First Eye Infection!

[Valley]

Hi there! so this morning I went to feed my rabbits and I noticed that one of my buns, kiwi, had a watery left eye. The fur below his eye was a little wet. I called the vet to make an appointment and they put me in for this thursday (today is saturday). I explained to them that he was eating, drinking and pooping normally and that there was no discharge from his eye, it was just wet. I didn’t freak out too much because i thought that if it was more serious the vet would get me in sooner right? I went to check on him not too long ago before night time and his eye seems to have gotten worse. It is red and there is some discharge and the fur below his eye is pretty wet. He is still eating, drinking and pooping normally. I read online that watery eyes can be caused by numerous things, although I don’t think it is teeth related since I took him to the vet 3 weeks ago because I thought he had the sniffles and they checked his teeth and they said he wasa healthy bun. So I have a couple questions:

1. He is bonded with my female rabbit. Should I separate them? Is this contagious?

2. How can I treat it in the meantime while I wait for the vet appointment? Please note that they are closed on sunday and I am gonna call first thing in the morning on monday to get an earlier appointment.

3. Is this life threatening?

Thank you for helping me. I’m sorry if I am being way too paranoid, this is the first eye infection I have ever had to deal with.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Aww….poor bun.

It’s impossible for me to say if it’s contagious or not. The vet would have to be the judge of that, possibly doing a culture to see if this is a bacterial issue.

You’re right in that it could be caused by several different things. A bacterial infection, as you are suspecting, but sometimes an injury or foreign object in the eye can cause discharge. And dental issues can cause runny eyes but is not always a problem that is visible without a head X-ray. Molar root issues can cause runny eyes.

I suggest just keep his eye as clean as possible in the meantime. My lop has chronic runny eyes and I use a contact saline solution (just SALINE!!!) to wash the fur around his eyes and then I gently pat dry with a kleenex. I do this twice a day.

[Whitesnowy]

I doubt this will threaten it’s life but it requires medical treatment.
This may not be an infection but some kind of a tear duct blockage. From dust or other particle (from wood shavings, small hay particles etc). I hope this is not caused by teeth problems (running eye(s) are possible symptom).

Since you have an appointment, better not experiment to treat it yourself. I also hope you found a vet who have experience with rabbits. This is important thing. Ask if the appointment could be sooner.   

It’s not a bad idea to separate your rabbits just in case. You can put them close to each other but preventing somehow physical contact.

Please, keep us updated.

[Author]

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