General Health Questions and a Squinty Eye

Question
QUESTION: I have a few health questions after reading through some of the questions on this site and learning that I know nothing about rabbits, despite having owned a Dwarf Rabbit before

We recently got a rabbit (12-13 weeks old right now). We think that it is a male. We also think that he may be a Mini Lop, although there is a chance that he could be a Holland Lop or a French Lop. He was bought for a dollar from a breeder, and given to us by the relative that bought him

The general questions are:

-What should the general diet for him be? He is roughly 13-14 inches long from nose to butt (I didn't include the tail in the measurements, but it is around a 1/2 inch to 1 inch long) and his ears are about 3 and a 1/2 inches long. They stick up in the air most of the time. His colour is a grey-beige with a white underbelly. I thought the size might help you with figuring out the breed and thus the diet we should set out for him, or, at the very least, the best diet for his current size. We do not know his weight

-He has been stealing our food (a bite or two of ice cream, pop corn, banana bread, chips, crackers, etc.) and has been having a steady flow of veggies (half a cup to a cup full, max, each day). How worried should we be about his digestive tract? Is there anything we can do to correct it quickly if it is bad?

-He technically belongs to my five year old sister. As you can tell, that leads to quite a bit of stress (improper handling, dress up, being chased, etc). What can we do to limit his stress?

-We clipped his nails today, and he fought a little. Is there a better way to keep his nails short, such as a particular kind of rock? If not, then is there a way to keep him calmer when clipping his nails?

For the health question:

He was apparently lethargic today (quite active right now, though), and his left eye is squinty. It is sometimes normal, but for the most part, it looks like if he is squinting through it, while the other eye is wide open. Is this cause for concern? If so, is it easy to treat at home? My parents would rather not pay alot of money for a rabbit that cost $1

ANSWER: Hi Eric,

You sound like a fine young man.  I think in this case it might be your responsibility to convince your parents to do the right thing...that is lead by example.  There is a huge responsibility regardless of what price is paid.  This is a life we are talking about.  

As far as breed, without a pic, it is difficult to tell but it sounds like it will be a medium to large size rabbit.  Until he is about 6 months old, he should be receiving unlimited hay (both alfalfa and grass) and unlimited high quality pellets.  The diet for an adult rabbit (over six months) would be unlimted grass hay (limited alfalfa) and limited high quality pellets.  Most people feed far too many pellets.  At this point, you are offering him far too many greens especially if he is not acclimated to them.  They are also lactose intoleraant....milk will cause serious digestive system upset and can lead to severe dehydration and death.  Popcorn, bread, crackers, etc. all have far too much carbohydrates and can cause the same thing.  Rabbits need low protein/high fiber diet.

A rabbit is inappropriate for any child under the age of 10...and older depending on their maturity.  As you already know they don't like being picked up.  Their spines are very fragile and they can suffer traumatic spinal injuries when picked up wrong.

The best way to clip nails is a "bunny burrito" in which you use a towel to secure him.  The spine can be injured if he kicks his rear legs unopposed.

Rabbits are crepuscular and are most active early in the morning and in the evening.  During the day they generally lounge around and rest. Many times when they squint, it is usually due to some irritation on the lens of the eye.  That might require veterinary intervention if that is the case.

I am really concerned about the diet he is eating.  The ice cream, crackers, popcorn, etc. is a road to disaster.  Here is a link to a lot of information for you to read.  I am really concerned about this rabbit.  The site is www.rabbit.org

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: A follow up on the question from yesterday:

We are trying to change his diet now. What would be the best amount of greens since 1/2 a cup is too much?

We can't do anything about my sister and Buzz (that is the rabbit's name), unfortunately, so is there a way for her and Buzz to bond without her giving Buzz a heart attack?

A question with the bunny burrito. We actually did do that (o.o surprised we chose the right technique right off the bat), but he still thrashed every now and then until he was loose. Is there a particular way to hold his paws and body while cutting his nails to keep him from getting loose?

