White Spot in Eye

[Ivana]

Hi guys! Does someone have an idea of what this white spot might be?

[Bam]

A white spot in the eye can be a sign of e cuniculi, or of a bacterial infection such as pasteurella. A very good vet can sometimes do a fine needle aspiration to see if the spot contains bacteria. Not all vets can do this however.

How long has she has this for?

 

 

 

[Ivana]

She’s 2 years old now and i got her when she was 1 month old. I haven’t noticed this until she was 6 months old, but i think she was born with it?!

[Bam]

E cuniculi would be more plausible in that case. It is often transmitted from the mum to the fetus and in young rabbits it tends to manifest as clouding of the lense or white spots in the eyes.

EC is common in rabbits, but in the majority of carriers it never becomes symptomatic. It’s treatable with Panacur (fenbendazole), a slow-acting antiparasitic. The damage already done to the lense won’t be reversed though.

I’ll alert moderator LBJ to this thread, she knows more than I do about rabbit eye problems.

[Wick & Fable]

It can be a natural marking in Vienna-marked rabbits called partial heterochromia, which occurs in one or both eyes. In formal terms, the marking is blue; not white. You can see if it matches here: https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Vienna-marked_rabbits

Here’s an example:

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]

From what I can see, I will agree with Wick on this one. It looks like an “atypical” partial heterochromia, where there is just a little section of blue and the rest of the iris is brown. The gene responsible for this is called the Vienna gene. Two copies gives you a BEW. Only one copy produces a rabbit with varying degrees of white markings (sometimes called Dutch-like markings, but the Dutch gene is an entirely different gene) and blue eyes. Sometimes you’ll see partial heterochromia, where an eye will be half brown and half blue.

[Azerane]

Luna has one of these. When I adopted her almost six years ago she had it and it stayed the same size for a long time. Eventually early last year when she did present with E. cuniculi the spot had grown quite substantially in size. I was told by my vet that the spots can be present in rabbits that are carrying E. cuniculi but not necessarily presenting with symptoms. Just something to be mindful of, keep a close eye on it and if you notice any changes with it at all then I would certainly be concerned about E.c.

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