Possible eye injury

Question
We have a 2-year-old spayed female mini lop rabbit pet. A sharp corner of a swinging metal door of her cage might have fallen around her eye. It happened so fast that we cannot tell if it landed in her eyes or around her eyes or just her head. We are desperate. We think this eye trauma could cause retinal detachment or could be a very serious eye injury. How can we know if it is an emergency or if we can wait a number of days before taking her to the vet? what are the symptoms of retinal detachment?

Also, the corner of both eyes appear to be watery, but we cannot tell if it's just the natural lubrication of her eyes because our other rabbit also has this same watery look to the corner of her eyes  

Answer
Dear Luis,

Whenever you have a veterinary emergency or suspected emergency, you can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

It's a good idea to get the bunny to the vet immediately if you have any doubts, because an answer on the internet might not come fast enough.

Is the bunny showing any signs of discomfort/pain, such as squinting with the injured eye?  That would be the most obvious sign of a problem, and if she's doing that I would strongly recommend you get her to a good rabbit vet for evaluation and treatment, as necessary.

If she does have an eye injury, it is still probably quite treatable, even if your vet needs to refer you to a qualified veterinary ophthalmologist in your area. So if you see any signs that make you worry, please do get bunny to the vet for a checkup.  It will set your mind at ease.

If your bunnies have runny eyes, it may not be normal.  Rabbits who have molar spurs or other dental problems often first manifest them as runny eyes.  You can read more about this here:

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

and

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

I hope this helps.  Please write back if you have any other questions.  I hope your bunny will be fine soon!

Dana