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Eye problem with Bear

S

SamTheBunny

Young Bun
Over the last couple of weeks, I noticed that my English Lop Bear had quite a leaky eye. I didn't think anything of it as it wasn't very bad and he didn't have any other symptoms for me to be worried about. However, I had him out with Snowy for some floor time on Saturday and noticed that the liquid was quite cloudy, almost milky. Something seemed off so I decided that it was best to take him to the vets just to be on the safe side. As it was the weekend and it wasn't an emergency, I waited until today to ring the vets and then I booked him an appointment this afternoon. My mum and I took him into the consultation room and the vet looked him over, checking all of his general head area and she weighed him (3kg!) It was then that she noticed his eye protruding slightly more than the other, and that she could feel a small, solid mass that was not present in the other eye. After putting some dye in the eye and flushing out the tear duct, she came to the conclusion that it was probably either an abscess or a tumour. I didn't expect anything like that to even be a possibility, let alone a probable reality.

She said that we had a couple of options: anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics or a combination of both. Eventually we decided on anti-inflammatory drugs, in the hopes that it would do something for the mass behind his eye. (She also prescribed him some fusidic acid as he had an ulcer on his eye from where he couldn't close it properly due to the bulging). A hefty sum and quite a bit of crying later we arrived home.

We have another appointment in a weeks time next Monday to check up on him and see if the anti-inflammatory is working (fingers crossed!)

I was just wondering if anyone had experienced a similar situation and/or if they had any advice for me.
Thank you in advance, Poppy

(Sorry for such a rambly post, I didn't really think about what I was going to say)
 
Last edited:
SamTheBunny said:
Over the last couple of weeks, I noticed that my English Lop Bear had quite a leaky eye. I didn't think anything of it as it wasn't very bad and he didn't have any other symptoms for me to be worried about. However, I had him out with Snowy for some floor time on Saturday and noticed that the liquid was quite cloudy, almost milky. Something seemed off so I decided that it was best to take him to the vets just to be on the safe side. As it was the weekend and it wasn't an emergency, I waited until today to ring the vets and then I booked him an appointment this afternoon. My mum and I took him into the consultation room and the vet looked him over, checking all of his general head area and she weighed him (3kg!) It was then that she noticed his eye protruding slightly more than the other, and that she could feel a small, solid mass that was not present in the other eye. After putting some dye in the eye and flushing out the tear duct, she came to the conclusion that it was probably either an abscess or a tumour. I didn't expect anything like that to even be a possibility, let alone a probable reality.

She said that we had a couple of options: anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics or a combination of both. Eventually we decided on anti-inflammatory drugs, in the hopes that it would do something for the mass behind his eye. (She also prescribed him some fusidic acid as he had an ulcer on his eye from where he couldn't close it properly due to the bulging). A hefty sum and quite a bit of crying later we arrived home.

We have another appointment in a weeks time next Monday to check up on him and see if the anti-inflammatory is working (fingers crossed!)

I was just wondering if anyone had experienced a similar situation and/or if they had any advice for me.
Thank you in advance, Poppy

(Sorry for such a rambly post, I didn't really think about what I was going to say)
Click to expand...


Hi there and welcome :wave:

I'm sorry to hear about Bear, I know anything concerning eyes is very worrying .. Where exactly could your vet feel the solid mass?

It's important to try and get rid of the corneal ulcer as that can be painful and eventually affect the sight.

The other possibility could be glaucoma - did the vet mention that at all?

There's some info here, but the images are quite scary as they are advanced cases of the diseases it talks about:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Clinical/Eye_diseases.htm


Info on the corneal ulcer ....

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Differential/Corneal_ulcers.htm
 
Thank you for your reply and the helpful links, i'll have a look now. I'm glad that an abscess is more likely than a tumour (although of course neither are ideal!)
 
The mass was located just above the left eye. She didn't mention a glaucoma, although that may have been to not unnecessarily worry me as she doesn't know for sure.
 
