10 week old giant - bulgy eye (photo)

[eleanoresaffron]

Hi!

I went to visit some breeders today for purchasing a baby giant rabbit. The first breeder I saw - for Flemish Giants - was terrible. He told me the rabbits were ready to go home - but were only tiny! About 3 weeks I'd say! And they had lice and one was sneezing!

The second place I went to was nicer - healthy British Giants. I saw both parents and picked up a few of the 10 week old babies. All seeming healthy. Unfortunately my husband was so set on getting a black one that I inspected the only black one for about ten minutes and asked the breeder a lot of questions.

My concern was his eyes. His 3rd eyelid looked a bit bulgy. But the lady reassured me and he seems otherwise healthy - eating, sniffing around, flopping out(have not seen him poo or wee yet - but have only had him for about 3 hours). and I remembered seeing my other rabbits third eyelid sometimes when picked up.

I was planning on taking him to the vet anyway to make sure he is healthy before introducing to our current rabbit. But now I am thinking maybe I should take a bit of time off work and take him to the rabbit specialist (about 40 minutes away). Because if I take him to my normal vet I feel I could get a misdiagnosis. As I thought it may have just been a bit of infection. But I did see a bit of discharge in the corner of his eye too. Then I looked it up and saw about cherry eye which made me scared! I'd hate for him to have an operation or something else more serious wrong!

What have I done? Just want to help this little guy!

Thanks!

 

[eleanoresaffron]

Update - is pooping

 

[ZRabbits]

Good to hear he's pooping. And I would definitely take the 40 minute ride to the Rabbit Savvy Specialist. The discharge has got me worried. I didn't catch Neville's eye discharge fast enough, and it turned into "Wry Neck". Discharges from eyes in rabbits do tell you something is amiss. With him being only 10 weeks old, sickness comes on real fast. Believe me, I know about how fast it can happen.

Hope you keep us updated on your new Big Sweetie!

K

 

[kmaben]

My kai baby (a german giant) kind of had the same problem. I was worried because both his third eyelids stuck out a bit and made him look super crazy. Our rabbit savy vet said it was normal we just had to get used to it. She said he should eventually grow into them but they would always be visible. They're actually pretty helpful. His got really red and swollen when he started in on a URI. I can tell when he's stressed, sick, or happy by the changes in his third eye lids.

 

[eleanoresaffron]

kmaben - yes we just found out our new giant 'Gethin' is like that too.
Glad to know it's normal for some bunnies. And look forward to getting used to it - and reading his moods from it I guess. How funny.
My husband took him to the rabbit specialist yesterday. They said he is healthy except for scrathes to 25% of his eyes (they used the dye to check). So he is on pain killers once a day and antibiotic drops for his eyes 3 times a day.
I am taking him back on Thursday night to check his progress.
Thanks for your help!

 

[kmaben]

yikes! Hope Gethin behaves better for you when it comes to taking medications. For Kai it's like fighting with a greased bull. Harder to hold down then the smaller breeds. Plus he would headbutt us. Bigger mouth to bite you with. Good luck! Glad to find another giant owner. They are truly unique rabbits.

 

[eleanoresaffron]

kmaben - poor Kai. I can imagine how he feels!
Gethin does okay with his eye drops and pain killers. This morning he was onto me though and didn't want to take the syringe in his mouth! Hopefully it's all over soon and he can get on with his normal life. Despite this he appears to be a very content & friendly rabbit.
How old is Kai? Would you say he has grown into his eyelids at all?
All the best for you and your giant!

 

[kmaben]

Kai will be four months on the 8th of June. He's about 10 pounds and kind of sorta grown into them. It seems like everything is growing except his head. They're not as pronounced as they were when we first got him at 8 weeks. we have a blog (shya she does what she wants) and there are some pictures of him there. I dont know about flemmie's but Kai is pretty agile for being so big. And he likes to break things plus he has the mass to do it. You'll really enjoy watching him grow. You can almost see it daily. Again good luck with the meds. It'll be over before you know it. He wont hold it against you. :wink