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Can I use Optrex eye-wash on my bun?

Chantelle1708

Chantelle1708

Young Bun
Hi,

I have never owned a bun before therefore, I am always researching however I am unable to get a definitive answer as to whether we can use Optrex on rabbits.

I have a 10 week old mini-lop buck, three days ago i noticed his eye was really red around his eye-lid and slightly watery, he doesn't seem poorly, still greedy and hyper as ever. I have removed all sawdust from his cage and also removed his hay rack as he is a bit dozy and may have poked himself in the eye. He just has hay in his cage now (he's out of it most of the time anyway) I have been bathing it with cool boiled water and today, it looks way less red :) but I have heard that Optrex can be used on rabbits too? I was thinking of getting some and also using this.

Any help on what I can do to help him / prevent it in future?

He has been vaccinated
 
Hello there,

I don't think you can be too careful with eyes, other than cooled boiled water that you have been using I wouldn't risk anything without an experienced rabbit savvy vets opinion. I'd advise a vet visit, check it isn't infected, no problem with tear ducts etc.
 
I would suggest a vet visit as he could have scratched his eye and will need special drops. In addition, you can bathe in cooled tea from a teabag. Don't use Optrex.
Sawdust isn't advised for rabbit bedding anyway, so you were right to remove it. As hay is the most important part of his diet, make sure he has plenty available. Are you using a high quality dust free hay? You say he has had his vaccinations - does that include RHD2?
 
Chantelle1708 said:
Hi,

I have never owned a bun before therefore, I am always researching however I am unable to get a definitive answer as to whether we can use Optrex on rabbits.

I have a 10 week old mini-lop buck, three days ago i noticed his eye was really red around his eye-lid and slightly watery, he doesn't seem poorly, still greedy and hyper as ever. I have removed all sawdust from his cage and also removed his hay rack as he is a bit dozy and may have poked himself in the eye. He just has hay in his cage now (he's out of it most of the time anyway) I have been bathing it with cool boiled water and today, it looks way less red :) but I have heard that Optrex can be used on rabbits too? I was thinking of getting some and also using this.

Any help on what I can do to help him / prevent it in future?

He has been vaccinated
Click to expand...


I would stick with the cooled boiled water, but as it's looking less red perhaps you can hold off a vet visit for the moment.

The ingredients would likely make it OK, but if I was going to use anything I would use the sterile saline that's used for contact lenses.

I have some super duper drops from my vet, which work like a dream, but until you know what's causing it, I wouldn't try off the shelf x
 
He's at the vets tomorrow, I had him in another vets but they weren't rabbit savvy so I haven't been able to get a quick appointment. I'm not sure RHD2 is but he has had Myxi vaccination and something else, I will find this out at the new vets tomorrow.

As for Hay, he is so fussy it is unreal... I have quite a few different brands that I have tried, Burgess Excel, Pets at Home dust free hay and wilko's timothy Hay. He LOVES the Wilkos hay but I'm not sure it's filling him up because he's very greedy. I also use the Pets at Home Junior Dwarf Nuggets.
 
Chantelle1708 said:
He's at the vets tomorrow, I had him in another vets but they weren't rabbit savvy so I haven't been able to get a quick appointment. I'm not sure RHD2 is but he has had Myxi vaccination and something else, I will find this out at the new vets tomorrow.

As for Hay, he is so fussy it is unreal... I have quite a few different brands that I have tried, Burgess Excel, Pets at Home dust free hay and wilko's timothy Hay. He LOVES the Wilkos hay but I'm not sure it's filling him up because he's very greedy. I also use the Pets at Home Junior Dwarf Nuggets.
Click to expand...


It's likely he's had the novibac/myxo, which covers myxi and VHD1.

Two weeks later he should have the VHD2. Check your vet has it in stock.

Lots of reading about it here:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?456446-RHD2-Updated-3rd-Sept-2017

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/owners/frequently-asked-questions/FAQRHD

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...bit-haemorrhagic-disease/how-to-order-vaccine

Good luck xx
 
Chantelle1708 said:
He's at the vets tomorrow, I had him in another vets but they weren't rabbit savvy so I haven't been able to get a quick appointment. I'm not sure RHD2 is but he has had Myxi vaccination and something else, I will find this out at the new vets tomorrow.

As for Hay, he is so fussy it is unreal... I have quite a few different brands that I have tried, Burgess Excel, Pets at Home dust free hay and wilko's timothy Hay. He LOVES the Wilkos hay but I'm not sure it's filling him up because he's very greedy. I also use the Pets at Home Junior Dwarf Nuggets.
Click to expand...

Ours have Wilkinsons hay. As long as you give enough that he'll be able to keep eating until you next check on him and a bit over (they like to wee on it, then won't eat it, so it's always worth giving "a bit more than") and you change it as regularly as you can to prevent it becoming stale and him not wanting to eat it anymore, it should be fine for him.

What veg/herbs is he getting? Ours will go for most of the things they're given over hay, although not always, so you may also see less hay eating when you give a particularly favourite food.
 
Yeah he has a lot. And I change it every day as if it's there longer than that he will not eat it. Luckily he's litter trained so it makes life easier. He doesn't have any veg yet as the breeder said not to? I have tried to give him a little piece of carrot and banana but he turned his nose up. Thanks for all of the advice x
 
Chantelle1708 said:
Yeah he has a lot. And I change it every day as if it's there longer than that he will not eat it. Luckily he's litter trained so it makes life easier. He doesn't have any veg yet as the breeder said not to? I have tried to give him a little piece of carrot and banana but he turned his nose up. Thanks for all of the advice x
Click to expand...


