Is there something wrong with my rabbits eyes?

This might just be me, or it's always been like that. But I've noticed one eye is popping more out than the other one. Should I be worried?

A picture would be helpful.

Yes if you can post a clear close up photo from the bunnies nose so we can see both eyes to compare.

It's not normal for their eyes to be bulging and would indicate a likely health condition like glaucoma, retrobulbar abscess, tumor, or thymoma(when both eyes protrude). The only time when it wouldn't be a health condition is when they are just very slightly bulging as a response to stress, which would return to normal when they settle down. When in doubt it's always best to consult with or take your bunny into be seen by an experienced rabbit vet.

Vet visit--could be a tooth/jaw infection.

Nevermind. I was tired and stupid. So sorry ):

JBun said:

Yes if you can post a clear close up photo from the bunnies nose so we can see both eyes to compare.

It's not normal for their eyes to be bulging and would indicate a likely health condition like glaucoma, retrobulbar abscess, tumor, or thymoma(when both eyes protrude). The only time when it wouldn't be a health condition is when they are just very slightly bulging as a response to stress, which would return to normal when they settle down. When in doubt it's always best to consult with or take your bunny into be seen by an experienced rabbit vet.

Click to expand...

Not totally sure actually. Heres a pic

It doesn’t look like there’s anything wrong with his eyes, from what I can see in the picture. If you are really worried, take him to a vet to look at him. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, though. Some bunny parents get paranoid sometimes. I happens to me all the time, haha. Have a hoppy day!

Yeah, I'm not seeing anything obvious or wrong in the photos. But like Kinley said, if you have any concerns it's always better to consult with your rabbit vet.

I've noticed, on all my buns, that one eye does stick out a little more than the other. Since it was all my buns I chopped it up to that same thing about humans - your dominant side is a little larger/stronger than the less dominant side.
I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary but I do see, like with my buns, one eye does appear to look as though it "pops" out more, but this is not anything to worry about. As long as your bun doesn't have discharge, wetness, or keeps rubbing it, loss of fur around the eye, things of that nature then I think your bun is fine.
But, if you are concerned, head to your rabbit savvy vet to have them take a look - but honestly, it doesn't look like there is anything wrong to me. Just watch your bun for any strange behaviors and if you notice them - it might be a good idea to take them to the vet to be sure.

Indeed if one eye is significantly out further than normal, that’s concerning. This happened to Lahi and it was a retrobulbar abscess.



One good way to tell if an eye is doing something funky is to look for the conjunctivia (that pink bit showing at the corner of Lahi’s left eye in the above pictures), which is a structure of the eye that is normally hidden.

Now that said, if you notice two eyes look different, it could be that the eye that’s further out is protruding... it could also be that the other eye is receding. This happens occasionally with my buns, and the conjunctivia ALSO shows when this happens. I panicked the first couple times when this happened, since the conjunctivia and mismatched eyes was the first real sign that Lahi had developed the retrobulbar abscess...

But apparently, according to my vet, “sucking in their eyes” is a totally normal thing for rabbits to do if something is irritating their eyes. It could be something that could clear up with a bit of antibiotics, it could be just debris has been irritating them, but when a rabbit’s eye is sunken in more than normal, rather than protruding more than normal, I’ve been assured it’s not anything truly concerning.

Side note on the conjunctivia: both of Delilah’s always show a bit, the vet calls them “prolapsed”, which means a part of the body that should be internal has become external.



This mostly disappears when she’s relaxed and gets worse when she’s stressed, positively or negatively. It does likely indicate a problem, lops are pretty prone to eye and tooth problems, and she’s already got a blocked tear duct. But no vet has been able to find anything in particular causing it, yet.