3rd eyelid shows when eating treats

[DonnyMommy]

Donny (who I have had for 4 weeks now) has his 3rd eye lid peak out at VERY odd times. (Times that I really don't think are fear related).

He will eat his normal pellet food with his eyes looking all normal. But when I give him one of his favorite herbs to eat OR a treat like a 2 inch carrot piece or a banana piece (he gets 'treats' about once a week maximum) he will really dive down on them chewing them and then his 3rd eyelid will show a little bit. He does the same thing when he is "grooming" and licking me or anyone else. The 3rd eyelid will peak.

I have read that him showing that indicates fear, stress, or uneasiness but the thing is I have seen him REALLY show his 3rd eyelid with fear. I lost my balance when trying to walk around his 'kennel' and fell not far from him. He took off running with the 3rd lid REALLY showing. When he showed it then vs when he shows it when he is grooming or eating a favorite treat is different. When he is grooming or eating a favored food it looks very tiny. When he is full blown scared it is further out. He's done this as long as I have known him. I don't think its stress with trying to eat because I (finally) checked his teeth and they are beautiful. Maybe aggression is mixed in with his love for his awesome goodies as in "Oh man this is the best! KEEP AWAY MINES!!!"
But then that wouldn't explain the grooming...

 

[JBun]

It's not a common occurrence to be seeing a rabbits third eyelid very often. For you to be seeing it so frequently when your bun is eating and grooming, may be a cause for concern.

Yes, severe stress/fright can be one reason you will see it, but health problems are also another possible cause. Because this is occurring when your rabbit seems happy, it's possible that there is an underlying health issue causing this.

Your bun is a flemish giant correct? Heart problems are one possible cause of a protruding third eye lid in a rabbit, particularly if this is happening when your buns head is lowered. With large breed rabbits like flemish, unfortunately heart problems are not an uncommon genetic trait with the breed. The fact that you are seeing it when your bun is excited over a treat could be because that elevates the heart rate, putting more stress on the heart, as well as the lowered head putting increased stress on the heart.

Now, I am not a vet and I am just making a guess based on symptoms and the breed of your rabbit, so it is very possible that my guess is wrong and your bun could be perfectly fine. The best thing would be to see a rabbit savvy vet that preferably has experience with this type of thing, and can rule this in or out. If you have plans on getting him neutered, you will definitely want to look into this beforehand as heart problems will put a rabbit more at risk when having a GA, and neutering may not be a safe option.

Hopefully I'm wrong, but I thought you should be aware of the possibility just in case there might be a problem.

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/GiantRabbitCareGuidelines.pdf
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Differential/Nictitating.htm

 

[DonnyMommy]

Thank you so much for the information! I had no idea that flemish giants could get such an issue.

 

[JBun]

Your welcome. Flemish are lovely rabbits and are often wonderful pets, but because of being a large breed, there are a few health issues that they seem more prone to having than smaller breed rabbits. The first link I shared has some good info about the various health issues that you want to look out for with the larger breed rabbit.

 

[DonnyMommy]

Yeah I was hoping otherwise but I picked him. Oh well. He might love me conditionally... but mine towards him will be unconditional.