Advice on eye removal please - aftercare etc. - U/D He's gone, why did this happen?

Unfortunately Jasper is going to the vet's on Monday to have his right eye removed. It has only got worse since the begining of December. The vet's are not sure what is wrong with his eye, he can no longer see out of the eye, it has white discharge and looks sore.

The vet has never removed a rabbit's eye before so I am not sure what sort of aftercare Jasper will need. Do you think I should keep him in the house for the first night. The temperature is not supposed to drop below freezing. I do have a snugglesafe. Is there any thing I should look out for after the operation. I am really nervous about the whole thing.

Hopefully if all goes well will he need any special needs being a one eyed bunster.

Any advice/information would be really appreciated.

I have a one eyed lad. :wave: Bunnies adapt very well to life with one eye.

Personally I would keep him inside after the op as I wouldn't be happy that a snugglesafe would give enough heat whilst he is recovering from the anaesthetic. Also you would be able to monitor him more easily.

Pain relief is very important. I really cannot stress this enough.

The adaptation to one-eyed life is very quick and to be honest I sometimes forget that Bentley has only one eye because he behaves just like any other rabbit. Bentley had to have his eye removed at 9 weeks old (he was born with a diseased eye and was due to be destroyed by a breeder as she couldn't sell him. ).

It's not a pretty sight when it's done, but the fur grows back very quickly. Here are a couple of pics of Bentley, just so you have an idea of what to expect. I didn't have to do anything with the actual wound, except make sure he didn't mess around with it, scratch at it etc. I think the stitches were removed after about 10 days, but it will depend on how quickly it all heals and your vet will make a decision as to when it is ready.



And here he is with his fur all grown back.



I'm careful that I don't put too many obstacles in Bentley's environment to minimise him bumping into things. Occasionally he will turn round quickly on his blind side and bump himself. I think I worry about it far more than he does, when he does bump himself he doesn't seem to notice and just carries on as normal. He has a shelf in his playhouse and we put a mesh frame at the front so that he wouldn't fall off the edge. Other than that, I treat him just the same as any of my two-eyed bunnies.

He will often tilt his head so that his eye is looking more upwards, I think he does it so that he has some vision over his blind side.

I hope all goes well for Jasper on Monday. I'll be thinking of you both. xx

Tracey, thank you for the response. I just love your rabbits ear's. Very cute

I think I will keep him in the kitchen for a night.

My main worry at the moment is him recovering from the operation. I hate it when they go to the vet's.

My bun Lavender had her eye taken out a couple months ago due to severe glaucoma and she is coping so well, you wouldn't even know she was missing her eye the way she binkies around.

The op can be quite long because (according to what my vet told me) rabbit eyes have a lot of blood vessels. There can be blood loss but Lavender did not have any problems. Sometimes they try ans scratch the stitches so keep an eye on it. The empty socket will also fill up with fluid but will gradually drain itself and Lavender had no signs of infection. She was on Metacam for a few days post op and seemed really happy.

I didn't bring her indoors because she lives in a heated shed/outbuilding so thought she'd be ok and she was fine. I did pop and see her every couple of hours though, just to check she was ok. You could see she was much happier without the eye and didn't stop munching or pooing.

Good luck :wave:

I would most definitely bring him inside as it is a big op and they can't keep warm after a GA. Make sure the ver gives you some pain medication to take home too.

Have plenty of herbs, veg in to try to tempt him to eat when he comes round from the GA. Also try to get some Oxbow Critical Care (or similar recovery food) as you will probably need to syringe feed initially until his appetite comes back.

I hope everything goes OK for Jasper on Monday x

Sorry to hear that Jasper's eye is having to be removed
I've been on hols so only just seen this update.
I agree with the above re keeping Jasper inside on the night after his op so you can monitor him, and tempt him to eat with favourite treats.
Bingley got on fine with one eye (and is still doing ok with his impaired vision in that one) so Jasper should be grand and they don't seem to struggle too much with only one eye. If you approach him on his blind side though, just make sure you talk to him so he knows you're there.
When Bingley had his enauculation he had a kind of padding put in in place of the eyeball which encouraged tissue and blood vessel growth in the vacant space. He got a bit of an infection in it so just make sure you keep watch over the wound site for any discharge and also his nose on the removed side as infection discharge can appear from the nostril as well.
Good luck for Monday, loads of vibes for Jasper x

all the best for the op...

fee x

Thank you everyone for your advice. I have set up a pen in the kitchen ready for Monday. I put jasper in the pen today for an hour or so just to see how he would cope. He didn't seem that impressed but I think he will be ok for one night.

I have also got some of his favourites treats such as carrots, cabbage, readigrass, fenugreek crunchies and burns meadow mix herbs.

I'm really nervous and worried about the whole thing.

Does anyone know how long this operation will take?

Just wanted to wish Jasper well for Monday :wave:

Thinking of you and Jasper today. :wave:

Hope all goes well. xx

I took Jasper in this morning at 9.00am. I feel awful. Just as I handed Jasper over to the vet she said has he ever been treated for E.C. Do you think this is what it could be? Could his eye of been saved if it was suggested earlier?

They will operate at lunchtime and I have been told to call at 2.30.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.

I hope all goes well for Jasper today and he is home with you tonight.

I think EC can cause cateracts but that would not necessarily casue the discharge I don't think. Mine were never treated with Panacur as they were not in contact with other bunnies and my vet did not feel it necessary unless symptoms showed.

I recently had a bun with a urinary infection and she was treated with Panacur "just in case". However, her bloods showed her clear of EC.

So in answer, no it is probably nothing to do with you not treating. Don't beat yourself up with "what if" (we all do that )

I have no advice but just good wishes. Hope it goes well and he adjusts quickly.

He is awake and eating. I can pick him up tonight at 5.30.

I will keep him in the kitchen tonight but having looked at the weather forecast for the rest of the week it is getting colder. Do you think I should keep him in for the rest of the week or put him back in his hutch/run tomorow.

Im so happy he has pulled through. I was thinking the worst.

Fab news!

My Dexter had his eye removed just over a year ago due to an abcess in it from Pasturella.
He does really well without it, we think it must have been very painful for him before as he is like a young bunny now, he goes mad and binkies all over the place

With regards to the EC question, it can cause cataracts and glaucoma, but the effects of EC are irreversable, so once damage is done by EC it can't be changed. My Minky had EC and had glaucoma in one eye and a cataract.

My Andrew has exactly the same in his eye also. I took him to the d*ck vet and the said he is completely blind in it. They said that they are going to moniter the pressure and if it changes then will take it out so it doesnt cause him any pain. They said that the mosty likely cause was EC in Uteri ( his mum had it and this caused the damage even before he was born) He is due to go in to get tested this month to see if he is positive for it

I hope your all goes well with your wee one and keep us updated.

many Vibes your way

Great news well done jasper!

Wow eating like a horse. The nurse was surprised how much he has eaton. Since he has been back he has munched everything in sight. He seems to be resting now. So surprised how well he is coping.

Thanks to everyone for advice and get well wishes. Xxx

Awwww what a good lad for eating so soon after his op.

So glad that it all went well. Jasper will probably feel a lot more comfortable already now that his poorly eye has gone.

Has he come home with some pain relief to continue at home?

He had an injection of pain relief at the vets. I'm to start meloxidyl 10ml and 2ml baytril tomorrow for 5 days. He is going back Wednesday for a check up. He isn't moving much but is eating and pooing. I'm assuming that's just the GA.

Any ideas if I should keep him inside for a few more days?