baby rabbits eyes

Question
I have 13 day old baby rabbit whose eyes are not as open as the rest and it has dried stuff outside not current discharge is this an infection?

Answer
Dear Tracy,

It could be an infection.  But it's very critical to the bunny's future ability to see at all that the eyes open.  You can place warm, wet compresses (cotton balls or something else very soft) on the eyes to soften the crusts, and in many cases this will allow the eyes to open normally.  In some other cases, you may need to very gently encourage the eyelids to part with a wet cotton swab--but be extremely careful with this, since you don't want to damage the eye.

In a very few cases, the eyelids need to be surgically opened, and for this you would need the services of an experienced rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

This should be considered something of a time-sensitive emergency.  If the bunny's eyes do not open during the critical developmental period (which is NOW), then the neuronal wiring that will allow him to see will never develop (it is stimulated to grow by light and exposure to movement and other visual stimuli), and he will be blind for life.

So start those warm compresses now.  If there is pus in the eye, this can be gently washed out with sterile ophthalmic saline solution (NOT contact lens cleaning solution--though you'll find them close to each other on the shelf of the drug store) that has been slightly warmed.  Get the eyes as clear and clean as possible, and then if there seems to be any inflammation, get little bun to a good rabbit vet for further treatment, such as rabbit-safe ophthalmic eye drops, as determined by the vet.

I hope this helps.

Dana