Thumper's eye - UPDATE, Thumper's first shot!

[Miss M]

Please, please, please, please, PLEASE DO NOT TELL ME that Thumper has pasteurella!!!

Okay... ILoveBunnies told me last week that Thumper had a weepy eye. I don't remember why, but I didn't get out to look at it.

Today, he has it again. The eye doesn't seem swollen or anything... no white or otherwise colored goop or anything, just the fur around the front corner, and about halfway back along the eye, is wet. Like you got a drop of water on your finger and mussed it into the fur right there. The fur there also looks thin, but that could be because it's wet. There is a small bare spot in front of the wet area.

I apologize for the grainy pix... the only camera I can find right now is my cell phone. I'll try to get better pix up later.

Other eye for comparison, this one is fine:

 

[-HRanchito]

Does she have something stuck in her eye? Will she hold still long enough to look under her eyelid? Maybe just quarantine and treat with vetericyn/medicated eye drops?

 

[Miss M]

We will pull him back out and see if he'll let us take a look.

Another thing I thought of is... if he lays along the right side of his cage, his eye might end up right next to the tip of his water bottle thingie... I haven't seen him like that, but that doesn't mean he doesn't do it. Fur rubs against that thing, maybe?<br /><br />__________ Thu Jul 05, 2012 1:42 pm __________<br /><br />Okay, Bunny-Wan Kenobi found his camera!

ILoveBunnies and I took another look at Thumper. Now, he's got a sort of translucent white discharge. There's a blob of it beside the corner of his eye. You should be able to see it in these pictures. ILoveBunnies gently wiped his eye off with a tissue, and then I tried to get a look inside his eyelids. I was able to see nothing inside the upper lid, but he wouldn't let me look in the lower lid. I don't know if it hurt, or if he had just had enough of me messing with his eye.

Again, his other eye for comparison:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I would be worried about the "P" word.

 

[Piper]

My plush mini lop has a problem with heat and will sometimes do that as low as 88 degrees, if the humidy is high. With my mini lop it is a good indication that he is starting to get too hot. Crossing my fingers that it could be something as simple as that (for you) and not the p word.

 

[Miss M]

Oh, gosh, Piper, I hope it's something like that... I don't recall seeing this with him before, but maybe... he's 3 years old now.

I couldn't get medicine today. I had to wait around here for a phone call... and it was much later than expected. I will get medicine tomorrow.

No, no, no p-word!!!

 

[Piper]

Oh, gosh, Piper, I hope it's something like that... I don't recall seeing this with him before, but maybe... he's 3 years old now.

I couldn't get medicine today. I had to wait around here for a phone call... and it was much later than expected. I will get medicine tomorrow.

No, no, no p-word!!!

My Mini Lop (Honey Bun) is brought in if he gets teary. It has gotten so that he imediatly starts grooming himself as soon as he is inside. Normally I watch the temp and at 85 start checking to see if there is enough wind, that he will stay cool. My other rabbit, at 109 degrees is cool as a cucumber, crunching ice at times and prefers to stay outside. (scratching head, in wonderment :shock: )<br /><br />__________ Fri Jul 06, 2012 3:05 pm __________<br /><br />How is Thumper doing, today?

 

[MaggieJ]

I do hope it turns out to be just the heat, Miss M!

I'd probably flush the eye with saline and isolate him from the others. If you can take him indoors, so much the better.

 

[MamaMandy]

Our black Holland Lop buck has some bare skin around both eyes, but no discharge. Should I be worried? I just assumed it was because he's over 5 years old...he's just starting to look a little elderly.

 

[Miss M]

I know this is horrible, but I have not had a chance to really look at Thumper's eye for two days!

Yesterday, we had to leave early, and I bought some Penicillin G Procaine to treat him, and had a wreck before I got home. There went yesterday.

Today, we had to leave even earlier, and just got home a short time ago... and now it's storming. I have taken the Pen G out of the refrigerator, but I don't think I should pull him out now to look, and pull him out again in a while to give him a shot. So I'll see in a bit.

And I have to run back out to get the car towed.

I am going so nuts.

I'm really not allowed to bring rabbits inside. My uncle has tolerated the occasional baby for feeding, or new litter in winter for checking.

__________ Sat Jul 07, 2012 11:32 pm __________

Well, I gave my first animal shot today. Thankfully, Thumper's eye was no worse, but it was also no better. The fact that it's no worse gives me hope.

Once the Penicillin warmed, I drew Thumper's dose -- 1/4 mL (for 300,000 units/mL strength). The Penicillin is strange stuff. You store it refrigerated, but when you need a dose, you let it come to room temp, and then shake thoroughly, draw the dose, and return it to the fridge.

Anyway, I didn't do so well the first try.

