nicorabbit
New Kit
Hi,
I'm a newly registered user. I'm coming to this forum with a plea for advice.
I have a 4 year old lopear rabbit who has discharge coming from the tearduct in his one eye. It's always a discharge from one eye while the other eye is fine. It's usually his left eye but it once switched to his right eye but then switched back again. It is a white pussy discharge. If I don't flush his eye with saline and massage the duct frequently, the pus becomes thicker and accumulates in the sac in the corner of his eye. I can squeeze about half a teaspoon of the stuff if I go a couple days without performing the saline/massage.
He's been to 3 vets since the beginning of the year for this issue. All have prescribed with him a 2 week course of systemic antibiotics and topical eyedrops. The most recent had him on baytril and tobramycin. The antibiotics eliminate the discharge but only for the course of the treatment. He's been off the ABx for 3 days and the puss has already returned.
The vet wants to put him on another 2 week course of baytril and tobramycin and then perform a tearduct flush if the discharge doesn't go away after that course. I'm skeptical of this approach. First of all, from what I've researched, tear duct flushes often do not help and frequently make the problem worse. Secondly, I believe if the ABx were the solution to this issue, they would have worked by now.
My own theory is that the problem is due to some dental issue. I've read that such issues are common in lops and dwarf rabbits. The most recent vet checked his teeth and said he has normal wear on all his teeth. I discussed the possibility of an overgrown tooth root and she was dismissive. However, I still believe this is probably the issue. I just called her office and spoke to her on the phone directly. I discussed the possibility of taking X-rays and she said that while she could do them, they would not reveal any blockages of the tearduct and that I would need to go to a specialist over an hour away who can take CAT scans and use a dye for imaging to get anything conclusive. This contradicts the veterinary journal articles that I've read that state dental issue and overgrown tooth roots can be detected using contrast radiography.
I would be incredibly grateful if someone had any type of advice on what I should do. I'm starting to run out of money and can't afford to keep taking him to different vets and paying for expensive ABx.
Has anybody else dealt with this issue before?
Do you recommend getting the X-rays done?
If the origin of the problem can't be solved, is there some sort of maintenance therapy for this condition that doesn't involve baytril (it costs me a $100 for a 2 week course)?
I've noticed that OTC non-steroidal triple antibiotic ointment clears up the discharge however I'm concerned that if he is on it a prolonged amount of time, he will ingest it while cleaning his face and it will cause GI stasis. Is there such a thing as triple antibiotic drops for rabbits?
Thank you in advance
I'm a newly registered user. I'm coming to this forum with a plea for advice.
I have a 4 year old lopear rabbit who has discharge coming from the tearduct in his one eye. It's always a discharge from one eye while the other eye is fine. It's usually his left eye but it once switched to his right eye but then switched back again. It is a white pussy discharge. If I don't flush his eye with saline and massage the duct frequently, the pus becomes thicker and accumulates in the sac in the corner of his eye. I can squeeze about half a teaspoon of the stuff if I go a couple days without performing the saline/massage.
He's been to 3 vets since the beginning of the year for this issue. All have prescribed with him a 2 week course of systemic antibiotics and topical eyedrops. The most recent had him on baytril and tobramycin. The antibiotics eliminate the discharge but only for the course of the treatment. He's been off the ABx for 3 days and the puss has already returned.
The vet wants to put him on another 2 week course of baytril and tobramycin and then perform a tearduct flush if the discharge doesn't go away after that course. I'm skeptical of this approach. First of all, from what I've researched, tear duct flushes often do not help and frequently make the problem worse. Secondly, I believe if the ABx were the solution to this issue, they would have worked by now.
My own theory is that the problem is due to some dental issue. I've read that such issues are common in lops and dwarf rabbits. The most recent vet checked his teeth and said he has normal wear on all his teeth. I discussed the possibility of an overgrown tooth root and she was dismissive. However, I still believe this is probably the issue. I just called her office and spoke to her on the phone directly. I discussed the possibility of taking X-rays and she said that while she could do them, they would not reveal any blockages of the tearduct and that I would need to go to a specialist over an hour away who can take CAT scans and use a dye for imaging to get anything conclusive. This contradicts the veterinary journal articles that I've read that state dental issue and overgrown tooth roots can be detected using contrast radiography.
I would be incredibly grateful if someone had any type of advice on what I should do. I'm starting to run out of money and can't afford to keep taking him to different vets and paying for expensive ABx.
Has anybody else dealt with this issue before?
Do you recommend getting the X-rays done?
If the origin of the problem can't be solved, is there some sort of maintenance therapy for this condition that doesn't involve baytril (it costs me a $100 for a 2 week course)?
I've noticed that OTC non-steroidal triple antibiotic ointment clears up the discharge however I'm concerned that if he is on it a prolonged amount of time, he will ingest it while cleaning his face and it will cause GI stasis. Is there such a thing as triple antibiotic drops for rabbits?
Thank you in advance
