please read, scared for my rabbit

[Regan]

I'm very new to this whole "bunny business", so please be patient.

My rabbit has had some kind of..."thing" in the her eye. It's best described as a blob that turns red or is a milky white depending on the occasion. The rest of her eye, in comparison to her normal one, has taken on a kind of a foggy look?

I became a mommy when my friend got kicked out of our boarding school and left her rabbit here. Bun developed this eye problem when my friend first brought her from her home.

Bun lives between my dorm room on the weekends and the science lab during the weekdays. (I'm technically not allowed to have her since it's a military school) I take her home during the breaks and she lives in my room and is given 24/7 access to hop about my room. When she's at my home for those two or so weeks, she is incredibly affectionate and pleasant and her eye blob is a solid white. Whenever she is forced into her cage and brought back here, it takes on an irritated red.

At first I thought it was probably stress, but it hasn't gone away since she developed it four months ago! I know she's in a bad situation with the whole moving thing, but she is very healthy and doesn't fuss at all about being moved.

She's a young dwarf rabbit about a year old. She doesn't act as if her eye irritates her, but I notice she misses 80% of the time when she is trying to hop onto things! I'm concerned she is losing or has lost depth perception and sight in her bad eye!

Has anyone seen this before, and if so, how do I help her? If you have any questions please ask and I will answer the best I can!!

 

[missyscove]

Hi there and welcome to RO! It sounds like you're doing a great job taking care of her. It would be ideal if you could take Bun to a rabbit savvy vet for a checkup, but let's see if we can figure out what you're dealing with.
Do you have a picture of the "blob" you're describing? I think, from your description, that it may be her nictitating membrane (or "third eyelid") which would be in the corner of her eye closest to her nose. See pictures here: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Differential/Nictitating.htm

Seeing her nictitating membrane may or may not be a cause for concern but the fact that her eyeball itself is also changing makes me more concerned. I think it's really best if you can get her to a rabbit savvy vet to figure out if it's something that can be treated/needs treatment. You can find our listing of rabbit savvy vets here: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f21/

 

[Regan]

I attached a picture of her bad eye. It seems to be at the top of her left eye. My friend took her to the vet and received oral medication, a cream, and some eye drops. She didn't do a particularly good job of giving them to Bun regularly, and her eye didn't change in the slightest. She never explained to me what the vet had said exactly and from my understanding, the vet wasn't familiar with rabbits.

I'm at my boarding school now and I don't have an opportunity to take her to a vet right away. I'll check out that list and hopefully get her there in a few weeks during weekend leave.

 

[Regan]

I checked her eyelid and it isn't inflamed or irritated in the slightest, it looks like whatever that thing is, it's inside of her eye and not being affected from the outer part.

 

[missyscove]

She looks like a very pretty bunny. If it's at the outer edge of her eye, then it probably isn't a cherry eye which was my other thought. If you're still in contact with your friend, she could get that vet to release Bun's records to a new vet so at least the vets would know how it had progressed, if at all. Even though the patient (Bun) is the same, legally the client (human) has to give permission for records to be released.
Good luck with her!

 

[LakeCondo]

Good for you for taking on this rabbit in need & being so concerned.

 

[Trixie]

That's awesome that you took in your friends bunny. I can't see her eye issue in that picture but it's too bad you can't get to a vet to get it checked, eye issues are nothing to play with which I'm sure you know.

 

[Regan]

Thank you! : )

 

[JBun]

It could be that she got a scratch on her eye and has a corneal ulceratilon. If that's what it is, then the drops and meds that she was getting were probably antibiotics, and she would need to be on them again to clear up the infection before it gets worse. You definitely want to take her into an experienced rabbit vet, as other vets may not have a clue what is best for a rabbit. Here are some good rabbit vet listings.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/finding-vet-13366/
http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

Here's a link for rabbit eye disorders.

WARNING: THESE PICTURES ARE DISTURBING!!!

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Clinical/Eye_diseases.htm

Some of these pictures are a little unsettling. If you don't want to look at them, then the other thing I was thinking might be a possibility is E. Cuniculi uveitis, and if that's what it is, then your rabbit would need to get on meds for that right away as it's pretty serious.