Teary eyes

[Darojati]

Hi Friends,

I have female bunny, 2.5years, her name is Pochi. She has been having teary eye on her left eye since August’21, also similar time when we adopted another male bunny, named Bubu (which turned to have scabies/fungal/syphilis problem). I posted Bubu’s case in another thread. We initially thought that Pochi perhaps got infected by Bubu too, given that Bubu’s health condition is not good.

For Pochi, Vet prescribed her cendo gentamicin and had her treated for 3 weeks but did not get much improvement. Then she got prescribed antibiotic oral, as we thought it could be bacterial, for a week. After then, her right eye started to also get teary… now both eyes are teary..

I just had a telemedicine with Singaporean Vet (we live in Jakarta, and wanted to seek other Vet’s consultation), and she assessed Pochi’s situation. We were advised to get 1) tear duct flush, 2) x-ray to check her teeth to see if any overgrown. Pochi has been eating normal; hay, pellets, and treats… So I’m not sure if teeth is really the issue.. We are now looking for Vet that can perform teary duct flush for rabbit, as well as x-ray. I hope we can find one, as there aren’t many Vets that are rabbit savvy.

Has anyone experienced teary eye before such as this? Any tips/advice? Thanks

 

[FuzzyBunny ph]

hmm usually teary eyes are connected to dental issues, but if she's eating lots of hay and pooping normally, then maybe she might need drops. One of my bunnies last years had a super wet eye, we were advised to clean it with saline solution but we still went to the vet and had a Fluorescein Dye Eye test. No blockage so we were just prescribed some drops.

Maybe your local vet can have that done at least to see if there is any blockage in her teaarducts

 

[JBun]

Teeth could still be the issue even if a rabbit is eating normally. What happens is the tooth roots overgrow(under the surface) and press on the tear duct, blocking it and preventing proper drainage. This can especially be a problem in short faced breeds like holland lops and dwarf rabbits. There are other possible causes though. Did the vet check to make sure it wasn't an eyelid issue causing rubbing on the eyes?

Also you need to make sure that it's not something in your rabbits environment like excess dust, chemicals from cleaners, excessive ammonia build up from the urine and needing more frequent cleaning of your rabbits area, or even an environmental allergy can cause problems for some rabbits.

https://rabbit.org/chronic-runny-eyes-in-rabbits/

 

[Darojati]

Hello

we just had an xray today without sedation.. so the xray came out blurry many said a good xray would require the bunny to be sedated, is this generally true? Or perhaps i need to find another clinic with more experience?

we will be going the main vet tomorrow to check if tear duct flush is needed.

is tear duct flush safe for bunnies? What kind of sedation/anesthesia is usually given to bunny?

 

[Darojati]

We finally got her checked to the bunny savvy vet last night around 8.30pm (jakarta time). This was after a month of finding time between the vet's super busy schedule.

from the checking: pochi's eye membranes were full of mucus and there's inflammation on her tear duct. So the vet had to clean the mucus as well as treat the tear duct.. could not do flush yet.

We need to treat her eyes with antibiotic and anti-inflammation teardrop prescribed by the vet for next 7days, before the vet can do tear duct flush.

 

[JBun]

I'm glad you were able to get her checked by the good rabbit vet. Hopefully this vet can help get your rabbits runny eye problem figured out and cleared up.

 

[Darojati]

We gave Pochi vet-prescribed eyedrop (picture below) for 7days.. then observed non-medicated eyes for about a week already now.

she's still got the weepy eyes Vet said to observe non-medicated eyes to see if the reddish reduce..

Another bunny expert suggests to give Pochi panacur rabbit for 28days. We suspect that Pochi could've been infected by the male bunny we adopted few months ago (Bubu) who just recently recovered from syphilis (i posted different thread for Bubu's case).

I decide to check to another vet for 2nd opinion and to check the eyes physically...

Let me know for any other advices. Thanks.

 

[Darojati]

So Vet advised to not give any medicated eyedrop (off medicine) for the time being. Only rinse the eyes using non-medicated eye rinser.

Plus, we started giving her Panacur rabbit (dewormer) from two days ago, for next 26 days (in total 28days). We hope this kills the bacteria that's possibly the source of weepy eyes.

We now wipe the hardened fur with warm chamomile tea (as advised from another thread) everyday too. Hope this soften the fur.

some photos below from 28/10/2021

 

[Darojati]

update... D7 using Panacur Rabbit.

I find that her eyes are looking better, not as weepy as before.

 

[NorthernNevadaHollandLops]

She's looking a lot better!

 

[Darojati]

Update after 11 days taking Panacur Rabbit (dewormer).

 

[Darojati]

Update after 15days taking Panacur Rabbit (dewormer).

Seems slightly better, but still have weepy eyes but not as much as before.

 

[NorthernNevadaHollandLops]

I've been using this briotech spray on a cotton ball and then dabbing on the affected area. It's working really well!

 

[Darojati]

I've been using this briotech spray on a cotton ball and then dabbing on the affected area. It's working really well!

Thanks.. do you mean dabbing the fur around the eyes that got sticky? Do you also have weepy/teary eyes issue?

 

[NorthernNevadaHollandLops]

Yep! Just dab it around her eye, in the corner on her tear duct. I wish I had been taking pictures. She had been injured on her head and it was a little infected. I think the infection somehow spread or caused the teary eye. I also used the spray on the cut and it healed super fast, that's what got me thinking to try it on her eye. It cleared up in a few days. May be worth a try?

 

[Darojati]

Yep! Just dab it around her eye, in the corner on her tear duct. I wish I had been taking pictures. She had been injured on her head and it was a little infected. I think the infection somehow spread or caused the teary eye. I also used the spray on the cut and it healed super fast, that's what got me thinking to try it on her eye. It cleared up in a few days. May be worth a try?

Okay yes i'm checking for the similar ingredient here in Jakarta.. just checked that Hypochlorous Acid (HOCL) is disinfectant and used for medical healing purpose. Will give it a try.

 

[Darojati]

@JBun @NorthernNevadaHollandLops

it's been 25days giving her Panacur rabbit. The dose is until 28days. Her eyelids are not as red as before, looks like the irritation calm down. However she's still crying..not as bad as before, but her fur are still sticky from the tears. I started to dab HOCL on her fur around eye from 2 days ago, not sure if it works well already coz it just started.

questions:
1. I'm thinking to extend Panacur, is this ok? I suspect i might have been giving her lesser dose (first time using this tube).

2. I've been advised to give her eye ointment with gentamicin ingredient.. i gave her the gentamicin eyedrop before tho, it helped a little to suppress the tears but not for long. Is ointment/cream better vs. eyedrop?

what else should i do?

 

[Darojati]

Latest one... already 28days panacur, and 4days hocl dab on her fur around the eyes

 

[NorthernNevadaHollandLops]

Does it still seem watery to you? It looks a lot better than the first photos.

 

[Darojati]

The right eye is much better... the left eye is still watery.. they both look much better