it cropped up

Just checked and have got a reply (hadn't mentioned anything from this thread yet, this is the first message i've had since i posted on here. it's in response to my other message)

She said

Thankyou so much for your lovely email.

You have not wasted my time at all! It's wonderful there are rabbit lovers like you to help.

The rabbit recently had a vet check and his teeth are fine. Because he has been able to run round the garden he chews bits of wood I think. His tear ducts are not blocked and his head is not tilted, I'll ring the vet and see exactly what his eye problem is called. He recently had an anaesthetic to have some knots combed out on his tummy and back legs. Over the winter this had happened and as I can't pick him up I hadn't noticed. It is this area of care I am not able to do. The lady vet however picked him up with no problem at all/

He is not neutered.

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(the not wasting time comment was in reference to me telling her that i am unfortunately unable to offer him a home and i hope she didn't think i was wasting her time, but that I would like to help her find him the right home if she would be interested in my help)


edit: ps, the end of the message wasn't that blunt. there were bits on the end that weren't relevant, so i didn't include them!

barbara forster said:

There is a really good bunny vet in Holmes Chapel at Cheshire Pets. Her name is Molly Varga and she is a bunny specialist. I was referred to her with one of my buns last year and would recommend her. Ooh i wish i could take the bun

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.
Is holmes chapel anywhere near chester? (my geography suuuucks! lol)
if so, i shall mention the vets.

I feel the same - i really wish I could take him, but I am in no position to take on a bunny at the moment.
I could possibly foster, he's close enough, but I don't think he will need a foster home. Seems like she is happy to keep him until the right home comes along

He is a german lop and from what I can gather, he is too heavy for her to be able to pick up and after needing the operation to remove the knots, she has decided to rehome him to someone who can look after him properly. very brave thing to do in my eyes

Hmm I was gonna suggest teeth but his teeth are fine.

I would just say to be careful when giving a bun away for free, it attracts the people who can't be bothered to pay. Ask her to ask for pics of accommodation before giving him away, as when 'free bunny' pops up on freeads, it sometimes attracts people who just 'impulse buy', with no research done beforehand.

Hope he finds a home soon.x

funnybunnyabc said:

Hmm I was gonna suggest teeth but his teeth are fine.

I would just say to be careful when giving a bun away for free, it attracts the people who can't be bothered to pay. Ask her to ask for pics of accommodation before giving him away, as when 'free bunny' pops up on freeads, it sometimes attracts people who just 'impulse buy', with no research done beforehand.

Hope he finds a home soon.x

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I will tell her to be careful with who she rehomes him to.
Asking for pictures of accomodation is a great idea, shall mention that to her.

Just waiting for a picture, then he can go up on here - would be so much better for him. Rather hoping he finds a home from someone on here than someone from preloved.

Normally I just sit and think "can't save them all, never mind steph" but i am a sucker for a special needs bun, would be great if he got the perfect home.
Ta, I hope he does too

as you say his eye is bad about twice a year and he is not neutered it is very likely to be down to his hormones and strong buck wee. if this is the case it would clear up with neutering.

hope she manages to rehome him soon



*sorry about the lack of capitals muffin has chewed through my keyboard wire leaving my with the onscreen keyboard*

Drapski said:

as you say his eye is bad about twice a year and he is not neutered it is very likely to be down to his hormones and strong buck wee. if this is the case it would clear up with neutering.

hope she manages to rehome him soon



*sorry about the lack of capitals muffin has chewed through my keyboard wire leaving my with the onscreen keyboard*

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ah no way, that's an excellent thought - i hadn't even thought of that. shall send her a message and mention that

just waiting on a reply again. got a message this morning saying the weather was nice, so she would go out and take a picture, but haven't heard anything since.
really need the picture though so i can get him up on here and beg for a home for him lol. much more likely to find him somewhere if there's a picture!

oh dear, naughty muffin LOL