Hi Everyone,
I have searched this site in the past for some various questions however, I have yet to post. I got some upsetting news about one of my boys today, so I am seeking advice. I am the Mom to two bunnies, Blake and Braxton, both 3 year old neutered New Zealand mixes. Blake and Braxton came from a meat rabbit hoarding situation at just a few months old. They were skinny, under-socialized and a hot mess. Braxton doesn’t look anything like a New Zealand, he looks like a Black Dutch however, I know he is a biological brother to masses of the hoarding situation which was predominately your typical New Zealand.. Since I got them both as babies, Braxton has always had a sensitive tummy so I keep him on an extremely limited pellet diet, and of coarse greens and unlimited Hay. He needs occasional teeth trims to keep his tummy happy, I am used to his normal behaviors and I have him thankfully on a pretty good routine.
Blake on the other hand has faced many medical issues and today was no exception. When I got Blake his nose was caked with green discharge, he was skinny and sneezed frequently. 3 vets, 4 medications, a culture and a nasolacrimal flush while he was neutered and I finally got his nose issues under control. His culture was positive for Pastuerella, so I knew it would be a lifelong struggle but we actually were doing well. Since his neuter at like 8 months, I haven’t had to repeat meds, he had an occasionally sniffly period but nothing serious, and it always was in check before the vet wanted to begin meds. Then, this May he developed an abscess. I noticed it, that same day we were at the vet and the next day, in surgery. My vet was able to remove the entire abscess and x-rays did not locate a problem tooth, nor did they locate obvious bone involvement. We did extended antibiotics and he healed amazingly well.
Now, rewind to a few weeks ago. Both bunnies were in for their 6 month tooth checks and on exam, the vet noticed that Blake’s eyes appeared not symmetrical in the sockets, it was not noticeable until she mentioned it, and this was on second exam as we were talking about his great healing. We started antibiotics in case it was an abscess starting again, and she told me to watch then for a few days then we would reassess. Well a couple days went by and I noticed it looked a little worse. We continued antibiotics and ran eye pressures which were up in the bigger eye. We started glaucoma drops, which seemed to provide him some relief as he got peppier after starting them however, the eye physically looked the same. At this point my Vet referred me out to someone with extensive surgical exotics specialty. My primary vet is an exotics specialist but due to the location, she preferred an alternate opinion.
I went to the specialist last week and we could not find hints of an abscess via exam, no hard areas around the eye, jaw, etc. and a normal oral exam. He pulled him from antibiotics to try to get any infection to show itself, and we were slated for x-rays, blood work and potential surgery today. Bloodwork was normal, a mild high liver value but nothing the vet was concerned with, and white blood cell counts that were a low average. Beyond that, x-rays showed no evidence of any dental issues. He even sent them out for radiologist interpretation and received the same result, nor could they pinpoint a retrobulbar abscess. There is note of early bone damage possible on the x-rays and inflammation around the eye is present however, not enough so for the vet to warrant surgery, as he doesn’t want to go in blindly.
His guess is that this is some type of cancer or mass behind the eye rather than an abscess due to the localized area that it encompasses, good bloodwork and no dental involvement at all. He recognizes that it may be a thickly encapsulated abscess but worries about surgical access due to the location.
He is recommending a CT scan which is obviously very expensive and he estimates as 20-30% change that we find something ‘fixable’ through this, rather just to confirm this not a good situation. I am calling tomorrow to get an appointment for a 3rd opinion from another exotics vet. However, I seeking to see if anyone has dealt with a bulging eye, and what was the outcome?
Blake is acting great. He is spunky, eating well, no tummy issues and is his normal happy self. I hate to not try everything and anything but the vet is worried about putting him through a surgery to open him and find nothing that he can help take out, and I agree. Any guidance is GREATLY appreciated.