Lolas behaviour and Watery Eye.

Question
Hi There, I have a 9 month old english doe, i have had her for 8 weeks and was given her from a lady with other rabbits. When i got her she had a watery eye, and the lady said she had seen the vet had some treatment (antibiotics) i assume and that it was just the lotion that she had been putting on but she was fine. I have noticed that the eye has not stopped "tearing" in the time that i have had her. Strangely though it seems to get better when she is in her run outside or in the house, as we bring her in for play most evenings. I always put her back in her hutch outside at night and it always seems wet in the morning. With the fur around the eye turning a little hard. The eye is not red or sore and there is no sign of infection and the liquid is clear. What can i do?

She eats well and has plenty of love, exercise, has a cage indoors and hutch and run outside. I feed her fresh hay, meadow and timothy, she eats the grass on the lawn in her run and she gets rabbit food and plenty of organic veg, which i vary daily. The problem is she eats all of the mix except the brown pellets, they are always left in her bowl. I have tried different types but she always leaves the pellets in her bowl. The only one she will eat completly is rabbit museli, but this doesn't have the pellets in it. What should i do?

Finally she has completly fallen in love with my partner, when she is in the house on an evening she won't leave him alone, she is constantly trying to mount his arm as he plays on the floor with her and often butts him if he doesn't pay her attention, she is friendly to me but doesn't try this behaviour with me. She also loves being chased around the house by him and will actively get him to play this game. She is very fast and will do this at full speed, binkying and jumping quite high for 20 minutes then will sit down legs out panting almost. Then she runs up to him nudges him to start again. IS this normal as i didn't think rabbits ran so much, except in fear?

Thanks for your Help

Sarah

Answer
Dear Sarah,

A runny eye is a sign of a blocked tear duct.  I hope it's just due to a backup of cellular debris and maybe a few bacteria in the tear duct, but in a baby so young, a contributing factor could also be a congenitally narrow duct that is prone to becoming blocked.

You can find a good rabbit vet here to examine your little one and possibly do a tear duct flush:

www.rabbit.org/vets

though most vets will try a triple-antibiotic ointment with dexamethasone first, to see if simply reducing inflammation of the mucous tissues and removing bacteria will solve the problem.  It can!  So maybe ask about that first.

I would not go to a breeder for veterinary care.  They know just enough to get their rabbits to market, and I do not trust them to be current on rabbit medicine.  You can read more about runny eyes and sneezing (causes and treatments) here:

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

The running and binkying upon being chased is unusual, but really cute!  As long as she's doing her little dances when he chases her, she's having a good time.  But if she starts to be panicky, then leave off and have a good cuddle on the floor so she'll know it's all in fun.  :)

Hope this helps.

Dana