Help needed with 3 youn lionhead/lionlops

Hi I am new to this forum and really need some help and advice. I did a silly thing and that's to take on 3 young rabbits (born 10/04). They were pretty poorly with scours and eye infections initially. This cleared up but I noticed ulcerations appearing on the eyes of 1 rabbit, both eyes. This then happened to another and then the last. After many different eye treatments my vet tells me that it is a corneal apasty? Not sure how you spell it. Either way it is a genetic disorder where the eye lids are deformed.

I could see a specialist costing £84 plus vat and then pay for all 3 to have specialist operations but I can not afford that. I have tried my own vets and that would be about £350 plus aftercare. I have spent out a lot already on these rabbits. All 3 rabbits have some ulceration which is not responding to any form of treatment they are really cute and I feel so cruel in not knowing what to do. The operations may not be successful so I've been told.

I have tried many rescue organisations and all they can offer is a waiting list. In the meantime these will suffer. I am considering having them put to sleep and have discussed this with my vet. Please can anyone help me and give me some advice. There is no option of paying installments and even then I won't be able to justify this cost. I am after someone to give these animals the chance that I can't offer, someone who can get some money back through rehoming.

I could not keep all of these rabbits anyway due to my own neutered french lop buck being cruelly decapitated at the beginning of January during broad daylight. The police are investigating. It means that I can not even leave my rabbits in a run during the day which is pretty sick.

Please if you can help me.

Thanks

Angela
What I do need to know

I think what you are describing is corneal dystrophy which is also a condition that affects humans.

Ophthamology in rabbits is a highly specialised area and I would suggest that you contact an animal/vet college if there is one near you. The only treatment is really a corneal graft and this is a highly specialised operation which has only been done a few times.

I am afraid that if this is what your bunnies have the prognosis is not too good. Your best bet is to ask your vet to refer you to a specialist and I would hope they would be sufficiently interested to take on the case and operate.

I know a vet who has a particular interest in ophthamology and I will ask them for a second opinion on possible treatments.

lol PAm

vet bills

The people who had the rabbits didn't want them and I've been down that route with the specialist and my own vets. I've asked the PDSA and spoke to many rescue organisations. I can not afford the rough cost of £3000£400 for the surgery be it now or in installments and I doubt any resuce organisation would pay for it if they had the rabbits as there are no guarantees.

I appreciate the advice but I have tried everywhere, if anyone can take them on and get a great price for the operations>> They are tiny rabbits and lovely natured due to having so much time looking after them from myself. I am going to get them put to sleep at the end of this week unless anyone has any suggestions as I think its cruel.

What would other people do in this situation? If you think you yourselves could cope with the costs then please step in and save them. I really, really don't want to do this but I have no viable route to go down.

Thanks

Angela

I will talk to my friend so if you could try to hold off until tomorrow then I will see what she has to say.

I think looking at the prognosis if it is corneal dystrophy then the prognosis is very poor. The bunnies would need medical treatment for their entire lives and would be blind, if not have very very limited site indeed.

I think that unless I can get startling advice then you may be looking at a pts situation.

I am sorry but I will do my very best to try and come up with a positive bit of advice/treatment option.

This condition is genetic and I would hope that whoever you got these bunnies from will not breed any more in the future.

lol PAm

eyes

Hi thanks for the advice, I did get referred to a specialist but my vet has spoken to him and it is a very unusual disorder. You may be right on the name but i will check again. I am sure it is as I've said. I hope I don't sound awful in these replies. I am so concerned that they are suffering as it is so painful to have eye ulcers and they don't seem to be enjoying life. I am treating Judy one of the does for the 3rd eye infection. This apparantly happens due to the inability of the eyelids to form a complete seal.

I will be absolutely gutted to put them to sleep but I have set myself a senisble timelimit and this website is my last resort. My vet spoke to a specialist opthalimic specialist in Emsworth, Chichester, West Sussex a Robert Lowe.

I don't think there is any other way as the ulcers aren't healing, we've tried tiacil, chloromphenical and fucithalmic eye ointments/drops so far and all have been unsuccessful.

As the rabbits are growing any operation on the eye lids might still be affected by their growth. They are 4 half months old and being a small breed still may gave a month and half of growing? It's a long time to be left with an untreatable ulcer.

My vet says that the eyelids don't close properly so the eye is not staying moist and does not provide a good seal so the eye is getting damaged.

I still will be grateful for any help and I wish I could afford the specialist costs. I just spent far too much money on my other pets recently and this is too much. My little minil lop boy had blocked tear ducts and needed operating on and neutering, my dog has a degenerative disease of the spine, the other has problems with her joints (been operated on). Even with veterinary insurance a 12 year old dog's cover does not cover all. I spent about £150 on my lizard after he became ill, the first time one has come down ill. It's just a little too much in one go.

Thanks again

Angela

Hi

Hre is some infor taken from the PDSA site about eye problems - do your bunnies fit into any of these ctaegories.

* Chronic conjunctivitis can cause corneal ulcers and cloudiness in the eye. The rabbit has a clear or purulent eye discharge. The eyelids are swollen and the conjunctiva is red. The flow of discharge from the eye may cause severe loss of hair from the inner eye downwards. This would need veterinary treatment, as well as checking on the ventilation in the hutch to avoid draughts, excessive ammonia from urine or other irritants. Hay dust can also cause this condition.

* Keratitis is where the cornea is inflamed and the whole of it may appear to be covered with a white skin-like tissue. The affected rabbit also usually has conjunctivitis, and it can be a response to a trauma to the cornea. The affected rabbit may need a long course of antibiotics.

