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Vet with Timmy shortly - ud post 8

weedug

Mama Doe
I went outside to do the usual head count to make sure everybun was well, and found blood in Timmy's run. Eventually found that he has pulled one of his nails right off :(. I can't find it anywhere, but there is blood sprayed on the walls and door of the run, as well as on the floor. He must have just done it because it was still wet.

And when I was out checking that he was doing alright, he started sneezing loads. So he is off the the vet at 6:15 tonight to get his toe checked and his sneezing. Timmy tends to stop eating a lot, so I didn't want this to set that off too.

Any spare vibes would be much appreciated.
 
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Thank you both for replying. Timmy has lost all his nail, but the vet doesn't think the toe is broken.

As well as the possible respiratory infection, Timmy has another ulcer :cry:. He has Septrin, Tiacil eye drops 3-4 times a day, and his metacam dose increased. He is to go back in a week to see how he is doing.
 
Just thought I would update. Timmy is like a new bunny! :D He can open his eyes properly for a while, and seems much happier. He is on 1.2ml metacam twice a day and weighs 3.10kg. The vet wasn't keen on him staying on that dose for long, but was happy for him to have it if that is the dose he needs, if that makes sense. We will just need to wait and see what side effects, if any, he gets.

The ulcer itself isn't looking any different, so he is to continue on the eye drops. His breathing is quite a lot better, but not 100% so he is continuing on the Septrin. We go back in 2 weeks to see how things are.

So the accident with his claw was actually a good thing, especially since it hasn't bothered him although it must have been painful at the time.
 
Bless him, if the ulcer doesn't clear by the next time you go back, it might be worth discussing trying a different eye drop. The surface of the eye regenerates pretty quickly so I would have expected it to be looking much better by now. Previously when I've had bunnies with persistent ulcers which the normal tiacil/fucithalmic hasn't touched, they've been swapped onto ciloxan or exocin and the switch has pretty much cleared it up within a few days, so it is probably worth considering if things still aren't improving.
 
Bless him, if the ulcer doesn't clear by the next time you go back, it might be worth discussing trying a different eye drop. The surface of the eye regenerates pretty quickly so I would have expected it to be looking much better by now. Previously when I've had bunnies with persistent ulcers which the normal tiacil/fucithalmic hasn't touched, they've been swapped onto ciloxan or exocin and the switch has pretty much cleared it up within a few days, so it is probably worth considering if things still aren't improving.

Thank you :D. Timmy's ulcers in the past have taken months to get a bit better. He has tried almost everything, apart from what you mentioned. I will ask my vet when we go back if Timmy can try one of these drops.
 
How old is Timmy? I once had a referral to an exotics ophthalmology vet because Heather's ulcers weren't clearing. He diagnosed her with dry eye (the revised textbook of rabbit medicine says it isn't a recorded condition in rabbits!) and said that the reason the ulcers weren't clearing is because the environment on the surface of the eye isn't right, so no matter what you do, it won't heal. He likened it to having a plant and keeping it in a dark cupboard. It doesn't matter how much water and nutrient you give it, it won't grow because it doesn't have all the conditions (in this is case light) that it needs. So Heather was given hyabak eye drops (we started on the standard artificial tears but they didn't work, but hyabak worked a treat and it's so easy to give!)alongside the exocin, and it cleared up very quickly indeed without any further debriding. She then had hyabak 3-4 times a day for the rest of her life. If he has ongoing problems with ulcers which take a while to heal, it might be worth considering whether there's something else going on which is preventing the eye environment to allow healing.

Good luck x x
 
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Thank you both for replying.

I don't know how old Timmy is, he's definitely over 5. He was diagnosed with dry eye a couple of years ago, and had viscotears which didn't help him. The stress from getting constant drops was affecting him more than the drops were helping, so we stopped all drops and kept him on metacam. At that time the vet wanted him on the lowest dose possible, but even he can see the change in Timmy now, so it may well be that he stays on 1.2ml twice a day until the ulcers go away (that would be great) or for good.

I will ask about the hyabak at the next visit. Thank you for suggesting new things for him to try.
 
Oh yes I never found viscotears any use either, they look like they should be good because they're so gloopy, but they're hard to give and end up just making a sticky mess. Hyabak looks like it shouldn't be any use because it's so thin and watery, but when you drop it on the eye you can just watch it spread out and cling to the surface as it goes, really fascinating. It's a human eye drop, there are a number of different ones with the same active ingredient, but hyabak is preservative free so it's more suitable for long term use. I found a medical research paper on it a couple of years back which found that sodium hyaluronate is better for eyes with corneal ulcers than the other gel-like eye drops.

I'd suggest it's definitely worth a try as they are so very easy to give and do seem to give really good relief (in fact I now used them myself for my own dry eye!). If you're giving it with antibiotics you have to give them half an hour apart, I think it's the abx first and the dry eye drops later, which is a pain to coordinate in the short term but worth it as it can make such a big difference very quickly. Based on my own eyes, even twice a day will provide enormous relief. Heather saw Martin Lawton who is both an exotics and ophthalmology specialist, and once we had the diagnosis and eye drops, she improved very quickly. Personally I don't think there's anything to lose by giving it a go, so I would definitely discuss with your vet. Good luck x
 
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