Bunny eye infection from bite wound?

[cornflakes]

I’ll try to make this short but it’s a long history behind it.  At my school workplace they have rabbits but nobody really

takes good care of them, so whenever they get sick or are about to have babies in the winter (outdoor, they just freeze)

I try to intervene.  I took one female home seeing that she was kindling, so that would give me a couple days to take her

home and let her settle in there and then deliver her babies.  She had 4 + 1 I snuck in her litter from another mother who

already delivered at school but they all died from the cold except one that I was able to save.  All the rabbits grew up

(2 months later) and I took them back to school where a couple other rabbits were there.  Seems that the long separation

and re-introducing them back into the rabbit pen created some danger and the other rabbits were attacking the mom rabbit.

So I separated her and one other bunny that stayed with her.  All the others went to the otherside and nobody was fighting (so basically

a wall/divider that splits the pen into 2 parts…one side had 8 rabbits the other side had 2, the mom and one of her babies).

Recently, the barrier was compromised (last friday) and I found the baby rabbit had sustained what looked to be a eye wound (bite) and there was some white discharge now forming.  I took her to the vet that day, and she had injected her (needle) with some antibiotic (don’t know the name sorry), and cleaned out the eye with i think saline water solution, and she put on teramycin eye ointment.  She told me to do this daily for her.  There was also some white powder medicine in packs that I am supposed to open each day and put in the water (for just 5 days or so).  After the vet visit, I returned the bunny back to school.  I went to school on saturday and sunday to clean and apply the eye ointment for the bunny rabbit, but on Sunday I found the barrier had again been compromised and this it was worse, but for the mom.  She had been tangled up in the netting fabric that covers the pen to prevent flies from entering.  Somehow it got ripped into a thin enough piece and it was tightly wrapped around her neck and she was stuck there for god knows how long.  The damage was really bad…her ears were chewed off at the tips, both eyes were bloodies and one eye looked almost like it was bulging out…i’d assume from being strangled for who knows how long.  I quickly got scissors to cut her free and after I did, she just went to a corner.  I knew that was nothing I could for her as her injuries look too extensive and beyond my ability to care for…..the school won’t do anything for the rabbits if they get sick or injured….they just see it as natural and to just let nature take its course (btw, this is not a north american country..im overseas so you get the idea that some places their standards on animal abuse/compassion are really low compared to North America).  I’ve been intervening when I can on and off for the past 5 years at this school. I’ve had a few cases the past couple years that I posted on i think this site and rabbitsonline also.  

Anyways back to the story.  It was sunday so no animal clinic near my rural town was open.  I knew there was nothing to be done for the mom rabbit and I was deeply saddened knowing that I’d have to have her put her down to at least stop the suffering and let her pass quickly rather than to just leave her there in school for 2 or 3 or 4 weeks however long it takes for her to succumb …which is too painful for me to watch.  So in that moment (on Sunday), I did something you might like or approved of…but I actually set her free.  I just took her out of the pen and let her go wherever she could go and mostly this was selfish because I just didn’t want to see her …it was very bloody and gruesome to see her.  She took a few steps wondering where she was, and then she wandered away….I didn’t think I’d ever see her again.  I was wrong.  On Monday morning, a student told me they saw a rabbit who was all injured around school.  When i went to check the pen area, I saw that she had pooped around the door.  She must’ve stayed around and even tried to get back in as I know rabbits tend to stay in their territory.  I checked around the corner of the pen and lo and behold she was just sitting there behind the pen.  It broke my heart even more that she didn’t just leave and die naturally out in nature, but she stayed I guess the only home she knew.  So then i had to take her to the vet and get her put down myself.  No reimbursement, it’s all on me even after I told the school and asked them for reimbursement….they said that they don’t have a fund or budget for this sort of thing. 

But I’m still glad that I ended up getting her put down because Sunday night I was still feeling sad knowing that she could be out there on her own just going to suffer for who knows how long…..as I said, it wasn’t really the best decision but it was selfish one for me because I didn’t want to have to deal with it.  I’ve spent a lot of my own money over the years from food, to medicine, to vet visits, and sometimes I just get angry when they fight and bully up on a rabbit and this happens….cause I know I’m going to have to take it upon myself to do something about it since nobody else would.

