rabbits cloudy eye

Question
dear Dana, my 3 yr.old, neutered male rabbit(indoors only)
developed a cloudy left eye(pupil only, i believe)suddenly, approximately 24 hrs. ago.
no pain from what i can judge. difficult to test vision.
no trauma that i can determine. no other signs; eating, eliminating normally. possible exposure < 1 min. to ant insecticide powder. have appt. with exotics vet on tues. today is saturday. any advice most appreciated.

Answer
Dear Elizabeth,

It's good that you have an appointment scheduled with the vet, but if it's possible to get him into a veterinary ophthalmologist earlier than Tuesday, it might be a good idea to try to do that.  Various things can make the eye appear cloudy, from a corneal ulcer to an intra-ocular abscess, to glaucoma, to a cataract.  An ophthalmologist is best qualified to know what's wrong, and the best and safest way to treat it.

Even though the bunny is acting fine, note that most eye afflictions do cause some pain.  Ask your vet about analgesia such as tramadol and/or metacam.  Topical atropine from the ophthalmologist might give short-term relief of the  intra-ocular eye cramps that sometimes accompany such things as glaucoma and corneal injuries.

It will be nearly impossible for you to detect corneal damage unless it's from extreme trauma.  So if you can find a veterinary ophthalmologist, I'd get bun there as soon as possible.

I hope he'll be fine soon!

Dana