Flemish Giant with conjunctivitis

Karaokekid · Sep 17, 2011

I just adopted an Flemish Giant (named Charlotte) from a rescue on Tuesday 9/14. She is 8 months old and already spayed. When I got her, she was very active and inquisitive, hopping around, checking things out and even playing with her new toys. But Wednesdayevening I noticed a sudden change. All she wanted to do was lay around and she didn't get excited when I put lettuce in her pen. She wasn't interested in coming out. I noticed her eye was very red and swollen, and weeping. It wasn't like that when I adopted her!

I took her to the vet Thursday morning. They checked her teeth with an othoscope, stained her eye to look for scratches (which was difficult because of how swollen the tissues around the actual eyeball are), and they didn't find any overly sharp teeth, abcesses or any scratches on the cornea. So it was ruled to be conjunctivitis and they gave us Baytril, some antibiotic goop to put into her eye once every four hours and some Metacam.

That night was pretty bad. She was listless and didn't want to eat.My girlfriend and I took turns staying up and hand-feeding her lettuce, hay and giving her water with a medicine syringe. She seemed to turn a corner by the morning. It was my girlfriend's day off so she stayed with her all day while I went off to work on my only 12-hour day of the week. :rollseyesShe kept me updated and it seemed like the antibiotics and Metacam were working.Bunny hasgotten perkier and started eating on her own again. But it was really frightening. This is my first rabbit.

The lady I adopted her from runs a rabbit rescue of about 60 rabbits. She felt really bad and offered to take the bunny back and pay for any additional vet care, but after staying up withCharlotte most of the night and putting so much time and $200 worth of vet bills into her I want to keep her (I realize that amount isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things and most people pay that much for a spay anyway). Plus I really like her.

After seeing her come home so full of life and energy and then become so listless, itkind of broke my heart. I went from hopingI could get my bunny tobond with me to hoping she wouldn't die! I'm so glad that she is perking up.Today when I gaveher medication, after I put her downshe huffed and turned her back to me as if to say "well I never, that's not how we behave."

Her eye is still really swollen. I put some clear drops (for people with contact lenses) in the area before putting the antibiotic ointment in because there is still some discharge. The rabbit rescue lady also suggested I put sugar in her water to help get her energy reserves up. Is there anything else I can do to help her feel more comfortable? It's obvious the eye is painful for her because she grunts when I flush it and put the ointment in.

If the eye stays swollen I will take her back to the vet, but the vet said to give the treatment a few more days.

Watermelons · Sep 17, 2011

Try not to put the drops in before you put the ointment in. You dont want a barrier between the ointment and eye, that defeats the purpose of putting the ointment in. And only use the eye drops if they are 100% Normal Saline (NaCl 0.9%) Some contact drops have other ingredients in them. You can use a warm damp cloth and clean around the eye, but dont interupt what the ointment is trying to do.

You need to let the medications run their course before stopping them and getting something new, 1 or 2 days of medications, especially Antibiotics, isnt usually enough to make a difference, which is why these drugs are usually run on 2+ week courses.

Try and offer her some treats after you give her the medications, most bunnys appreciate fresh Cilantro... which is good for the tummy too. She will eventually forgive you but the medications need a chance to work

Welcome to the Forum.

Nancy McClelland · Sep 17, 2011

:yeahthat:

ray:

Bunnylova4eva · Sep 17, 2011

Yep, I don't have much to add to that

yeahthat: :yeahthat: ) but I'd just say yeah, but sure not to stop the antibiotics too soon. Bunnies can then become immune to it in the future, plus, it can help the infection or whatever get a firmer hold. be sure the symptoms are all gone before stopping Baytril. And I've heard its good to wait like 72 hours. after the symptoms have gone away to quit the meds. (Someone can correct me if I'm wrong on that =P )

missyscove · Sep 17, 2011

As a human who has had conjunctavitis, definitely keep going with the prescribed drugs; it might take a while before you see noticeable improvement.
Also, I'm not sure about rabbits, but I do know that pink eye can be zoonotic between many species (I'm pretty sure I got it from a sheep), so be sure you're washing your hands and not touching your own face.

Edited to add:

Also, welcome to the forum and congratulations on the new addition!

Karaokekid · Sep 17, 2011

Thanks everybody!

Watermelons, I stopped putting the drops in at the same time as the ointment (I had checked and they were the basic saline formula). I never would have thought of the barrier problem. D'oh.

I gave her cilantro today and she did really like it.

I spoke with her vet on the phone this morning and I'll be going back in on Monday to get another week's worth of the Baytril, just in case.

Charlotte (the bunny) has really perked up. Although I can tell she's not 100% it's good to see she has her thirst and appetite back, and even enough energy to dig in some newspaper shreds. Her eye still looks terrible but I'll keep at it with the meds.