Now comes the current situation.  The very next day (Tuesday), I came to check the pen and to administer the eye ointment and I found the barrier had been compromised again!  I thought to myself, “Oh $%@#!”  I went to find the bunny and feared for the worst as it was already trying to recover from that eye wound.  I found him behind a cardboard box and thankfully his eyes weren’t worse or appeared to be attacked.  But he sustained the tip of both his ears had been chewed off.  At this point, I decided to take him home with me from now on.  He had already lost his mom and now he’s alone on this side of the pen.  I took the bunny back to the vet just to get an update checkup and she told me that the eye seemed to be getting better…..but I really wasn’t sure of that.  I’ve seen this before on a previous rabbit I was caring for who had also been bitten around the eye and had white discharge and crustiness form around the eye.  I applied teramycin ointment on that one for about 1 and half weeks but it wasn’t getting better.  The eye infection seemed to be getting worse until the eye was completely closed/sealed by the white discharge and crustiness (long story short, that rabbit didn’t make it).

This bunny has the same white discharge, pinkish skin around the eyes and looks a bit like it’s swelling up.  It’s been 4.5 days now since the bunny got his antibiotic shot, teramycin ointment daily (2 times a day now in the past 2 days), and i took pictures just a few minutes ago….it seems to me that it’s not really getting better….i want a second opinion and i would like to know what else I should do for this bunny before the eye gets worse and seals up the lids closed.  I heard that sometimes teramycin might be outdated infections can be resistant to it?  Should I be cleaning his eye out with warm salt water several times a day?  Would that help more?

Btw, his name is Sammy Jr because I didn’t know if he’s a boy or girl, just like his mom when I first saw her and named her Sammy….Sammy Jr looks just like his/her mom so I named him Sammy Jr.

Here are some pictures

[Bam]

It seems the terramycin isn’t killing the infectious bacteria. When Bam was bit somewhat like that it took three weeks until it even started to heal, then it took like a week more until it was healed. I got rid of the pus every day with the blunt end of a plastic tooth-pick, washed his eyes with saline solution and put on terracortril+ polymycin B, which is rabbit-safe. He healed perfectly, I expected scarring but there was none.

(I would’ve taken my bun to the vet but it was during Christmas, so I could only speak with them on the phone and get the above advice).

If my bunny looked like yours I’d have called the vet and described it, if you can email them the above pic it would be great.

Your story about the bunny mama is heartbreaking. I’m so sorry. I’m thankful that you had her put down in the end but I can understand your frustration and overwhelmedness. Thank you for taking Sammy Jr in.

[cornflakes]

Thanks for the reply. I was wondering, when I clean his eye, is it imperative that I remove ALL the white discharge? Sometimes when i squirt the saline solution in his eye and then rub it down with a cotton pad, i can’t seem to get all of it out unless I really apply more effort. I just didn’t want to scare him or hurt him but it sounds like after watching some youtube videos on “flushing out duct” or something along that lines, they really get in there by pulling back the eyelid and squirting/rinsing right in the duct.

I will keep applying it twice a day for a few more days. If his eye starts to close …is that because of too much white discharge that is making it sticky and crusty? So that means I had better make sure to really rinse it out and clean it better?

[cornflakes]

Oh and also what kind of saline solution to use? Can I just make my own warm saltwater at home by using bottled water and adding salt (how much?). What I’m currently using is already loaded in a syringe that the vet gave me but it’s only a small amount that I can use it maybe 3 times max.

[Bam]

I bought single-use saline eyedrops for humans, so that I could use one per cleaning-occasion. The round back end of a plastic toothpick was great for removing pus, I didn’t succeed in rinsing it all out. Rabbits have very sticky pus do to a lack of a certain enzyme. Use a new tooth-pick for every cleaning-session, or actually several tooth-picks if you don’t get the pus out on the first try, never put a used object back into an infected wound, and yet another one for application of the ointment. Everything you use near that wound should be as clean as possible and your hands should be washed thoroughly.

You probably should contact a vet about this and get some other antibiotic cream. There are several that are bunny safe. Fucidic acid and chloromycetin f ex. In some countries, Fucidic acid is over the counter.

