Cherry Eyes in Rabbit

[tazzychan]

Hi all

A few weeks ago my rabbit developed Cherry eyes in both her eyes also known as prolapse of the Harderian gland. At first they only poped out when she was eatting or stressed and would return to normal after she stopped eatting or when she was calm. Therefore in the beginning we were not to worried about the condition. Then two weeks ago we took her to get her nails cut and the groomer noticed her cherry eyes and told us it was better if we saw a vet. We went to see the vet and of course Tazzy's cherry eyes were popping out because she was stressed. The vet was examining her eyes and was even able to pop one of her prolapse eyelids back in with her finger. The vet found nothing else wrong with our rabbit. She was eatting and pooping well, her eye were only slightly weepy and due to her age, Tazzy is 7 and a half we all agreeded that we were going to leave the condition as it was. However, once we got home from the vet Tazzy's symptoms took a turn for the worse. I dont know if the examination irritated the eye but now one of her eyes is so weepy allthe time that half of her face looks very wet all the time. In addition her cherry eyes are now appearing all the time now not just when she eats or is stressed. I was reading about the treatments for this condition and it is usually surgery in dogs where they stitch the gland in place. I was wondering if anyone has had this procedure done on their rabbit and what is the success rate? Sorry for blabling on for so long.



Thank you



Gloria

 

[tonyshuman]

I would look to another cause of the cherry eyes than a physical defect in the 3rd eyelid itself. A common symptom of heart or lung troubles is protrusion of the 3rd eyelid. In particular, bunnies with thymus tumors (thymoma) commonly first present with this symptom (and nothing else). I have been doing a lot of reading on thymoma as one of our rabbits is suspected to have it. I have searched the veterinary medicine literature and in most of the case studies of thymoma, the initial sign that something is wrong is protruding 3rd eyelids.


http://www.examiner.com/small-pets-in-dayton/thymomas-rabbits

http://www.rabbit.org/health/thymoma.html

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/2009/10/Rabbit-eye-bulging-tumor.htm

These are all the possible causes:
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Differential/Nictitating.htm

And here is an actual document about treating 3rd eyelid prolapse in rabbits. If your rabbit looks like the ones in the pictures there, it may be a prolapse as suspected. It just looks very distinctive in rabbits and I think different than how it looks in dogs, which is why I encourage you to consider other possible causes.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Disorder/Harderian_gland.pdf

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

The cherry eyes will protrude when the bun is moving around more or stressed. The vet didn't prescribe an eyedrop at all? Not sure it does any good, in my experience, my first rabbit had these, but I think as he was later diagnosed w/ Congestive Heart Failure, the cherry eye was the onset.

Keep an eye on his breathing. I started seeing labored breathing, esp after giving meds as it stressed the bun out.

 

[tazzychan]

I am sorry to say your diagnosis was right. We came back from the vet yesterday and after doing some xrays the doctor confirmed that Tazzy has thymoma. I couldn't stop crying after getting that diagnosis, since I was hoping that Tazzy's problem was just a simple eye problem which eye drops will clear up. The vet said that surgery is an option but due to her age of 7 years old and her heavy breathing they think that surgery is very risky. We decided to bring her home and try to keep her days as stress free as possible. I just wanted to inquire about what is the best thing we can do to make her days more comfortable? She is still eatting and pooping but she is sleeping alot and breaths very fast. Her eye problem comes and goes. Some days she seems like her old self just running around and being her crazy self but other days all she does is sleep. How can I make her days left with us as painless and happy as possible? Has anyone else had a rabbit with this problem?

 

[tonyshuman]

I am so sorry. It might be worthwhile to get some further diagnostics done because there are some treatments for thymoma that can be successful at giving bunnies relief and sometimes even complete cancer remission.

Here are a number of stories of bunnies with thymoma:
http://www.rabbit.org/health/thymomastory.html
http://www.varabbit.com/dusty.html
http://www.varabbit.com/pippa.html
http://www.varabbit.com/marlo.html
http://www.rabbit.org/health/thymoma.html
http://www.rabbit.org/health/Rabbitthymomas.pdf

I have access to the scientific literature through my school and can pass along some info that is there, although the articles are a bit more clinical and detached and can be hard to read.

I also recommend joining etherbun, a yahoo group with a few members whose bunnies have gone through this. There are several stories about thymoma in their archives that can be helpful.

Our Benjamin went in to the vet school here a week ago Friday and had all his diagnostics re-done. X-ray and needle biopsy were done, and CT scans were also taken. the CT scans are very helpful in determining the extent of the tumor and any pressure it is putting on his other internal organs, in Ben's case it is the lungs. One of his lungs is very compromised and has a good deal of pneumonia, so we are treating with an anti-inflammatory and nebulizing saline solution to improve his lung function. They did not find any bacteria in a deep nasal culture for him. If we can improve his lung function with these methods, the vets at the school may consider radiation therapy, but he is very small so it is unclear whether they'll be comfortable with that or not.

