Bunny Eye Removal :(

my 3 and a half year old bunny Bella has to have her eye removed she has an infection behind it or something which the vet said he cannot properly clean out and assure it won't come back without removal of her eye and possibly a tooth or some teeth

im really sad for her, ive looked up stories on here where people have seemed to say they adapt but she is already such a timid and scared bunny and sometimes gets chased by her bunny buddy

for anyone else who has had this done how did they cope? and what does it look like? i dont care what it looks like or anything, i just want her to be okay, i just dont want to be shocked from the unexpected? is it fully closed off?

thanks

emileemason said:

my 3 and a half year old bunny Bella has to have her eye removed she has an infection behind it or something which the vet said he cannot properly clean out and assure it won't come back without removal of her eye and possibly a tooth or some teeth

im really sad for her, ive looked up stories on here where people have seemed to say they adapt but she is already such a timid and scared bunny and sometimes gets chased by her bunny buddy

for anyone else who has had this done how did they cope? and what does it look like? i dont care what it looks like or anything, i just want her to be okay, i just dont want to be shocked from the unexpected? is it fully closed off?

thanks

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Hello, I am sorry to hear about your Rabbits problems It sounds as though your Vet thinks the problem is related to infection that may have started in a tooth root. This can cause an abscess to form behind the eye. Removal of the eye and offending tooth/tooth root is sometimes the only option in such circumstances as systemic antibiotics are not always able to resolve the infection.

One of my Rabbits, Mr Bean, had an eye removed due to a different problem-Glaucoma that became resistant to treatment meaning he was in constant pain. He was an older Rabbit with other health problems, but despite that he came through surgery really well and went on to make a full recovery.

A few days after surgery



A few weeks later



Mr Bean had become a bit aggressive as a result of being in pain. But as soon as the eye was removed his aggression stopped and he became his old happy friendly self again.

It may be that some of your Rabbit's 'timid' behaviour is due to pain. The occasional bullying by her buddy may be because 'buddy' can sense a problem/vulnerability. It would be nice to think that in such circumstances a 'buddy' would be supportive to their Bunny companion. Sadly in the Rabbit world it does not always work like that. So you do also need to think about whether having the two living together is still appropriate. There are degrees of bullying which with two 'well' Rabbits can sometimes be coped with. But sometimes if it gets too out of hand and the Rabbit being bullied is already health compromised the difficult decision of having to separate them may need to be made. So aswell as the surgery and all that may entail, I think you need to have a chat with the Vet about how your Rabbit may be likely to cope psychologically and whether it may be necessary for her to be separated from 'buddy', at least initially whilst recovering from surgery.

Many Rabbits do cope very well after the removal of an eye, but each case needs to be treated individually. What one Rabbit can cope with another may not. There can never be a one size fits all in how to manage the situation, the individual Rabbit's psychological state being as relevant as his/her physical state.

I hope all will go well for your Rabbit's treatment xx

emileemason said:

my 3 and a half year old bunny Bella has to have her eye removed she has an infection behind it or something which the vet said he cannot properly clean out and assure it won't come back without removal of her eye and possibly a tooth or some teeth

im really sad for her, ive looked up stories on here where people have seemed to say they adapt but she is already such a timid and scared bunny and sometimes gets chased by her bunny buddy

for anyone else who has had this done how did they cope? and what does it look like? i dont care what it looks like or anything, i just want her to be okay, i just dont want to be shocked from the unexpected? is it fully closed off?

thanks

Click to expand...

Yes I had a rabbit who had to have an eye removed and she managed fine all her life! The eye was stitched up and the fur grows back over, and to be honest, no one who came to the house even noticed she only had one eye until you told them! (She was a black rabbit)

She was perfectly healthy, a complete nuisance :lol: and it never stopped her doing anything at all that she wanted to do.

Good luck - you and her will be fine :thumb:

thank you for all the help and advice

i just want to be prepared for what her life will be like i guess..

i trust that the vet would only take it out if he thought it was absalutely necessary. it just sounds like something so huge and scary!

her buddy does love and groom her and such, it is mostly when i walk out to the cage that she gets chased, it may just be an attention thing, but she calms down in a couple of minutes are once the food is given out. i guess i will see if anything changes when i get them back.

thanks for the pictures too, that helps me know what to expect,

my bun is black as well and her ear kind of lops over that eye anyway!

thanks again!