Seven week old bunny with a weepy eye

[Lone Oak Rabbits]

I have a litter of six bunnies and one of them has one weepy eye, it is just it's left eye, I have looked at its teeth, I wasn't able to see much, but is isn't drooling. Does anyone have any suggestions for a treatment?

 

[Bunnylady]

Did you check the eye itself? Without knowing what is causing the weeping, it's hard to know how to treat it. There are a number of possible causes, from infection to a foreign body to an injury to entropion - it's hard to know what to do.

 

[Kirsten miller]

Any chance this isn't weepy eye and maybe just a case of nestbox eye? If so I'd give terramycin a try before more expensive options

 

[Lone Oak Rabbits]

My aunt who is a nurse came over yesterday and helped me flush it's eye out and it looks really good today. The mucus membrane is still a bit red but she is a lot less weepy.

 

[Kirsten miller]

Oh good!!! Yes sounds like an eye infection probably from nest box she should be fine!

 

[Bunnylady]

My aunt who is a nurse came over yesterday and helped me flush it's eye out and it looks really good today. The mucus membrane is still a bit red but she is a lot less weepy.

If it improved with flushing, that sounds like a foreign body (bit of dirt, hay, hair, etc). Of course, it could also have been a scratch, and it might be healing and improving no matter what you did or didn't do. I'm glad your aunt went with the least aggressive treatment first. Too many people grab some antibiotic at the first sign of anything without any idea of what they are treating; this is the sort of thing that is creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Oh good!!! Yes sounds like an eye infection probably from nest box she should be fine!

In a 7-week-old rabbit? These guys should have been out of the nest box for at least a month by now. Don't you think that's a rather long latency period for a bacterial infection?

 

[Kirsten miller]

Whoa!
1. I missed they were 7 weeks old all I saw was baby rabbit with eye infection
2. this page is supposed to help people with different peoples opinions not jump on them. If someone doesn't want to take my advice then no biggy it won't hurt my feelings
this is just what I would do. Antibiotics are all eventually not going to work. Infections evolve they become responsive and non responsive to different things over a long period of time that's just how it works how often will a doctor prescribe antibiotics for something he isn't sure of. That's y we have these medications because it's never A sure thing that it is a foreign body. It's called preventative measures incase it's something very contagious.

 

[Bunnylady]

I missed they were 7 weeks old

Um - it's the title of the thread - which is what you've had to read to click on it at least 3 times now?

Treating something that isn't acting like an infection with antibiotics is irresponsible, and no doctor worth his/her license will do it. If a person is going to "play doctor" and prescribe treatments, it's pretty important to get an accurate picture of what is being treated, as the wrong treatment may do more harm than good. The OP said nothing about infection, they said "weepy" - twice. They did not say gooey, goopy, crusty, glued shut, or anything else that would suggest the presence of pus, which is the indicator of infection. Tearing, by itself, is an indication of irritation, not infection.

Antibiotics should always be treated with respect, and not used when not needed. It is possible to cause infections in this manner - not every bacterium responds to a broad-spectrum antibiotic; one that doesn't respond to oxytetracycline could be introduced into the eye either on the fingers or the medication itself. Even when an antibiotic is the appropriate treatment, a yeast/fungal infection can occur as a result.

 

[Kirsten miller]

Like I said everyone has their own opinions and u bad mouthing me isn't going to change mine it just shows bad character I couldn't see the eye so I don't know I've been raising rabbits among other animals for 15 years and have never had an issue medicating or treating any animal. I don't really like when people treat me like I'm stupid. We're "human" for a reason... have a great day.

 

[Bunnylady]

I couldn't see the eye

Exactly my point. You can't see it, nor can I, nor can any kid with a pet bunny who might stumble across this thread. Most animal people wind up having to "play doctor," if only while trying to decide if what they are seeing is serious enough that they need to get their pet professional medical attention. While there are some emergencies where seconds count, clearly this was not one of those situations. One needs to slow down, and say, "what am I seeing? What am I not seeing?" and get as clear an understanding as possible before one arrives at a diagnosis and treatment. This is especially true on the internet, where some people seem to think that every word they read is fact set in stone.