Holland Lop w/ Runny eye

Question
I took my Male Holland Lop into the vet last week because he had stopped eating his hay, his eye was watering, and he had some loose stool.  The vet I took him to thought that it was Rabbit Syphilis, so I boarded him at the animal hospital all week and they gave him daily  injections.  When I picked him up he seemed to be doing great.  All the fur had returned around his eyes and he was eating properly again.  Well, 3 days after having him home, all of the symptoms are returning. Do you have any thoughts on what this could be?  Could he be allergic to something in my home? I have only had the bunny for about 2 months, he is an 8 month old rabbit I got from someone that could no longer care for him. Thank You in advance!

Answer
Hi,

it is clear the injections did not take care of the problem, if that was what he was truly suffering from.

My strong suggestion is to go to a good rabbit vet.  Not all are.  Start here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

to find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.

Please don't wait.  It's an immediate problem, given how long he's been dealing with it, and his strength reserves are down.  You need to find one immediately and get him in immediately.  

I am not a vet but I would suspect he has some kind of infection he's fighting, and a few days of injections simply do not clear up rabbit infections that quickly.  You need to be given a proper, conclusive diagnosis, and then good oral antibiotics (like baytril) and if he has any outward infections, topical antibiotics as well.  You also may need pain reducing/anti-inflammatory medicines like metacam which will help bunny feel better and keep his appetite up.

But you need to get him back to a GOOD rabbit vet tomorrow.  You may need to force fluids on him tonite if he isn't drinking and you may need to mush up his pellets in water and force feed if you don't have any Oxbow Critical Care or can't get any.  You will need a feeding syringe to give water and pellet mush.  Don't force too much too quickly as you don't want him to choke and get any into his lungs.