It is a bit of a hassle to make your own saline for use in eyes, since you need distilled water and pure NaCl, not table-salt. http://www.diynatural.com/make-saline-solution/

So I would not recommend that you do that. 

[cornflakes]

So if I went to a local pharmacy and asked for saline solution for human eyes, that would be perfectly fine then for cleaning my rabbit’s eye?
I’m not sure if there are different types of saline solution with differing concentrations of ingredients or if they are generally all the same.

I actually used bottled water and table salt the other night on her ….hope that didn’t hurt her….she seemed fine by it but i wont use that again.

[Bam]

The only difference is the measure of sterility, which is of importance when it comes to eyes since eyes are sensitive. I don’t think you hurt her by using normal water + salt, to be honest I think plain bottled water would do since it’s about rinsing. I got the single use saline because I live near a pharmacy, it’s not expensive and less bothersome than making your own saline solution and storing it properly.

It would be the same concentration of NaCl to water whether the saline is for human or animal use. There aren’t a huge lot of medications made exclusively for bunnies (but as we all know, many many human ointments and eye-drops and make-up products are tested on rabbits).

I’ll be looking forward to updates from you and Sammy Jr!

[cornflakes]

Thanks, I bought something I think is what I need. It’s in one of those clear plastic bags that you have to hang and insert the needle from the bottom through this spongy seal and suck out the salt water into the needle. It says Sodium Chloride Inj. 1000ml, Sodium chloride, BP…..9mg and Water for injection, BP.

I used it once today so far and it didn’t seem to have any adverse affects…..sammy jr stays still for me when I clean his/her eye. It cost me about 3 dollars for that bag.

Does this stat seem right? 9mg of NaCl to 1000ml of water?

[Bam]

9 mg to 1000 ml water is exactly right.

Thumbs up!

[cornflakes]

Great thanks! I’ve been cleaning her eye twice a day and applying the teramycin eye ointment. The good news seems that the white discharge has gone down. It’s not as plenty and thick as before so maybe this is a sign the infection is going down. I tried cleaning it out with a qtip and i got some of it out so maybe that is helping a lot more.

The area around the eye still seems a little swollen/puffy and pink but definitely less white discharge and i think that’s a good sign. I’ll keep you updated in another couple days with pics.

[Sarita]

He’s a cutie – did the vet just give you an eye ointment? No oral antibiotic?

[cornflakes]

Yes eye ointment and also gave him an injection and 7 days worth of oral antibiotic (for in the water).

UPDATE: good news is his eye is now looking much much better and looks like it’s almost healed now. Here’s
a pic i took today.

[Sarita]

He’s so cute – it looks so much better :~)

[cornflakes]

He really wants to get out of the caged area so now I let him go out and explore. My original rabbit I take care of had to be put in a separate boxed cage because they would fight or chase each other. I noticed today that when Sammy Jr comes up to the cage, my original rabbit starts to make noises…sounds like growling or murmuring….do you know what that might mean? Is that her trying to express fear or anger or fight? Or is that a sign that she is interested and wants to befriend?

[cornflakes]

Posted By Sarita on 5/07/2015 10:53 AM

He’s so cute – it looks so much better :~)

Thanks! Yes, I’m really glad his eye is healed.  I can’t seem to post another pic….is there a 3 picture limit I can upload/store on here?

[Sarita]

The way I upload pictures is this – you have to use the reply button, cannot use quick reply. 

There is a drop box for attachments – browse, upload photo, then  you have to slide over to insert image…that’s the only way I can figure it out – not too tech saavy – not sure what the limit is to be honest.

[Bam]

He really looks so much better! I’m so glad =)

I too upload pics the way Sarita describes it.

The sound your original bunny makes could mean any one of the things you mention. One of my bunnies growls like a dog when he’s disgruntled, that’s easily interpreted, he sounds like a (very, very small) Rottweiler. The other one doesn’t talk. Does she try to box him through the cage? I doubt it’s fear, fear is rather expressed by running away and thumping. I think she’s probably curious.

[Bam]

Any news? Hope he’s still doing well!

[Author]

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