Runny Rabbit Eyes

Question
Hello, I have a rabbit which is about 4 years old and a few days ago his eyes started running and looking very red-rimmed. He is generally as normal and happy as ever in every other respect. I am planning on a trip to the vet with him but was wondering if you could give me any idea what it could be and suggest something that I can do that may help him as he seems to be in a bit of discomfort with his eyes today and they are a little closed. Thank you.

Answer
Dear Maria,

This could be due either to a problem in/on the eye itself (corneal injury, glaucoma, etc.) or to something impinging on the eye (e.g., a tooth root abscess), and either case needs to be diagnosed and treated by an experienced rabbit vet.  You can read a bit about the latter here:

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

But the fact that bun is squinting with the bad eye suggests that this might be corneal, or even glaucoma (to which rabbits are sadly prone!).  If your vet can't diagnose this with the tools s/he has, then you might ask for a referral to a good veterinary ophthalmologist who can.

Pain management will be important, so be sure to ask your vet about that, too.

I hope this helps.

Dana