weepy eyes

Question
My fuzzy lop male has an eye infection. He has eye matter in and around the eyes. I have cut away the affected fur and cleaned around them. How should I treat this and what is it from? Thanks for the help.

Answer
Among other possibilities, your rabbit could have allergies or an
infection. To determine which, you would need to take him to a vet to get
a "culture and sensitivity" test done of the matter from the eyes. This
will tell if there are bacteria present and if so what kind of antibiotics
are necessary. If there is no infection, your rabbit may have other
problems, including allergies, which they can get just like people.

Check his the insides of his front legs and his nose. If he is also having
nasal discharge, his front legs may be matted from wiping his nose. This
would also be good to know for the vet.

You can wash his eyes with any very simple  sterile saline solution for
eyes. He will not like this but it may make him more comfortable and help
by washing away bacteria or allergens.

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

 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 to both of you!

Gina