Good for him :lol:

The longer he stays off the junk food the better :lol:

Seriously though .. some diet advice here:

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/grass-hay.asp
(this gives a nutritional analysis of hay and grasses)

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp
(this gives a comparison of dry foods available)

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/ar...heets/recommended-diet-for-adult-rabbits/view

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-diet/

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/feeding_en.pdf

http://rabbit.org/faq-diet/

He sounds lovely xx
 
Chantelle1708 said:
Yeah he has a lot. And I change it every day as if it's there longer than that he will not eat it. Luckily he's litter trained so it makes life easier. He doesn't have any veg yet as the breeder said not to? I have tried to give him a little piece of carrot and banana but he turned his nose up. Thanks for all of the advice x
Click to expand...

MightyMax will have the best links, so reading those should give you some useful thoughts :D It's a good idea to introduce new veg/herbs slowly, but he will need to start eating them - it's also a real high point of the day. Herbs might be good to begin with? I find them slightly less controversial than veg. You might also find he likes some things and not others. Mine won't touch courgette with a barge pole (neither will we, which makes it pesky when we end up with some in the fridge :lol:) but will be overjoyed with fine beans, for example. I'd just try new things in small doses and see what he takes to :D
 
Monty's Human said:
MightyMax will have the best links, so reading those should give you some useful thoughts :D It's a good idea to introduce new veg/herbs slowly, but he will need to start eating them - it's also a real high point of the day. Herbs might be good to begin with? I find them slightly less controversial than veg. You might also find he likes some things and not others. Mine won't touch courgette with a barge pole (neither will we, which makes it pesky when we end up with some in the fridge :lol:) but will be overjoyed with fine beans, for example. I'd just try new things in small doses and see what he takes to :D
Click to expand...


:lol: You've conditioned your rabbits MH!

Just to add, that bramble leaves, rose leaves, fresh picked grass and forage sort of thing are excellent for a rabbit's digestion, and sometimes *a lot* easier on their tummies than shop bought veg. Just my experience.

Also ..... it's free!!
 
MightyMax said:
:lol: You've conditioned your rabbits MH!

Just to add, that bramble leaves, rose leaves, fresh picked grass and forage sort of thing are excellent for a rabbit's digestion, and sometimes *a lot* easier on their tummies than shop bought veg. Just my experience.

Also ..... it's free!!
Click to expand...

I have I fear!

I will also add tree branches to that list :D Ours get an apple tree branch (no fruit) every time I do the gardening, and they love it.

If you have a garden, it's also worth checking the plants you're growing to see if you could give them. Ours have had sage and nasturtiums from the garden this year, some lavender and some rosemary, and I recently discovered one of the "weeds" was rabbit safe, so they had that as well. And as MM says, that was all free! If you don't have access to those things, though, don't worry too much; shop bought herbs go down just as well as the garden variety!

Sorry for the flood of information :D The forum can't be accused of not giving enough advice, I don't think!
 
Thank you for all of the advice, I will have a read of all those articles and start gradually introducing new foods. Hopefully, he will like them!! One other question as the internet has so many different answers, how much pellets should he have? He currently gets fed a handful three times a day - morning 8am, evening 6pm and bed time around 12am.
 
Chantelle1708 said:
Thank you for all of the advice, I will have a read of all those articles and start gradually introducing new foods. Hopefully, he will like them!! One other question as the internet has so many different answers, how much pellets should he have? He currently gets fed a handful three times a day - morning 8am, evening 6pm and bed time around 12am.
Click to expand...

I do one feed at bedtime, to encourage them to only eat hay during the day (veg/herbs are at dinner time a couple of hours earlier). I believe the most common consensus is an eggcup-full a day, although you can play with that a little bit depending on his size and his other diet - eg if one day you give him more veg, you could reduce pellets commensurately, or vice versa. Personally, I prefer to give slightly too few than slightly too many because I think it's most important they eat plenty of hay, but I'm sure there are others who would disagree! This is something you kind of get a feel for in time, I think. Hopefully some of the rough guidelines will help you to work it out with him though :)
 
Chantelle1708 said:
Thank you for all of the advice, I will have a read of all those articles and start gradually introducing new foods. Hopefully, he will like them!! One other question as the internet has so many different answers, how much pellets should he have? He currently gets fed a handful three times a day - morning 8am, evening 6pm and bed time around 12am.
Click to expand...


You're welcome :)

I guess that's probably about right as he's a growing rabbit. You could tail it off a bit over the next three months if he's putting the weight on and growing fast. Make sure he eats lots and lots of hay!!

I always find this food triangle/pyramid quite memorable :D

http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/components-rabbit-diet.asp
 
A bit of an update. The vet checked George over and he's fine although may have a slight irritation in his eye so I now have eye drops for him finally!! On another note, the vet doesn't seem too sure that George is a male!!!!!
 
Chantelle1708 said:
A bit of an update. The vet checked George over and he's fine although may have a slight irritation in his eye so I now have eye drops for him finally!! On another note, the vet doesn't seem too sure that George is a male!!!!!
Click to expand...


Glad you got Georgina sorted :lol:
 
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