Eye problem

We have had liquorice for 9 weeks now (he is 15wks old Rex).

When we bought him from the pet shop we noticed he had a little milky liquid on the tear duct of his left eye. We have never had a rabbit b4 so never payed much attention...he was so gorgeous we had to have him. 9 weeks on and his eye is still really 'gungy'.

Been to vets, had antibiotic drops which didnt help.

Went on Monday to have his tear duct flushed but the vet said it was too inflammed so had to give him a steriod injection to hopefully reduce inflamation. She mentioned referring Liquorice to top rabbit expert in Harrogate - which really worried me - it makes me think they dont know what wrong!!!

I know that eyes are linked to dental problems but the vet hasnt seen any dental problams - is this normal - can vets 'spot' dental problems or are xrays needed?
:shock:

My bunny Moosie gets recurrent tear duct problems every couple of months - only started when she was five years old :? Tiacil clears it up really quickly. We've had swabs taken, which have come back negative, and her teeth have been thoroughly checked and there's no problems with them. So, it's a bit of a mystery to me too.

Scampie has had eye problems from the age of about 3. It all seemed to kick off after she contracted congunctivitus. She has a mild tear run from her eyes which is (we've been told by the vet) comparitivly slight and options are quite limited. We have tried tear duct flushing direct and oral medication with limited success.

From my very limited experiance it seems because the roots of rabbits teeth are so long its not always easy to pinpoint tooth problems just by an oral examination. Also the cheek teeth are quite difficult to get a good look at. I definatly wouldn't worry about being refered to a top rabbit expert! this can only be a good thing, if Liquorice's problem isn't major then at least you know hes getting the best possible care. I know not knowing whats going on is aweful, but some rabbits live their whole lives with tear run off for nothing to ever develop.
Goodluck Abbi X

Has your vet tried a steroid eye cream? I had a guinea pig with recurrent eye problems which cleared when he had steroiod cream.

In the meantime, Optrex eyewash is very good for soothing poorly eyes in small furries.

I would say be refered to the expert, vets don't know an awfull lot on rabs so better to be refered to someone who does.

hi, the vets in harrogate isnt too far from me - they are very well known for bunnies. Its harcourt-browns (francis harcourt-brown has written books and lectures on bunnies- she is very good apparently!).
My bunny had recurrent eye problems that i was told would never go away. I started using the steroid eye cream soad is on about - its called fucithalmic and is licensed in bunnies. It worked a treat! I bathed his eye twice daily to remove the gunge (he had loads of dried gunge matted into his fur when i got him, i foster him from local rescue). I gently bathed all this over the course of a few days (its not fair to do it all at once as it can make bunny skin very sore to bathe too much). I just did it twice daily with warm water and cotton wool and got a little bit more off each time. After bathing, i applied the ointment. Within a week it was clear. Your vet will prob advise this, but from when it had cleared up, i applied it for a further 2-3 days to prevent a relapse. Never had eye problems again and the rescue had been trying for ages to get rid! Maybe you could ask your vet about it? If you dont trust them to sort the proble, a bunny specialist may be worth a visit. I work at my practice and i even had to take my bunny to another practice, as thy were more specialist (not the bunny with the eye problem, one of my own bunnies). Good luck!