Eye infection? *Now with pics* Final update :(

[TerriG]

I have a kit (born 11/26/12) with a goopy eye. The margins of his eye lids look irritated and they kind of overlap (like closed too tightly) and then goop shut. I'm seeing irritation, but not a lot of pus or anything. I brought him inside and used a wet q-tip to clean it up this morning. He was opening his eye and looking around afterwards. Do I just keep cleaning it or do I need to put medicine on it. This is our fist case of any problem with eyes.

Also, do rabbits have a 3rd eyelid like dogs and cats? When I am cleaning the kits eye, it looks like he does, and it looks irritated too.

Right when I got him out. I had cleaned it this morning, and this was afternoon.

While I was cleaning it.

After cleaning. His eye doesn't have the foggy look irl that this picture shows.

His other eye so you can see the difference in his eyelid and stuff.

 

[Dood]

If you keep it clean and open it may heal on it's own. I use contact lens solution rather than water to wipe away **** as it is slightly anti bacterial. If it is crusty, let it soak before wiping. If it gets worse or looks cream corn yellow or greenish then you need meds. Keep an eye on all the kits and nip it in the bud. Periodically change out some nest material for fresh to prevent re contamination and bleach the nest box for 30 minutes before rinsing and drying and using again and I would do the same for the cage.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Yes, they have a third eyelid, or "nictating membrane". Interestingly, it can be unilateral or bilateral, although I have only seen the typical one that can be seen in the inside corner of the eye.

Your kit probably has "nestbox eye". Many members clean the nest out around day nine to prevent it, but I usually don't and haven't had more than a few cases.

Simply continue cleaning the eye out- you can use chamomile tea, black tea, or warm water to loosen the crust. Bacteria thrive in dark, moist, low oxygen environments, so keeping the eye open as much as possible is the best treatment. If you check him several times daily for the first day or two and clean the eye so it will open, the problem will likely resolve very quickly.

If it is a severe case, you can use a non-steroidal eye ointment or Vetericyn spray. They do have an opthalmic version of Vetericyn, but according to one of their sales reps, the standard product is used in the eyes of dairy cattle on a daily basis.

 

[TerriG]

I will keep doing what I'm doing then. Thanks for telling me what to watch for to know that I need to go to meds. I read the sticky on rabbit care, but didn't find the answers that I needed. Thanks again!

I will have the kids change out the bedding in the nest boxes while they do trays this afternoon. My 15 year old dd usually is good about changing out the nest box material, but she was sick all of last week, so it didn't happen, and I didn't realize it.

We've got to move some rabbits around and clean cages before my next set of does need their boxes on Christmas Eve. It has just been so stinking cold. My current batch of kits haven't even wandered out of the nest boxes yet (11/26 & 11/28). The kids have basically stopped helping with the rabbits. I knew this would happen and wasn't willing to get rabbits until I knew I was ready to handle it all myself. I check rabbits 3x a day and the kids are supposed to do the afternoon chores with me.

 

[AnnClaire]

Yah, but christmas break is coming ... great time to get out there and do a general cleanup and health check with the kids LOL

 

[TerriG]

bump for pics<br /><br />__________ Fri Dec 14, 2012 8:09 pm __________<br /><br />His eye was looking so much better. I was sick today and didn't get his eye cleaned up until tonight. It was really gooped shut and when I got it open, it looks like he is losing sight in that eye. He has that cloudy blue spot over his pupil.

 

[ollitos]

The pics aren't working.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

The pics aren't working.

They were working yesterday... but now it says they have been moved or deleted from photobucket.

His eye was looking so much better. I was sick today and didn't get his eye cleaned up until tonight. It was really gooped shut and when I got it open, it looks like he is losing sight in that eye. He has that cloudy blue spot over his pupil.

This happened to what turned out to be a favorite doe out of a litter I have. I didn't keep up on the eye treatment because "life got in the way", and it became cloudy. I treated with Terramycin ointment, but there is still a very small spot of cloudiness.

It is very disappointing, but things do happen for a reason- if I had been diligent in my treatment, the eye may have been fine. If the eye had healed, I would have been tempted to keep this doe for breeding, despite this sign of weakness. So my lapse is actually a good thing, because now I will send her to freezer camp, even though in my heart I want to keep her.

Sometimes doing the right thing for your herd can be very hard.