* Uveitis, or inflammation of the iris part of the eye, can cause corneal oedema (swelling). The problem may be associated with a bacterial infection, and again, the affected rabbit may need an intensive drug therapy, but in these cases the outlook can be guarded.

* Corneal lipidosis is where there are fatty deposits on the front of the eye, and they can happen anywhere on the eye and be of varying thickness. They do not need any treatment.

* Corneal dystrophy is where the corneal membrane thickens, and again no treatment is necessary.

* Advanced glaucoma can also cause corneal opacity, and the condition is hereditary in New Zealand White rabbits and can happen when they are as young as 3 months old. There is treatment, but not all rabbits respond to it.

* Cataracts are also seen in rabbits, but as rabbits can accommodate with poor vision, they often cope quite well.

The term cornal opacity which I think is what your vet probably said is a term which covers all these ailments.

Pie had a bad eye ulcer and it was cleared up with Gentamicin eye drops - two drops six times a day at least.

lol Pam

When i got chuckie (guniea pig) she had an ulcer on one eye she was given tiacil to use twice a day did this for a month and the ulcer cleared up.before her eye was closed most of the time and looked cloudy looks perfectly normal now

eyes

That clears a little up, the infections do clear up the eye treatment you suggested probably would work if the cause was got rid of but I will mention it to my vet. It's hard to describe but the eyelids of the rabbits are longer in length and if you can imagine what a bite on an eyelid would look like after its repaired the eye lids look like this on the top. Instead of being smooth they have a kink in it. I will try and get a picture of ginger one of the 2 girls tomorrow and show you. It's odd as I thought they might have damaged the eyelid at first but both eyelids are the same on each rabbit. These rabbits have eyelashes but not all rabbits do. They are not causing it. There is no redness to the eye, conjunctivitus etc. There is a fair bit of clear discharge down through the nose due to irritation (not pasturella but I was concerned!) as the eyes drained.

I will try and speak to my vet tomorrow. I did understand that the term the vet used she actually got from the specialist and specifically refers to this condition of the eyelids. She did check her veterinary books also but again I will check to make sure. I need to be 100% sure.

Hopefully you can understand the problem with treatment for the ulcers in that usually if an ulcer occurs the cause is no longer present and treatment will work. in this case the cause is still present and thus the ulcer can not heal even with treatment.

Thank you ever so much for your advice

Angela

If the eye lids aren't closing then they'll need fake tears putting in several times a day. This isn't a treatment for the condition as such but helps keep the eye moist so its comfortable and prevents further damage.

Are the eye lids sore, the reason I ask it Syphilis can cause rabbits to get lesions on the eye lids.

Is the price you quoted for treatment at your vets or for the specialist?

Can you get confirm the name of the condition?

Where abouts in the UK are you?

Thanks,
Tam

If the eye lids aren't closing then they'll need fake tears putting in several times a day. This isn't a treatment for the condition as such but helps keep the eye moist so its comfortable and prevents further damage.

Click to expand...

My thoughts exactely. (I have a rabbit that needs artificial tear drops twice a day due to haveing one side of the face paralysed and therefore not being able to close the eye). Normal ones for humans from the chemist (about £1 - £2 a bottle) is what I was advised to use.

Vera

eyes

I spoke to my vets today (I am in Sussex, West). She confirmed that the corneal opacity was a broad term (thanks for suggesting it) and that there was no actual term for this deformtity of the top eye lid. I have queried about eye drops but I know as a contact lens wearer that sometimes the drops only relieve the condition for about an hour or so. Unfortunately I am out at work. Believe me I have thought about this. I will try this as it is half term. I would think this would be a difficult task for most people to keep up with and would be hard to rehome them for this reason. I had a home for Max the boy pending check ups but they wouldn't be able to cope.

There are no lesions at all on the eye lid, I had those on my dog and she had them removed recently. The top eyelids just kink upwards away from the eye, on one of them its abouts 2-3mm up and then curves sharply back down.

My vet today said that she hadn't had the time to talk to the owner of the practice to see what they can do. The costs I have given are:-

specialist £84 plus VAT for initial consultation (plus 3 operations)

My vet gave me costs as basic anaesthetic costs at £90 per rabbit plus additional medication. This of course is on top of around £100 that I have spent already on them. They are very tame and pretty but they are dreadfully unhappy sitting in the corner at the moment.

Even as a course of payment I will not be able to afford that sort of costs. If anyone wants to take them and give them a chance then by all means do so and contact me. I would hope that a rescue body who can charge for rehoming and where decent people go would be able to get back some of these costs.

I will be off to the shops in a moment to get some eye drops to try. Thanks again

Angela

have a look at www.preciouspets.org/petherbs.htm and look under Eyebright Tincture, this might help relieve discomfort

Which rescues have you asked? I might be able to think of others to try.

Tam

I'm sorry but Im unable to offer any form of advice or assistance in this matter, Our thoughts are with you at this dreadfull time and with those sweet little bun's.

I know its very easy to say this from our position but its events like this that really make us glad that we have insurance cover for our 4. I dont even know if this would be covered but it would give another option if it was a choice of having to have them PTS or get a large loan.

However this turns out, you have the knowladge that you did the very best that you could for the bun's.

Hi Angela

I am speaking to the vet tonight - just wondered where about you stayed.

If you don't wnat to put your base on open forum could you pm me.

Thanks

Pam