Swollen eyes

Question
Hi I have a 4 year old male rabbit and both his eyes are swollen and half white.  I have seen my vet who put dye in them and said there were no infections or abbrassions they gave me metacam to reduce the swelling but this hasn't made much different.  They have now started weeping slightly and this has reduced the swelling a bit.  He is fine in himself eating, drinking etc and his sight seems fine.  He did get attcked by a dog about 3 weeks ago and his eyes started about 3 days after that. I did put sawdust in his cage after he was attacked but I removed that about 2 weeks ago. Have you any ideas?

Answer
Dear Zoe,

I could better help you if you were able to send a clear photograph of this condition.  I cannot really tell what's going on from teh description.  But swollen eyes are not normal, and I would try to seek a second opinion from a rabbit-savvy vet and/or a veterinary ophthalmologist:

www.rabbit.org/vets

If the eyes are "half white" it sounds as if the corneas are abraded, or that the bunny might have cataracts or intraocular abscess.  All of these are serious, and need immediate treatment.  But without seeing the eyes myself, I can't really tell you what's going on.

If the eyeballs themselves are enlarged, it could be glaucoma.  If the eyes are bulging, it could be from a retrobulbar abscess, or even from a mass in the chest that's partially obstructing blood flow from the head, causing the venous sinuses behind the eye to swell and push on the eyes.  So there are just too many possibilities for me to guess what might be wrong without more information and a photo, if possible.

I hope this helps, but mainly I think you should get bunny to another vet for a second, third or fourth opinion.

Dana