 

[TerriG]

No new pics, but I fixed the ones I had posted previously. Now that foggy look is for real, not just the lighting <br /><br />__________ Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:37 pm __________<br /><br />

The pics aren't working.

They were working yesterday... but now it says they have been moved or deleted from photobucket.

His eye was looking so much better. I was sick today and didn't get his eye cleaned up until tonight. It was really gooped shut and when I got it open, it looks like he is losing sight in that eye. He has that cloudy blue spot over his pupil.

This happened to what turned out to be a favorite doe out of a litter I have. I didn't keep up on the eye treatment because "life got in the way", and it became cloudy. I treated with Terramycin ointment, but there is still a very small spot of cloudiness.

It is very disappointing, but things do happen for a reason- if I had been diligent in my treatment, the eye may have been fine. If the eye had healed, I would have been tempted to keep this doe for breeding, despite this sign of weakness. So my lapse is actually a good thing, because now I will send her to freezer camp, even though in my heart I want to keep her.

Sometimes doing the right thing for your herd can be very hard.

These are all going to fc. We don't want to carry on the genetics from our 2 Agouti does. They have issues that I am not willing to carry on. I told my dh that even if this kit loses sight in this eye, it doesn't affect him going to fc.

 

[ollitos]

Yep. Looks like nestbox eye. I have kits from a particular doe that always seem prone to it. Time to start culling I suppose.

 

[Miss M]

I've had one case of nest box eye in a kit. I used eye drops, and actually put Neosporin on the glued-shut eye as well, although that is not indicated for ophthalmic use. Once the eye opened, I just used eye drops. The kit was blind in that eye, but it healed, and he went to freezer camp with everybody else.

 

[TerriG]

This kit is from my doe that is peeing and pooping in the nest box. I don't know if there is any connection, this is our first case of nest box eye. She did fine at first, but as soon as they started using it, so did she. I had to take the nest box out tonight since she wouldn't leave it clean. I can't have kits snuggled up in poop and pee even if it has nothing to do with the current eye problem.

 

[Miss M]

It is normal for there to be some poo in the nest box. From what I've read, the doe will intentionally leave some in there for the babies to nibble at, which helps them develop proper gut flora.

Pee is another thing. One of my does did that recently, and she'd never done it before.

 

[TerriG]

It is normal for there to be some poo in the nest box. From what I've read, the doe will intentionally leave some in there for the babies to nibble at, which helps them develop proper gut flora.

Pee is another thing. One of my does did that recently, and she'd never done it before.

This was more like she was using it as a litter box.

 

[Miss M]

This was more like she was using it as a litter box.

Yes, that's what my one doe did this last time. Very strange! Before, nothing more than the normal few bunny berries. This time, it was a litter box. Thankfully, she stopped once it was cleaned out.

 

[Dood]

The babies need to eat the cecotrope poops not the big fiberous ones. I have my nest boxes hanging on the cage door and only hook them on twice a day for 10 minutes to let the doe feed them, then I unhook them and put them on a shelf. Once the babies are mobile and exploring at 3 or 4 weeks, I leave the nest box attached and clean it as needed.

 

[Dood]

The babies need to eat the cecotrope poops not the big fiberous ones. I have my nest boxes hanging on the cage door and only hook them on twice a day for 10 minutes to let the doe feed them, then I unhook them and put them on a shelf. Once the babies are mobile and exploring at 3 or 4 weeks, I leave the nest box attached and clean it as needed.

 

[TerriG]

This was more like she was using it as a litter box.

Yes, that's what my one doe did this last time. Very strange! Before, nothing more than the normal few bunny berries. This time, it was a litter box. Thankfully, she stopped once it was cleaned out.

This is her second litter. The first time the nest box wasn't this bad, but her den was awful. This time it's her den and nest box. I am not happy.

 

[Amy]

My favorite kit's eyes aren't open like the others. The kits are 16 days old, so I'm trying to be more intentional about putting wet compresses on it, I'm going to make some chamomile tea and try that. I can get it open, but then it just closes back up. What is the cause of nestbox eye? I cleaned the nestbox out at day 10. How often after day 10 should I clean it? Obviously, if I feel wet stuff I'll replace that with with new hay.

 

[faiththequeen]

My little siamese sable had the same problem. I used tea bags on his eyes and it fixed him right up. He's a gorgeous 5 week old now