• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Hay in eye... not sure what to do as aftercare

Hesperus

Hesperus

Warren Veteran
This morning I noticed Ludo had a sore eye and on closer inspection he'd got a bit of hay sticking out of the corner. We cleaned around the eye and tried to remove the hay but couldn't. As I started to Google the vet number, Ludo scratched his eye and a long bit of gunky hay came out!

He's now normal, not scratching it etc and is in his hay box eating, but I'm not sure whether to keep the eye clean as I would my own, or to take him to the vet? What are the signs of an eye infection?

My previous bunny had an eyelid problem and had infections all the time, we used to bathe around his eye with boiled water and take him for antibiotics when needed, but as he always had bad eyes I'm not sure what to do with a healthy bunny eye!!

Getting an appointment won't be a problem so as it stands now I've decided to wait until this afternoon and take him then or this evening if there's no improvement.
 
Found you :lol:

I had this with my bridge bunny Buggsy, the hay was the length of a house key and was surrounded in gunk, and luckily it just slid out, I bathed around his eye with warm water and he didn't have any problems, I just kept an "eye" on it :lol:

I think it is on here somewhere
 
Personally, and pardon the pun, I'd keep an eye on it. If it seems to swell, starts to get all gunky, or he starts to favour it in any way then yes take him to the vet. Other than that I'd leave it alone. Eyes are very good at healing themselves.

However, of course if you have any doubts, whip him to your vet :)
 
Thanks Angie and Kara. It does look a lot less sore since 10am and there's no gunk or runniness so I'll probably leave it for now. He does have an appointment tomorrow at 5pm anyway for his nails so we can always get it looked at then if it's not back to normal!
 
Its funny this same thing happened to Finn the first day that Milo was poorly, I noticed a small piece of hay maybe only the length of a fingernail right over his right eye, I left it for a little bit to see if he could blink it out but he couldn't, I just washed my hands thoroughly and gentle eased it out with my finger tips, it was covered in gunk too. He is fine now! x
 
I would take him, not because of infection primarily but because if he's had a piece of hay stuck in his eye it's highly likely that it's scratched the surface and ulcered it - which will be painful and the quicker treatment is started, the quicker and better it will heal. As you were planning to go tomorrow anyway I'd suggest pushing the appointment forward and going today instead.
 
Santa said:
I would take him, not because of infection primarily but because if he's had a piece of hay stuck in his eye it's highly likely that it's scratched the surface and ulcered it - which will be painful and the quicker treatment is started, the quicker and better it will heal. As you were planning to go tomorrow anyway I'd suggest pushing the appointment forward and going today instead.
Click to expand...

Yes, one of my rabbits had a scratched surface due to hay - not really visible until the dye was used.
 
I had this not long ago with Rupert, I took him to vet who gave antibiotic drops that I had to use for a few days, then they checked with a dye for infection and was clear - I pulled out the hay tho (I thought it was a tiny spec til I rubbed it and it stuck in his eye!)
 
Pie caught her eye during bonding and it looked sore and started to weep so i bathed it in some warm salty water a few times ;) and it was fine
 
Just an update to say he's fine today, in fact I couldn't work out which eye it was this morning! :lol:

Thanks for all the advice. :wave:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Rabbit eye ulcer not healing
Replies
4
Views
149
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
Orenoko
Rupert's eye
3 4 5
Replies
97
Views
2K
KCG
KCG
K
Rabbit keeping his eye closed
Replies
13
Views
210
kattu and bheni
K
Back
Top