Help! Weird bunny eye discharge?

[awesomebunny]

My rabbit has always had eye discharge, but today it has become extreme. Usually it is a little discharge, but now it's on all of over her face hair near her eye and it is caking? Is this normal, and what can I do/buy to fix it?
* it is only on one eye
You can't really see the discharge in the photo, but you can see the stream on her fur of where it was
View attachment ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1457203752.116060.jpg

 

[ladysown]

have you changed anything in your bunnies life? Any stressors?

Bunny eating and drinking well?

have you had her tested for pasturella?

 

[amandaaaa_xxo]

Eye discharge and nasal charge MAY (but not always) mean that they are in the process of developing a respitory infection or even the start of a dental problem or may just simply be an eye infection. However, sometimes it could just be that she may be allergic to something in her surroundings. Is she eating normal? Drinking normal? Pooping normal? Is she lethargic?

When the discharge becomes constant and collects at the corner of the eye, then this situation requires the visit to a vet. If you'll be taking her to one, make sure the clinic contains a rabbit doctor.

 

[awesomebunny]

I don't think that the eye discharge is from pasturella, but it could be from allergies? How can you tell if a rabbit has allergies to something? There are not a lot of good rabbit vets nearby

 

[HyperRabbit01]

I currently have this same problem with my rabbit, I took him to the vet because he did have a milky discharge at first and then the vet found that he had conjunctivitis (sp?) and then proceeded to examine his molars and told me his teeth may need to be filed down soon, but it wasn't the cause of the milky stuff coming out of his eye because he didn't show any abscesses caused by the teeth. The runny eye is still happening though, although I don't see a milky/sticky discharge anymore. I've wondered if it was due to his urine? But then again I do keep him in a well ventilated area, and I do clean his soiled part of the cage often, so could it be the hay? He's never had a problem like this before and he poops, eats, drinks, etc fine. I don't know what else to do.

 

[flemishwhite]

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/showthread.php?t=86131

See a similar post for some discussions as to possible causes.

 

[ts786]

If nothing else has changed in Bunny's life and health is good overall, I think the most likely cause is corneal abrasion. This happens here and there with my rabbits given they love getting into trouble while free roaming. Hay can also cause this given it is sharp and it will splinter into smaller shards.

If it is a scratched eye, you may be able to spot it if you use a dim light and look at the eye from different angles...obviously this is not as effective as using a fluorescent dye + uv light. Treatment wise, the eyes heal fast on their own. If it is extremely uncomfortable and the rabbit rubs the eye like crazy, a NSAID like Metacam may be prescribed by a Vet.

Allergies can cause this as well, as can a foreign particle in the eye (usually hay shards). You may want to flush the eye with some saline water. If it is a scratched cornea, it will water (quite a bit) until healed.

 

[majorv]

Continual problems with a runny eye can also indicate that the roots of an upper tooth are overgrown. A head x-ray would show it.

 

[Maureen Las]

There are so many possibilities and many of them have been mentioned . Bunny needs to see a rabbit knowledgeable vet as we all can guess what it is but cannot examine the bun. I had a lop who had a runny eye with milky discharge. It was a blocked infected tear duct which needed to be flushed in addition to an oral antibiotic.