I will keep an eye on his eye, but, like I said, my parents aren't likely to spend money on Buzz if it costs too much. Actually, I am aspiring to become a vet myself. I am also working on a card game and, if it is successful, then I can offer treatments for animals such as rabbits for cheap ^^ >.> Grade 12 is so far trying to keep that dream from happening x.x

I have some pictures of Buzz now, so I hope you can identify his breed. The first picture is just to help with identifying his breed. The second picture shows his eye problem in more detail:





Sorry about the quality of the pictures

Answer
Hi Eric,

An aspiring vet??  Go for it.  I have had many ask me to go to vet school....but I don't think I am quite that smart and I don't have the money...plus I would most likely be older than the professors.  Veterinary medicine is a very rewarding field.  The money is good and the rewards of what you are doing is even better.  I live near a major vet school...in fact, many of my "special needs" exotic animals and wildlife are used to give students on clinical rotation exposure to the species that they don't get in normal small animal focus studies.  The two veterianary fields that have the most promise looking forward are avian (bird) and exotics (rabbits, chinchillas, degus, guinea pigs, etc. for mammals, reptiles, amphibians and arachnids) as well as large animal (farm or zoo) medicine.  The competition to get into vet schooli is fierce....even to gain admission to a tech school is very competitive....but if you get in....it's amazing.  Now, for your questions.

I suspect Buzz (we have a Buzz-a senior New Zealand) is a baby mini-lop.  It might be a Holland Lop but it looks like the face is a bit long for a Holland...but it's wait and see on that.

As far as greens....he appears to be quite young so I would be very sparse with the greens.  I would offer small amounts of "safe" greens....romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, carrot tops, parsley and cilantro to name a few....but make sure it's very small.  Make changes to the diet slowly...over a period of several days.  I would probably offer no more than 1/8 cup of ONE green per day.  Watch his gut.  His poops should look like Cocoa Puffs....round and well formed.  If he appears to be getting an upset stomach, either he is getting too many greens or that particular green does not agree with his system. By adding different foods or changing the amounts in small increments and over time...not only does it give the gut time to adjust, but you can see any sign on GI upset.  Many people will not offer greens to this young of a rabbit....but it can be done if you are careful.  I primarily rehab wildlife....and my wild rabbits are raised and weaned strictly off greens, hay and fresh water.  But he does need unlimited hay no matter his age.

As far as your sister.....have her play with him on HIS level.  And that would be on the floor.  As you already know, rabbits are prey animals and we are still viewed as predators. And a rabbit can't see clearly like we do....they see in a series of shadows with maybe some greens and blues visible.  They also can't see directly in front of them.  If they see a shadow coming from the front....they assume a bird of prey.  If they see a shadow from behind, they think fox.  I wooul attmept to keep your sister from chasing or picking him up.

The nails can be challeging.  The burrito is by far the best.  But I have some success with some rabbits by holding the against my body and putting a finger under their foot just behind the nails.  If you push up ever so slightly, it is almost like they extend a bit to help you.  Just don't ever trust a rabbit....and do everything you can to prevent a non-opposed kick from the rear legs.

As far as the eye....they do that when something is irritating the eye.  I would suggest flushing the eye with a saline solution.  Irrigate the eye with artificial tears....just the basic tears with no other medication in them.  I prefer a product called Refresh....it comes in a gel so it stays in the eye better.  I hope this isn't a scratched cornea.  Sometimes the only way to detect this is to have a vet "stain" the eye.  Basically it's adding a UV dye to the cornea and checking with a Woods Lamp.  If it is a scratched cornea and it isn't propery treated, it can ulcertate.  Corneal ulcers are very painful and can be tricky to treat.  Keep it flushed for a couple of days and check the cornea carefully to see if you can pick out anything that might be irritating the eye.

Keep me posted.