Hi guys I have a year old female harlequin rabbit named Misty. This morning during her playtime I noticed that she wasn't opening her left eye. She will open it about halfway if something piques her interest and that allowed me see that there's a milky white patch near the middle of her eye and the edges of her eyelids are moderately red. There was also a small amount of eye gunk in the inner corner of her eye. I'm not sure when this started but both eyes looked fine when I put her up last night. She was a little lethargic last night which is somewhat unusual for her but that could be unrelated. She's acting totally normal this morning, hopping about, eating, interested in her environment. I wiped the area with a warm washcloth and tried to rinse it with saline solution but I don't see any improvement yet. That was about half an hour ago. She has never had any eye issues before this, or any other health problems. This is my first bunny and I've only had her since July so I am pretty inexperienced and don't know what to do. Will this go away on its own, what should I do if it doesn't, and when should I consider taking her to a vet?? I've attached a picture but I couldn't get a good shot.
Bun isn't opening eye
- Thread starter Alyshia
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My rabbits commonly get some white fluff in their eyes(they have white fur), which could look like a white patch, and I will just flush the eye out with plain sterile ophthalmic saline to get the fluff out of the eye.
But if it's not some fluff in the eye and is a white patch on the eye itself, it's likely your rabbit scratched her eye(called a corneal ulcer) and it now is inflamed, and the eye gunk means it's also probably infected. A corneal ulcer is what it looks to be in the photo you posted. So you'll need to take your bun to be seen by an experienced rabbit vet, who will likely prescribe her antibiotic eye drops and maybe some meloxicam as an anti inflammatory pain reliever.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Disorder/Ulcer/Ulc_en.htm
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
But if it's not some fluff in the eye and is a white patch on the eye itself, it's likely your rabbit scratched her eye(called a corneal ulcer) and it now is inflamed, and the eye gunk means it's also probably infected. A corneal ulcer is what it looks to be in the photo you posted. So you'll need to take your bun to be seen by an experienced rabbit vet, who will likely prescribe her antibiotic eye drops and maybe some meloxicam as an anti inflammatory pain reliever.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Disorder/Ulcer/Ulc_en.htm
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
Update! Misty is doing great since her visit to the vet! It was her first time going and she loved climbing on the doctor 
He was impressed with how friendly she was, I'm so proud! Anyway, it wasn't a scratch, just a poke so it won't take quite so long to heal. She gets antibiotic eye drops 2-3 times a day for two weeks and her eye is looking much better. Thanks again for the help!
He was impressed with how friendly she was, I'm so proud! Anyway, it wasn't a scratch, just a poke so it won't take quite so long to heal. She gets antibiotic eye drops 2-3 times a day for two weeks and her eye is looking much better. Thanks again for the help!
Perfect! I'm glad it's not too bad and the eye is healing up well. You lucked out having a rabbit that actually likes the vets. Most hate going to the vet. Mine certainly don't like it.
