Watery Eye on My Bunny

[Kai & Sophie]

Hey everyone!

I adopted my bunny (haven’t named him yet, still waiting to see his personality!) a few days ago and he seemed perfectly healthy (a little bit cautious because of his new environment), but just now I noticed that one of his eyes was a little watery (the fur around the eye is wet too) and it may have seemed a little swollen I am not too sure. Do you guys have any suggestions/ideas on what might be going on and what I should do?

I am going to wait a day or two more and see if it still continues/gets worse (if it gets worse I will immediately go to the vet/emergency room) before I make an appointment at the vet. 

The weather has been pretty hot, a heat wave is happening (95 – 100 degrees F), but we have been leaving the air conditioning on in our room for the bunny so it’s been around 70F, so I don’t think it is the weather. He has been active, eating and drinking so no drastic behavior changes. 

I have attached a photo of his wet eye (first photo) and normal eye (second photo) for reference. 

Thank you guys so much!

~ Worried Bunny Mom 

[kurottabun]

Has he been eating his hay alright? Sometimes a watery eye could be caused by teeth issues. How is his poop? Is it consistently sized and solid? Small or runny poops are bad signs. Bunny owners are obsessed with bunny poop because it’s one of the most important things to look out for when it comes to the health of a bunny.

[Sofia]

Tbh I cant really see the difference in the photos, but of course you know him better than anyone. Make sure he’d eating and is pooping. Maybe you should bring him to the vet. And be careful of any discharge, as that’s a bad sign

[Sirius&Luna]

It does look a bit watery, but it doesn’t look inflamed at least. Did he have a vet check before you adopted him? Is there any dampness around his nose?

[Q8bunny]

It could be something as small as a hay-stalk scratch on his cornea.

Brew a strong cup of chammomile tea and let it cool to lukewarm. With a cottonball, dab the eye, “bathing” it with the tea.

Then, at least twice a day, apply a tiny dab of over the counter eye ointment with fusidic acid.

If it’s just the eye, it should clear up in a few days.

If it doesn’t, vet check teeth and ears etc.

[Kai & Sophie]

He has been eating hay and his poop are all consistent in size and it’s a good amount! Do you know the amount of hay rabbits typically eat? (He is 4.2 lbs) For some reason I feel like he isn’t eating as much hay as other rabbits, but I always hear crazy stories of rabbits devouring through his hay. In the morning I give him about hay the size of him and in the evening time usually there is still maybe 1/4th left. Is this normal? 

Thank you for responding to my thread! 

~ Sophie

[Kai & Sophie]

He is definitely eating and pooping regularly and there was no discharge thank goodness! It’s been about a day now and I think it’s actually gotten better! I guess I was just being an over reactive mom  It’s still a little wet, but defiantly improved from yesterday’s condition. 

Thank you for taking your time to respond to my thread!

[Kai & Sophie]

That’s good that it doesn’t look inflamed and he was neutered and vet checked I believe three days/a week before we brought him home (so maybe 1.5/2 weeks ago). They didn’t report anything wrong with him to us. I don’t remember his nose being wet! 

He is doing better today though (been about 24 hours)! I still can’t think of what could have caused it though!

Thank you for responding to my post! 

~ Sophie

[Kai & Sophie]

I think it really was just something as small as that! (Thank goodness!) He is doing so much better and its only been not even 24 hours later! The chamomile tea sounds like a good idea! Thank you so much! For the over the counter eye ointment should I get the stuff for humans? Or is there a specific for pets? 

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post! 

~ Sophie

[Sofia]

I suppose every bun eats differently, if he starts to eat less hay than he did before, that’s a problem. But If he’s always eaten this much hay, I’d say it’s grand. If you want him eat more hay, you could put some dried herbs in the leftover hay at the end of the day, and that could entice him to eat. (check which herbs are bunny safe of course)

[Q8bunny]

The stuff for hoomins is fine.

[Author]

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