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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Suspected abscess behind eye

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    • A.cowan182
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        Hi guys,

        Just to give you a bit of background after adopting 2 rabbits 10months ago Rolo died last week after having a constant battle with inappetance which turned out to be caused by a mega colon. As you can imagine its been a tough 10months of sleepless nights and many many vet trips for us.

        So this morning my other rabbit mittens went in to get her eye flushed as it had been leaking for a few weeks (she’d been seen by a vet several times and was on medicated drops) it just took a while to get a date that was suitable. So after the procedure a vet I hadn’t seen before from the practice phoned me to let me know how it went. She was concerned by the left eye looking bulgy so she flushed the tear duct (lots of stuff came out apparently) then she had mittens xrayed. Her teeth look fine but she couldn’t tell from the X-ray whether or not there was an abscess behind the eye. Mittens has been eating really well and been acting like a normal bunny. The vet starting talking about taking the eye out and possibly putting her down if the infection is too bad. Given the last 10months I’m now panicking about this, it would destroy me to lose both of them within weeks of each other.

        Should she be able to tell if an abscess is there from the X-ray? I’m hoping it could just be swollen from the flushing and stress of being at the vets.

        I have an appointment on Wednesday with a vet that I trust and is very rabbit savvy but I’m just hoping for some advice so I don’t feel so panicky about it.

        I appreciate anything you guys can tell me…I know rabbits can lead a happy life with 1 eye…Ill do anything to give her the best chance


      • Gina.Jenny
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          I can really relate to what you are going through. We had to have two girl piggies, sisters, put to sleep within 10 days of each other this time last year, we’d had them 4.5 years. Then we caught two stray teenage bunnies, and though they didn’t replace our piggy-girls, the timing did mean we were in a position to give both bunny girls a safe and loving home, when the RSPCA asked us to, as they were full to capacity with rabbits already.

          Both girls were spayed, and Jenny failed to recover, struggling with hypothermia for almost a week, while I stayed up with her, trying to keep her warm. In the end, I decided to try taking turns lying her alongside our two boy lops, Rusty and Pippi, and this helped her turn the corner. 

          Sadly, Rusty, who wasn’t quite 2, developed a bulging eye days after being a little hero, and helping save Jenny. Rusty’s didn’t have any discharge, so at first, Rusty was sent home with pain meds and antibiotics, but the swelling got worse, and four days after the swelling first showed, the vet said he needed an xray to see if it was a retrobulbar abscess or a tumour, and how extensive it was. He said if it was an abscess, and hadn’t spread too far, he would use a circular needle, and drain the abscess while Rusty was still under anaesthetic. So yes, the xray will show if it is an abscess, and how far it has spread. The problem with this kind of abscess is that it can infect the bone itself, in which case there isn’t much can be done. With Rusty, the vet rang after the xray and advised that putting him to sleep while he was still under aesthetic would be the kindest thing to do, which was heartbreaking, especially with him being so young, and it being so soon after losing the girl piggies. 

          Rusty’s bonded bun, Pippi continued the job of helping Jenny, who was still quite poorly, keep warm and recover and they ended up happily bonded. We recently adpoted another boy bun, Podge, who is now happily bonded to the other girl. Podge has some issues with his tum, possibly mild megacolon, which we are managing with diet for now, and I think you did amazingly with Rolo, who’s issues were so much more severe.

          You have clearly given these two rabbits a life full of love and I really hope that mittens can pull through this, and yes a bunny can have a great life with only one eye. One of our current piggies, Latte, is blind in one eye, and he is full of life, and btw is great friends with Podge.

          Binky free (((Rolo))) and healing vibes (((Mitten)))


        • jerseygirl
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            Oh I’m sorry to hear about Rolo. ***Binky Free Sweetheart***

            For Mittens eye, you might be able to tell a bit more from an ultrasound or even better, a CT scan. Which of those will be up to what your vet has access to or finds appropriate. The xray is still useful as it would show if there is any tooth root involvement. The roots growing into the area is a common cause of retrobulbar abscesses.

            As G.J has mentioned, it might be possible to go around the eye ball to treat abscess if there is one there.

            The vet may also look at the intraocular pressure of the affected eye. It is possible to have glucoma in just the one eye…

            Really glad to read she has been acting normal. I hope the appointment on Wednesday goes well. Please keep us updated.


          • A.cowan182
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              God sounds like you’ve been through a lot as well! You’ve done really well to not get discouraged and give up on pets altogether. You get so attached to these little guys that every bump is just so upsetting!

              Thanks so much for your encouraging words it really means a lot. Mittens has been my rock throughout Rolo being so ill, shes made of strong stuff so if anyone can pull through its her.


            • A.cowan182
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                Thanks for the advice, I don’t think the vet that phoned me was overly confident with rabbits and may have been being a bit alarmist…or at least I hope so. She was just so unsure about everything and mentioned the possibility of putting her down that it freaked me out to no end!

                Im hoping they have access to an ultrasound or CT Ive read in other places they can shed more light on whats going on. Compared to pictures Ive seen of rabbits eyes with abscesses hers looks totally fine, to me it looks slightly bulgy but no discolouring or discharge its just been damp around the fur.

                She was a bit off last night cause of the GA but has been eating and pooping over night (just a couple of malformed cecotrophes). She’s also on an anti biotic now as well so Im hoping that doesn’t upset her stomach, she was fine on Baytril before but this one is new.

                Waiting to find out about these things is never fun!

                Thanks for all your advice.


              • jerseygirl
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                  Yes, the meds, stress or combination can make their poop a bit weird. What is the antibiotic she is on now?

                  Im hoping they have access to an ultrasound or CT Ive read in other places they can shed more light on whats going on.

                  I read that also. A CT scan can even outline the wall of an abscess.One of my bunnies had x-ray earlier this year for suspected abscess. The vet really couldn’t tell if there was tumour or abscess. He could mainly just see loss of bone. 

                  With the duct flush, sometimes there can be a lot of pus. Perhaps this vet hadn’t seen that much before. I remember looking after a rabbit once that was getting a lot of pus build up in her eye. It was amazing how much you could express just but putting gentle pressure just under the eye near the corner. It cleaned her eye up a lot. I guess it depends where it is coming from. Sometimes it might be from above the eye instead of the duct.


                • A.cowan182
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                    Great news guys! Went to see my normal vet this morning with Mittens and she said there was no reason to think there was an abscess behind her eye! She’s no idea why that vet said there could be it was just normal discharge during the flushing and the eye was a bit bulgy just from being poked at She also apologised for the scare especially given everything that happened with Rolo

                    Thanks so much for all your advice it made the last couple of days much less scary.


                  • Gina.Jenny
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                      Yay, great news


                    • jerseygirl
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                      • LittlePuffyTail
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                          So glad to hear that!

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                      Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Suspected abscess behind eye