My Rabbit Seems to Be Sick (Eye Infection?)

Question
Hi Gina & Kim,
How are you two?  I have had my rabbit for less than a week so far, and now its left eye seems to be infected.  While its right eye is wide open, the left eye is almost completely closed.  I think there is some red below the eye, but I'm not sure.  The rabbit is, I think, a New Zealand rabbit and is three and a half months old.  Please please help me!  Thanks in advance.

Panicking and worried,
-=ViC

Answer
Your rabbit could indeed have an infection, an injury to the eye, or both. She needs to see a competent rabbit vet to determine what is going on and the proper treatment. There are really no good "home remedies" for this.

I hope you already have a good veterinarian for your rabbit. If you have not taken your bunny to the vet before, please try to find one who is experienced with rabbits. Many vets who are very good with dogs and cats are not knowledgeable about rabbits, especially the latest information. The page http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html has suggestions on how to find one. There is a list of some vets at http://www.rabbit.org/care/vets.html and another organization's list at http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/PB_vets.html

You can also contact a nearby House Rabbit Society chapter or other rabbit group for suggestions on good local vets. HRS has a page listing contacts for their own chapters. If there is not one near you, you can look for a nearby independent group using the HRS contacts page http://www.rabbit.org/links/index.html

Good luck.

Gina