Rabbits eye continues to water even after multiple treatments.

[Ldwoolart]

Hello everyone. My bunny started having some clear watering out of her right eye almost 2 months ago. I took her to the vet a couple days after it started and they said her cornea was scratched and gave me an antibiotic. After I finished the eye drops the vet had me come back in and looked at her eye. They said it was 100% healed and that I could stop the drops. A couple days after I stopped the drops her eye began to water again. I called the vet and they had me come back in. They checked to see if there was another scratch and also checked to see if her tear duct was clogged. They informed me that the tear duct was indeed clogged and that they flushed it. They gave me an oral antibiotic and more eye drops to give for 14 days. Her eye was once again looking better until a couple days after I finished giving her the medicine. I cannot for the life of me figure out what could be causing this. I have spent so much money and time hauling her back and forth to the vet and it seems that nothing is helping. Should I get a second opinion from another vet or does this sound like something any of you guys have experienced?
Thank you for any advice!

[Wick & Fable]

I don’t have direct experience, but rabbits with chronic watery eye is not unheard of: https://rabbit.org/chronic-runny-eyes-in-rabbits/

As you can see, there are many potential causes, with some being treatable and others not, and assessments are required to really figure out which is the cause. In the meantime, it’s important that you are tending to it so that area is as least irritated as possible and does not become an attractive ground for bacteria/infection.

As someone who has gone back and forth to the vet to figure out a mystery (in my case, it was my rabbit having atypical syphilis), I know it can be frustrating, stressful, and expensive. If you don’t feel comfortable having a frank conversation with your current vet about next steps and/or you do not trust this vet with rabbit-savvyness, another vet can definitely be considered.

 

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LBJ10]

Unfortunately, the problem may be something you can’t see on the outside. Wick provided a good link that takes you to a list of possible causes. Without knowing what the actual cause is, you won’t know how (or if) it can be treated.

[Ldwoolart]

Ok thank you for the information! I am gonna call a new vet tomorrow. Until then, the fur around her eye is super matted and almost a slight sticky texture. I’ve put a warm wet washcloth on it and tried to brush it but it did not soften it enough. Is there anything I can put there to soften it enough to brush it? I’m worried it’s going to start collecting bacteria if we can’t clean it well enough.

[Bam]

I doubt the matted cheek fur could be made soft enough to brush out. As a rule you have to cut out fur mats on rabbits. You can put a little bit of vaselin on the cheek to act as a barrier and protect the skin from the wetness.

[lillybrody]

Hi! I actually have a bunny, a 9 yr old named Brody, who’s had the exact same situation for almost a year now. Our local vet gave the eye drops, which helped for around a day, but even to this day he still releases cloudy liquid from his eyes. Honestly, and this just based on Brody it may differ for your bunny, as long as they continue to eat, pee, run around, and just act normal, I don’t think it is causing them pain. However sometimes when the eye liquid dries up they might be tempted to scratch it, which Brody did once, and end up accidentally scratching their eyelid, leading to some blood, so just watch out for that. But again if your bunny doesn’t seem normal i’d try going to another vet speaclist. I hope she feels better!!

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