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I'm worried....

Beaney

Mama Doe
I'm worried about my bun Austin. About 2 days ago he had a bit of a watery eye. I wasn't too worried as he has had it before (usually because he has got something in it as a result of sticking his head somewhere...). Usually, a bit of a bathe and a day or 2 later and it's all better. Not this time. This morning when I went bathe it, it seemed a bit different, this evening as I bathed it the hair around his eyes just came away so he now has little bald rings around each eye. The discharge itself is now more like white goo rather than just watery.

I gave him his fresh veg this evening and he started munching immediatly so I thought - well at least he is eating. Panic began to set in as on a close listen, he appears to have developed a bit of a 'wheeze' to his breathing. I'm going to ring the vet first thing in the morning but would appreciate any advice - could it be snuffles? My Austin is 10 and a half and apart from a case of flystrike (caught very very early so he made a full recovery) he has never been to the vet before as he has always been really healthy - which is why I am so worried.

He has been his usual self up until this evening - he had the opportunity to run free around the garden and he usually takes this time to run around and torment the dog - but this evening he just wanted a cuddle...

I know I am not going to sleep tonight... :(
 
It sounds like he has conjunctivitis and possibly a respiratory tract infection.
You do need to get him to a vet ASAP as he will need topical antibiotics for his eyes and maybe systemic antibiotics if he has a respiratory tract infection.
Is he sneezing at all? Any discharge around his nostrils or on the insides of his front feet (from wiping his nose)
It is very important to get him to your Vet ASAP as IF he has a respiratory tract infection it needs to be addressed promptly.
Please let us know how he gets on

Janex
 
I have just been out to check on him again - he was pleased to see me when I opened the shed door but hasn't eaten as much as he usually does.

I have not seen any sneezing and there only appears to be discharge from his eyes which is getting worse. As well as the bald spots it appears to be matting into the fur that is still there and my attempts at bathing aren't really making a difference. His nose is dry and there isn't anything on his feet to suggest he has been wiping his nose or anything.

I'll be ringing the vets at 8.30 when they open in the morning and see if I can take him straight down. They are usually really good at getting me seen quickly when it is needed (though it is usually my dog who is the sickly one and not the rabbit!). I'll let you know...

Thanks for the replies everyone!
 
Hi there,

Benny always has slightly runny eyes, but as soon as it turns white rather than clear it's time to take him to the vets for some antibiotic eye drops. The one that seems to work for us is Exocin. Your buns eyes sound very similar.

The hair loss is due to "burning" of the skin due to it being constantly wet. The best way to bathe it to get the goo off is to soak a cotton ball in some warm water and hold it against the eye to loosen it. Then wipe away if you can...

Not sure about the sneezing. Their eyes & nose are connected - when tear ducts are flushed the solution should come out of their nose! It could just be that it's a bit of an eye infection but the goo is running and irritating his nose. Alice tends to get a snotty nose and sounds like she's wheezing, but her chest is usually clear and the nose is just from her nose rather than her chest.

Hope this helps? Good luck for tomorrow.

Gemma
 
The discharge coming from the eyes will make the hair fall out after a while you can only get him treated for the eyes and keep bathing them. No dought you will get drops or cream for the eyes. At his age poor chap he sounds to have an infection so will ned treatment. Hope all goes well at the vet and he will be back to heath soon. val
 
So, a bit of an update - Had a horrible night sleep, got up nice and early to check on him to find that he was now having trouble eating... Sort of trying to eat then almost 'hacking' and started grinding his teeth.

Obviously - first thing this morning I called the vet and took him down. He does have an infection so the vet gave him a couple of injections and I have some eye drops but the underlying problem - his teeth! -so a bit of a double whammy. He is going back tomorrow for his molars to be sorted. I am terrified as at his age (and with an infection as well) it is a risk but there is no other option. :(

He did manage a few laps of the garden when I got back from the vets and does appear to be getting a bit of grass down him and he is drinking. He is still grinding his teeth a lot and actually whimpering a bit which is breaking my heart... Why his teeth are causing problems now I don't know. His diet hasn't changed and he hasn't ever had any problems before - I guess it is just one of those things.

I am going to be a nightmare at work tomorrow. I'll keep you posted on how he gets on.

Sabrina
 
our oscar had that..always his teeth but alos grass allergy!

what a grand bunny age...hell be ok im sure..but its always a tricky one isnt it..

as for why..well they do say bunnys whove not suffered with teeth probs tend to when they get older.
 
I'm going to be taking him to the vets in about 20 minutes - feel physically sick. Then I have to go to work where I work with a whole bunch of animal haters (their comments yesterday had the words 'brick' and 'stew' in them - :cry: ). Nevermind - I have everything crossed for him... Hopefully I'll be giving a positive update this evening!
 
I hope Austin is ok. It is always a worrying time, but hope your vets will sort out the problem.

Sending hugs to Austin
xx
 
I've bitten off most of my finger nails during the day (nasty habit I know) but he is home - yay! :)

I picked him up at about 6pm this evening and he is still quite groggy - and wobbly! I was told by the vet that everything had gone OK but he hadn't eaten and if he doesn't eat by tomorrow morning then straight back down. Got him home, settled him into his hutch and chopped up all his favourite veggies and gave him some of his usual food and hay - and he dived in (thank heavens!). He hasn't eaten masses - normally he'd clear the bowl of veggies - but he has had a good go. Just been sat with him in the shed and he has fallen asleep so left him too recover.

For the first time in his life I have confined him too his hutch overnight (usually he has the shed as well - not that it is a small hutch anyway) but I didn't like the idea of him navigating jumps and ramps in his drowsy state - might be me being over protective but I feel better knowing he is shut up in his bed and hopefully he'll be feeling much better in the morning. :)

Fingers crossed he makes a full recovery and this isn't going to be a problem in the future. He does eat hay - but not huge amounts - so just ordered a sample selection from hay experts and see if I can tempt him to eat more hay and keep wearing those teeth down!

Thanks for the support everyone :)

Sabrina
x
 
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