Eye

Hello, i am in need of help!
My bunny, Mitzy has been to see two different vets in my area about her eye and they unsure as to what it could be, although we have just been told it could be iris melanoma which after a quick google search, it seems possible. We are currently awaiting a phone call from an eye specialist as they do not want to take her eye out without being 100% sure, which is exactly the same as us. Her Left eye within the iris has discolouration on the top part which is a brown colour and has not spread any further. There is no cuts, bruising or swollen which is making us unsure as to what to do. Her eyes are a gorgeous blue and she is under a year old. Please could someone help with our battle as to where to seek help, action to be taken or anything else!
Thank You

Emmajane said:

Hello, i am in need of help!
My bunny, Mitzy has been to see two different vets in my area about her eye and they unsure as to what it could be, although we have just been told it could be iris melanoma which after a quick google search, it seems possible. We are currently awaiting a phone call from an eye specialist as they do not want to take her eye out without being 100% sure, which is exactly the same as us. Her Left eye within the iris has discolouration on the top part which is a brown colour and has not spread any further. There is no cuts, bruising or swollen which is making us unsure as to what to do. Her eyes are a gorgeous blue and she is under a year old. Please could someone help with our battle as to where to seek help, action to be taken or anything else!
Thank You

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Welcome to the Forum Emma :wave:

I'm sorry to hear about Mitzy. You say you are awaiting a phone call from a specialist. Has the specialist actually seen your rabbit? I would not consider doing anything about a rabbit's eyes until they were actually physically seen by a qualified ophthalmologist.

Presumably that's where you need to seek help? x

Hi Yes that is where they want to refer us to. The vets we have seen are not rabbit specialists as they are hard to come by in my area. We found on google that rabbits having barbled eye is a genetic anomaly that isnt anything to worry about and is a normal imperfection. We were just wondering if there was anyone on here who has any knowledge or has had a rabbit with this.

Emmajane said:

Hi Yes that is where they want to refer us to. The vets we have seen are not rabbit specialists as they are hard to come by in my area. We found on google that rabbits having barbled eye is a genetic anomaly that isnt anything to worry about and is a normal imperfection. We were just wondering if there was anyone on here who has any knowledge or has had a rabbit with this.

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I know some people are happy for their vet to just speak with a specialist, or just send a photo of the rabbit for comment. I would however, always recommend the rabbit is seen by a specialist. It's always worth it in my experience

Welcome to the forum.

I too would wait to see the specialist but do whatever research you can prior to going. Bunnies can cope quite well and do adapt well if it is confirmed and they eye does need to be removed. I did have a dog who had cancer of they eye and had it removed and coped well.

Hi Emma


I really do feel it would be worth while your bunny being seen by an opthalmic vet - my bunny had brown cysts in his eyes which my vet noticed during routine examination - these were monitored over weeks and it was noticed they changed shape and increased in size - this by the way may not be related to your own bunnies condition at all. My bunny was referred to an opthalmic vet as he developed Glaucoma as a result of the underlying condition, although this was some years on after the diagnosis of free floating cysts. He is fine in himself and at the grand old age of 12 is now blind but he still enjoying his twilight years.

Most bunnies do well following eye removal but it is a big operation for them so not to be taken lightly I feel until an informed diagnosis has been done as there may be better alternatives.

Hope you get sorted ok the good thing is that your bunny doesn't seem in any discomfort from what you have said here so it sounds as though you have time to research the best way forward.

Hope this helps