IS THIS NORMAL? SHOULD I BE CONCERNED?

[Annabelle's mommy]

Hi everyone!! 

I am new to the bun community, having adopted my bun annabelle in march of this year! Firstly, let me begin by saying PEOPLE UNDERESTIMATE BUNNIES!! Anna is so intelligent and sweet, and always down to snuggle and watch the mindy project. Shes seriously become my best friend.

Now, I have a question pertaining to my sweet bun. Although I seem to recall the corners of her eyes (tear duct area, not actual eye) being slightly red/pink in colour when I got her, I’ve only now started to really pay attention to it. I usually pick away Annas eye crusties, as every few days they accumulate. They are always localized to the corner of the eye and have never appeared to be infected or leak down into her under eye fur.

Recently I’ve been noticing that the crusties (and the tear duct area) appear red. It almost looks like dried blood.
I’m a high anxiety individual and keep imagining the worst scenarios possible.

I would take her to the vet right now however I am a student and only have access to my roommates car occasionally. That being said I also don’t want to let my anxiety get the best of me and needlessly spend $80 at the vet. OF COURSE I AM MORE THAN WILLING TO TAKE ANNA TO THE VET AND PAY FOR WHATEVER SHE NEEDED, however because a trip to the vet is both difficult to plan/arrange, and I am not in great financial shape, I thought it would be best for some second opinions from more experienced bunny parents.

Take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think! If you’ve ever seen this before with your rabbit, or if you think this is something critical and requires vet action asap.

Thanks from me and Annabelle !!

EDITED TO INCLUDE PICS:

*these are both eyes, one appears more red than the other, the scab looking eye crusty from last night seems to have come off, however it still looks red **also in the one picture her eye is sort of squinty/half closed but thats only because this was mid head rub and she was starting to snooze :p 

[LBJ10]

I’m not seeing any photos uploaded.

[Bunny House]

Congrats on her! I just wanted to chime in and say that bunnies can be the most expensive pet to own because vets charge a lot for simple testing to be done, let alone to expensive vet exam fee. I know you’re in college and so am I but I have a huge fund I use just to pay for my buns because they are so expensive ? I don’t want to scare you but make sure you have quite a bit in saving so you can easily pay for vet emergencies as many bun parents have them.

You will also need to have her spayed if she is not already as they are 75% likely to develope uterine cancer very early on. I recommend if she has not already been to a vet when you first got her, that she needs to be seen for a regular check up and they can explain proper housing and diets for her age

[Annabelle's mommy]

Fixed it! pics are there

[jerseygirl]

It doesn’t look too bad. Maybe a bit irritated from the crusties if anything. You might be able soothe it at home by giving a swipe over with chammomile tea on a cotton ball. Rabbits seem to enjoy their eyes being groomed. You may have noticed this when you remove the crusties.

There is a bacterial infection rabbits can get where they develop crusts on the genitals and sometimes around nose and eyes. With the atypical form, they only get the facial lesions. If you saw the area increasing in size and developing a crust, I’d begin to suspect that. It’s an easily treatable condition. I only mention it in case you saw more changes. And for future readers who may be searching the forum about significant eye/nose/genital lesions.

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[Nutmeg]

Awwww HI ANNA!! ya she’s a cutie!
Just wanted to chime in that – while I’m no vet lol – I agree that it doesn’t look too bad, but deffinity needs to be watched.

*** Rabbits are expensive at the vets as they are considered an “exotic”, so make sure to find an excotic vet in your area that is familiar with bunny’s – as their anatomy is nothing like a cat or dog. They need to contentiously be eating / digesting food (like cows) which is why Hay is 80% of their diet. Plus they can’t throw up, so make sure you keep up with grooming her yourself so she doesn’t injest too much fur – as she can’t bring up a fur ball like a cat and it can cause a blockage in her.
Read up on the Bunny Info section as there is so much help in there, as Diet is also a huge part of keeping her healthy and helping stop GI Status (which rabbits are prone too and can kill them as they stop eating…. Having baby Gas drops on hand can really help at the start and has saved my last bunny many times where it never got to the stage of needing to bring her to the vet)

(Sorry if you already know the above, just thinking of things you can do to help prevent ever needing to rush her to the vet, as they are expensive)

My Hubby said he didn’t want a dog right now because of how expensive they were… he almost chocked when we took the rabbits to the vet LOL.

And the same as what Bunny House said about her needing to be spayed as 80% of female bunnies will develop uterine cancer by the age of 3 or 4 if they aren’t – Once done she has a chance to live for 10 to 13 years

So happy you are loving your little fluff ball!

[Annabelle's mommy]

Thank you to everyone who replied I am in the process of finding a vet to get her spayed, thanks for all the advice bun parents

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