Just thought that I'd let you all know that we have finally figured out what is going on with Bear! Turns out that he doesn't have a tumour (thank God!) and it is instead an infection caused by spurs at the back of his mouth that were blocking his tear duct as a result (hence the leaky eye). We took him in to have his duct flushed for a third time yesterday, only more thoroughly this time, and now the pus is coming out much faster and a lot easier. I now have to give him 2 Maxitrol drops three times a day, along with 1ml of Metacam (dog strength!) a day. He isn't too pleased about the Maxitrol as I also have to gently squeeze some pus out each time which he doesn't particularly enjoy. He is going back next Wednesday to get the spurs removed and, if they need to, potentially another duct flush as he will be under a general anaesthetic anyway (it was local the first time as he is such a chilled bun!). Fingers crossed that this all clears up soon, thanks for all of the help! Poppy :)
 
SamTheBunny said:
Just thought that I'd let you all know that we have finally figured out what is going on with Bear! Turns out that he doesn't have a tumour (thank God!) and it is instead an infection caused by spurs at the back of his mouth that were blocking his tear duct as a result (hence the leaky eye). We took him in to have his duct flushed for a third time yesterday, only more thoroughly this time, and now the pus is coming out much faster and a lot easier. I now have to give him 2 Maxitrol drops three times a day, along with 1ml of Metacam (dog strength!) a day. He isn't too pleased about the Maxitrol as I also have to gently squeeze some pus out each time which he doesn't particularly enjoy. He is going back next Wednesday to get the spurs removed and, if they need to, potentially another duct flush as he will be under a general anaesthetic anyway (it was local the first time as he is such a chilled bun!). Fingers crossed that this all clears up soon, thanks for all of the help! Poppy :)
Click to expand...

I hope that his Dental will go well. Will that Vet also take some skull radiographs to assess what is going on with the tooth roots ? Elongated tooth roots can cause the issues you have described

These links may provide you with some useful information :

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/Rabbit_dentistry.pdf

https://www.vetstream.com/treat/lapis/freeform/dental-malocclusion-overgrowth

http://www.medirabbit.com/Radiography/anatomical_lines.pdf


And these are two links to a blog written by my Vet

https://www.twickenhamvets.com/rabbit-dental-problems-part-1-malocclusion-cheek-teeth/

https://www.twickenhamvets.com/rabbit-dental-problems-part-2-malocclusion-incisors/
 
SamTheBunny said:
Just thought that I'd let you all know that we have finally figured out what is going on with Bear! Turns out that he doesn't have a tumour (thank God!) and it is instead an infection caused by spurs at the back of his mouth that were blocking his tear duct as a result (hence the leaky eye). We took him in to have his duct flushed for a third time yesterday, only more thoroughly this time, and now the pus is coming out much faster and a lot easier. I now have to give him 2 Maxitrol drops three times a day, along with 1ml of Metacam (dog strength!) a day. He isn't too pleased about the Maxitrol as I also have to gently squeeze some pus out each time which he doesn't particularly enjoy. He is going back next Wednesday to get the spurs removed and, if they need to, potentially another duct flush as he will be under a general anaesthetic anyway (it was local the first time as he is such a chilled bun!). Fingers crossed that this all clears up soon, thanks for all of the help! Poppy :)
Click to expand...


Hi there Poppy and thanks so much for posting back about Bear :wave:

Blocked tear ducts are very common in rabbits, and it's often caused by elongated tooth roots. You could ask the vet for an X-ray whilst he's under for the dental if you like. My vet doesn't routinely do them as she says that it doesn't alter the outcome or treatment on the whole but this would be your choice :)

It sounds like the drops and the way you are expressing the gunk is working really well for Bear - well done you!


I don't usually let a vet anaesthetise for a tear duct flush unless really necessary (some vets always do though) so I'm glad your vet can do this procedure under a local as it sometimes needs repeating fairly regularly.

Sounds like you're on top of things here and good luck that everything goes well and Bear is a happy bunny again :D
 
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