I suspect my new saved bunny may be partially blind

Question
I suspect my new saved bunny may be partially blind, there is a little white haze in her eye and she turns her head to scan the room with her other eye. What can I do to help her?  

She was not well taken care of and was about to be snake food when we saved her, how can we get her used to people that care about her?

I also don't think they were feeding her any timothy hay, is this really bad? Also, I've heard mixed thing about pellet food, what's your opinion on it?

She is supposedly 10 months old and has a rather large belly and hops really strange, stepping each front foot separately and then the back real slowly. What could all this mean?

Thank you so much I appreciate your advice, we love rabbits and really want her to be comfortable and happy with us in her new, safe, snake free home.

Answer
Dear Danielle,

Taking your questions one at a time:

"I suspect my new saved bunny may be partially blind, there is a little white haze in her eye and she turns her head to scan the room with her other eye. What can I do to help her?"

She should at the very least be examined by an experienced rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

who can look at the eye and determine whether this is a corneal ulcer, intraocular abscess, cataract, or other problem.  It may well be treatable, but eye injuries must be addressed promptly, as they will get worse quickly without proper treatment. If possible, take the bun to a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist, as a regular vet may know a little bit about the eye, but not enough to know the appropriate treatments if it's something really serious or tricky to treat (such as cataracts caused by E. cuniculi).

"She was not well taken care of and was about to be snake food when we saved her, how can we get her used to people that care about her?"

Poor bunny, and lucky bunny!  Try the tips here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/shybun.html

"I also don't think they were feeding her any timothy hay, is this really bad? Also, I've heard mixed thing about pellet food, what's your opinion on it?"

You can read about proper diet here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

It's never too late to get her on a good diet, so a lack of timothy hay in the past is a non-issue.  If she has health problems related to a poor diet, you'll know it soon.  But bunnies in this situation are usually young, and I hope she'll be quick to recover.

"She is supposedly 10 months old and has a rather large belly and hops really strange, stepping each front foot separately and then the back real slowly. What could all this mean?"

Ohhhhhhhh boy.  She might be pregnant, so be ready:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html

Rabbits sold for nefarious purposes are often housed together without regard to sex, since they're not supposed to live long.  :(  So this is a good possibility.  

A very large belly also could mean intestinal parasites, most of which are easily treated by a rabbit-savvy vet who can have a look at a fecal sample to see what's up.

In her condition, recently rescued, she may be very stressed and not take proper care of a litter if she does give birth. So here are some emergency instructions, just in case.  Read them in advance, so you'll know how to tell if she's taking care of the babies or not:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/orphan.html

Good luck!

Dana