Thumper was so sweet and patient. My mom held him in her lap, and tucked his head in the crook of her arm. All I knew of subcutaneous shots in animals was my mom giving them in the scruff, so I pulled up his scruff as well as I could, and pushed the needle into it. I kept waiting for the needle to get through the skin, and it didn't. I had a hard time holding the scruff, too.

Thumper made little noises a couple of times that told me I was hurting him. I finally realized that I had been pushing the needle inside his skin the whole time, never breaking through. Boy, did that make me feel an inch tall! I had to pull the needle back out. Then I discovered that I had jammed the needle with Thumper's skin cells.

So I had to go back and get another needle, redraw the dose, and try again. This time, I went for a place with more skin available than his puny little scruff. I found a nice amount on his side, put the needle right through, and injected the medicine.

Then I went and got a bunch of RAISINS for him! He EARNED those raisins!!! Scarfed them right down, too. :lol:

At least I have a better idea what I'm doing, now.

Thumper's such a sweet, sweet bun. It just broke my heart to hear his little "that hurts!" noises.

I still have not been able to quarantine him. We've been here very little, and, when we have, we have not been able to do this. What I did do, though, was put a big slice of cardboard between his cage and the empty one next to it, to help keep Pinto alright.

__________ Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:53 pm __________

Thumper had his fifth and last shot of Penicillin G Procaine tonight. He knows what's up, and gets very nervous. He can't settle down from the shot until after he's in his cage. He doesn't eat his raisins until later, when he finds them in his dish.

His eye looked NORMAL as of last night! :bouncy: So whatever was going on, I think it's safe to say that the Penicillin is helping it leave.

Hopefully, it won't come back. We'll keep close watch.

 

[Tegan]

Ish, wish I had seen this earlier! I was a vet tech in my previous life, and I could have talked you through it. Also, you don't NEED to let the Penn G come up to room temp...but it makes the mixing easier. Just shake the bajesus out of it for a while...and then let the drawn up dose sit in the syringe to warm up...no one wants to get injected with cold solution.

For future reference to give a sub-Q injection lift the skin between thumb and finger so that it forms a little tent....there should be two long sides pointing at the animals head, and a third (flat) side at the rump end. Think of it like a persons nose...how the bridge makes a point towards the forehead, and the bottom, where the nostrils are, are the flat part. You want to stick the needle in the flat part. Also...the bevel of the needle should always face up...so that you lead with the very tip of the needle. If you point it down often you will lead with the flat of the bevel and it will be much harder to puncture the skin.

Example of a needle bevel held up.

Not trying to say you did anything wrong, just trying to be helpful and spread some knowledge!

 

[Miss M]

Oh, wow, Tegan, thanks! I'll talk to Maggie about making your post a Sticky. I'm not the only one on here who will end up giving a shot to a rabbit for the first time!

I ended up giving the injections in the skin I was able to gather on his sides. So the needle was vertical. If I have to do this again, I'll make sure to pay attention to the direction of the bevel.

I think I gave him his second shot IM, instead of Sub-Q. I forgot to pull the skin out to make a tent that night.

Also good to know about the medicine! I was wondering if the warming was necessary to the mixing. Just have to shake like crazy.

I had to sterilize the syringes and needles. I read online to have them at a fast boil for 30 minutes (for diabetics, so I figured it should be sufficient for rabbits). So that's what I did, so I could re-use them. I need to buy more needles.

Thank you so much for that information, Tegan!!! :razz:

 

[Tegan]

No problem! Also...when you tent the skin...if the "nose" is pointing at the rump, side, whatever it's not a big deal...just hit the flat and you'll be fine. I've only ever used disposable needles and syringes, so I wouldn't know about sterilizing...no advice there.

And another thing I forgot...always draw back on the plunger after you have the needle in...if you get blood flash back into the syringe DO NOT INJECT, pull out and try again. I've never had that happen (in 11 years of working with animals) but there is always that ONE time you miss just enough...sink it in a vein...and end up killing the animal. This is more of an issue for IM injections then Sub-Q, but it's always a safe practice.

I've been out of the practice for 5 years now, so I'm a bit rusty (and I think I may have just given a hint at my age! LOL), and I will never help diagnose an animal....I'm just not comfortable with that, but I have no problem with treatment walk-threws and advice. If you ever have any questions on how to do something please just let me know!

 

[MaggieJ]

Tegan, this information is indeed worthy of a sticky. I'm wondering if you would write it up and post it in a new thread titled "How to give a subcutaneous injection." If you will, I will sticky it for future reference.

 

[Tegan]

Wow...sure. I don't think I've ever been stickied anywhere before! LOL.

And done. Added a tiny bit more info. If you need me to change or clarify anything please let me know!