Digg's irritated eye

[Kyla]

Digg's right eye is looking pretty bad right now! About 2 weeks ago the skin around his eye got pink at the edges (starting with the bottom corner) and he was scratching a bit at it and grooming his face a lot. The fur under his eye is always moist looking, dries crusty. he had a bit of white sleep-like stuff in the corner of his eye. It is looking worse, and he's not looking happy. He doesnt come out as much, and he only plays with his hide-a-treat ball for the alfalfa pellets.
I've been wiping it with a wet warm cottonball, for 3 days now. I called the vet yesterday (Dr Upjohn in coquitlam is his doc) and the receptionist said he's away for 3 weeks! and they dont have any knowledgeable bunny vets there right now, but tomorrow one is in who knows a bit, I could possibly bring him tomorrow. I have no money and I am hoping it is not horribly bad! I think that I will have to suck it up and bring him in. There is also another vet not too far away, I saw in the vets area, Dr Walton. I need advice if i should bring him in right away, or wait to see if it gets better.

pink & irritated on the top corner and bottom corner

He doesnt normally lie in there! He is hiding!

after I wiped it

A quick history: 1 month ago Neutered male mini/holland(?) lop 2.25 lbs, 3 years old, normal litterbox & eating behavior, other than he is less active recently, maybe that's because I've been trying to pick him up in the last week. Dont know if he may have been poked by hay, maybe he scratched himself..

Is this an emergency? I feel so bad for him!

 

[Pipp]

Poor bunny! You can wipe it with Polysporin (they have a tube for eyes) until you can get him seen.

I think Dr. Walton is good. There is also Dr. Martinez, he does housecalls, and he's very flexible. His prices are good.

Dr. Joseph Martinez
Green Cross Veterinary Housecall Services
(604) 731-9416
Email: [email protected]

Has there been any changes in what he want to eat or how fast he's eating it? Any louder than usual breathing? Anything like that?


sas :bunnydance:

 

[Pipp]

PS: Check out the Library links...

Eye Problems

especially this one:

Ophthalmologic diseases - MediRabbit.com
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Eye_diseases_main.htm



sas :bunnydance:

 

[Kyla]

The only changes in his diet are due to me giving him different hay, we got some hay from a feed store in a big bag, smelled good, but he didnt want it. He likes the pet store bag of hay, so I had to just give him that, otherwise he doesnt eat any hay. I was confused by his teeth grinding though. I read loud grinding is bad, soft is good, and he always grinds when I pet him, usually around the forehead & cheeks only, but he's been grinding when I get to the back end too, and it sounds loud. He is also shedding REALLY badly right now, he's just become a house bunny from being outside always. I am brushing & petting the fur off as much as possible, it seems neverending.

 

[ra7751]

One thing about eyes...they are all pretty muchthe same regardless of species. My suggestion is to have any vet "stain" the eye looking for abrasions or ulcers. The only issue for a non-savvy vet is proper handling and holding the rabbit. Abrasions and ulcers are usually treated by non-steroidal eye drops. I have a little different treatment for severe or collapsing corneal ulcers. Even a tech can stain an eye. Most likely what you have is a corneal abrasion....but left untreated, it can turn into an ulcer.

If the problem is a systemic infection regarding additional drugs, then a non-experienced vet would need to consult with another doctor for appropriate treatment.

Randy

 

[tonyshuman]

It looks and sounds like a bad eye infection to me. I don't think it can wait 3 weeks, so take him to one of the vets Pipp mentioned if possible or a dog/cat vet if that's all you can do. I think the opthalmic neosporin is prescription only, and it might be a good choice, but my guess is that he will need systemic antibiotics due to the severity of the infection. Good luck!

 

[Kyla]

It's looking a little better today, its not as pink at all. Could it be getting better? I couldnt get a good pic just now, I'll try again later. What if it looks better & the vet doesn't think anything is wrong? I couldn't find the polysporin or neosporin for eyes in the drugstore. Wiping it seems to help for quite a while. I don't know what to do! Should I just bring him in to be safe?? I'd have to go the Maple Ridge vet which is much farther than his normal vet. He even seems happier today, he was just running around and binkied and ran right into the side of his cage!

 

[tonyshuman]

Yeah the eye medicine is by prescription only. I think it's something to take him in for in the next week or two, even if that means taking him to a different vet.

 

[Kyla]

Yesterday:

This morning:

I'm calling the vet now, I am too worried about him!

 

[Kyla]

I'm taking him in to Dr Walton at 12:30. Now comes the task of getting him in the carrier!

 

[tonyshuman]

Good luck at the vet's...

 

[Kyla]

Diggs & I thank you.

 

[Maureen Las]

I'm glad that you are taking him.........

 

[Kyla]

We are back already! The vet stained his eye, and it didnt leak out his nose, so he has a nasal blockage. I am supposed to put BNPH ointment in both eyes twice daily, and he'll call in a week to see if it's working. If it doesnt help, he recommended Dr Upjohn do skull x-rays and a nasal flushing. I really, really hope it helps, I dont want to have to put him under again(since the neuter was so recent).

I'm sure the blockage was caused by those darn Oxbow Bunny basics pellets, they were SO dusty. I got Martin Less Active timothy pellets and I think he thinks they are the same pellets as before(martin's alfalfa pellets), so I think he'll be happier with those. He picks the new ones out just like he did with the other kind, I guess same brand = same taste.

Now just to wait & hope it gets better!
thanks Pipp, tonyshuman and ra7751 for the advice!
thanks angieluv, I couldn't NOT take him in, I was so worried! I am home sick from work today, but my bunny is really more sick than me.

 

[Maureen Las]

What is BNPH ointment?
I've had rabbits with blocked tear ducts. They were flushed without anesthesia but I think it depends on the rabbit.

One of my rabbits used to get runny eyes when it was blocked and had to get his flushed periodically. he had pus in the duct so it was probably infectious ; he used to get neopsorin eye drops and usually an oral med . Beau seems to have a closed duct from scarring; God knows what is going on with his eye.

Whats seems strange with Digg's is that he is keeping the eye closed which would make me think that it is irritated enough to bother him a lot.

I'm sure that Digg's is glad that you took the day off ...

only for a bunny

 

[Kyla]

Here is the definition I found:
BNPH® ointment is a combination of bacitracin (antibiotic), neomycin sulphate (antibiotic), polymyxin B sulphate (antibiotic), and hydrocortisone acetate (anti-inflammatory corticosteroid).
I'm also supposed to pick up some sterile saline solution to use as well. Have to wait to get paid for that - thank goodness for my wonderful boyfriend who paid for the vet visit - was only $84.00, not too bad I guess. It was as much as I expected.
he does keep the eye only half open most of the time, I can only hope that it starts to feel better soon, I should see results in 48 hours (according to the website where I found the definition)

 

[Maureen Las]

I think Pipp knows this vet?

Normally steroids in eye ointment are a "No" but if the vet is good then follow directions...

 

[Kyla]

he said the steroid is OK because there is no corneal damage...

 

[tonyshuman]

BNPH is same as opthalmic neosporin. Glad to hear he's on the road to recovery--keep us updated!

 

[tonyshuman]

O the cortisone does make it different from opthalmic neosporin. To be honest I agree that this is a good vet.