I just wanted to say that operation is the best treatment, but it is not the only one. At that age, she might be ok operated on, and she certainly is not too old to try radiation or chemical therapy, depending on what you think is appropriate for her. Our Ben is only 3, so we are hoping to treat him so he can have a nice, long life; many of the treatments I have read about have been in older bunnies, and were successful in that they prolonged the life of the rabbits, but few completely treated them. Most of the bunnies I have read about ultimately did die as a cause of the cancer. It may have been more peaceful or even years after first diagnosis, but it is important to remember that cancer is not really a curable disease--we can treat it and send it into remission, but it often returns.

I am so sorry Tazzy and you are going through this. Cancer really sucks. It just doesn't seem fair; we take such good care of our animals and they still can get diseases that there's so little we can do about. Ben is our sweetest bunny and just has the best, most fun personality. It must be even harder with just one bunny and having had her for longer.

If you aren't considering treatments to attack the tumor, I would ask the vet about a long-term course of Metacam (meloxicam, an anti-inflammatory and pain med). It could help with any discomfort and reduce swelling. It is not recommended for very long-term use in bunnies (1yr+) because of possible kidney damage and stomach bleeding (make sure to always give with a meal), but it can be very helpful in palliative care, to make those days where she's not feeling great a bit better. You could also look into nebulizing to improve lung function like we are doing. We bought a nebulizer second-hand off Craigslist for around $35 (normally $200+ or require a prescription) and are doing 20-30min of nebulizing saline solution either with a home-made nose cone or in a nebulizing chamber daily.

This link talks about using a nebulizer to deliver antibiotics directly to the lung for a bunny with an infection. With a netherland dwarf like we have (and you too, I think) even a pediatric face mask wouldn't work. I made one out of the top of a water bottle.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Respiratory/respira_main.htm

Best wishes to you and Tazzy.

 

[tonyshuman]

etherbun: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/etherbun/

 

[tazzychan]

Thank you so much for all the useful information, I am going to slowly read through them. The vet gave us Metacam to use for long term. Tazzy doesnt like to take medication and often gets stressed out when we try to corner her in the room with a syringe. I have been putting the Metacam on some banana and she seems to take it really well. Tazzy goes through these really up and down cycles. Last week she looked so lethargic breathing heavy and her eyes were all teary and her food consumption decreased. However during the past few days she seems like her old self, running around the room, eatting everything in sight and her eyes have stopped weeping. A few days ago I thought we were going to be losing her really soon but today I am thinking she might be around for awhile. Do you also see these up and down changes with your rabbit or is it just the metacam? I hope Ben is also doing well.

 

[tonyshuman]

The metacam seems to be helping our Ben a lot--he has stopped with the sneeze/cough episodes he was having (many sneezes in a row). He is pretty much active all the time though, but he is a bit skinny. He loves to run around and does tons of binkies still so he is not very badly affected. We would not have known he was sick except for the sneezing episodes that did not go away. Sorry for the barrage of information--I have a ton of it and it can be hard to read through sometimes but thought it might be helpful.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I'm so sorry, hon. Hugs. Feel free to message me. Uh, I saw up and up then bad news...it's hard to say, Just take every moment as a gem.
Metacam is just helping w/ some of the pain. When the heart gives out, it gives out.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

They hide their pain so well, that you truly cannot tell very well. They will get very inactive, then pop up as if everything is fine...

 

[Pops]

Hi Tazzy,

My poppy is 7.5 years old and has just been diagnosed with Thymoma's as well. I completely understand your emotions of the ups and downs and am so glad to have found someone who shares the same feeling.

I know it's been a while since this thread started, but do you mind letting me know how Tazzy is doing now? I have decided not to put poppy through the pain of surgery or radiation since she is nearly 8 years old already and from the cases I've read, i would only be extending our time with together for a few more months maybe. And I guess I can't be selfish...sometimes when your loved pet needs to go, you have to let them go...

Poppy is extremely lively all the time has great appetite and jumps around a lot. It doesn't seem that she is sick at all and she certainly doesn't act her age!

The ups and the downs mainly come from my own emotions...somedays I'm relaxed and happy because I see poppy enjoying herself. Other days, I am worried and scared of losing her.

Do you have any thoughts or advice you could give me please?

Thank you

 

[missyscove]

Hi there and welcome to the forum. This member hasn't been active in over 2 years so I don't think you're likely to get response, but we have had other members whose rabbits have had thymomas (tonyshuman in particular) that might be able to tell you their story. You'd be best starting your own thread here in the infirmary for more information, and please be sure to introduce yourself in our introductions section!

 

[Pops]

Thank you!