Concerned about my rabbits eye

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MuffinNibblesmollyXOXO

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Hi . I have two lion head cross angora bunnies. One of my rabbits nibbles has almost everyday had a problem with her right eye her fur is very long around her face and hay almost always gets caught in her eye and her eye will be very red and I'd have to flush it out with saline solution and take out the hay with a cotton bud I do cut her fur away from her eyes but that doesn't seem to be helping at all and also her fur gets caught in her eye to but it's only ever the right eye

I don't understand y because her brother muffin is the same breed has longer and thicker fur and I've never had a problem with his eye could anyone give advice on how to prevent this
 
If you think its just the fur irritating the eye, I would take them to the vets (together) or a groomer whos done rabbits before, and have them trim the hair around the face and eyes on a regular basis. You could attempt this yourself but please be very very careful.
Even if rabbits are siblings they can have very different hair. Longer and thicker means it may be less likely to flop all over the place. My 2 are slightly different in their manes. My male has a much longer mane and fuzzier butt then his sister.
 
I've cut there hair many times but it's really cold here now so I let there hair growth out they r in my room but my house is old and gets cold easily but I think I'll just have to give her a hair cute tonight and see how it goes
 
I'd love to take her to a groomer but unfortunately we don't have any rabbit groomer her in Ireland that I know of anyway ;(
 
I am also dealing with a rabbit with inflamed and infected eyes right now. Do you see any sort of mucus discharge from the eyes? If the eyelids are red and inflamed o would take him to the vet. My rabbit had small ulcers in both eyes, even though one eye looked totally normal. He also had an infection of the skin around the eye, called conjunctivitis, it's equivalent to pink eye in humans. He needed antibiotic eye drops and another eye drop to help the corneas heal from the ulcers.
 
I used this for myself and rabbits alike
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00006J3G8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

IMO, it does a good job at giving the eye rest and preventing damage from some types of particles. As these drops are rather thick, they tend to last a long time and they keep the crusties that form at the sides of the eyes in a softened state. That way, if the rabbit rubs his/her eyes and unintentionally pushes those crusties into the eye (which in my experience happens a LOT), it's a soft particle rather than a rock hard one that can scratch parts of the eye. It also reduces irritation, which I think can speed healing by reducing the frequency of eye rubbing. YMMV
 
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Hi thanxs for all the help and advice everyone I really appreciate it. . I cut all the fur around her head not just her eyes which never seems to make much difference and she is doing a lot better and seems more happier ! It took me forever to cut her hair because she wouldn't sit still but I got it done in the end. I think I will purchase those drops incase it happens again which it probably will .. I'm also going to purchase a pair of clippers for her that will make it easier for me to cut he hair on a regular basis

Scaredy Cut Silent Pet Clipper, Pink https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JDP4UG/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
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It's worth having those drops for when something happens. From my own experiences, I think that rabbits tend to have eye issues more frequently than dogs. I think a major reason is that the eye shape and the way rabbits rub their eyes make it easy to push crusted discharge that has hardened, or other foreign matter, into the eyes and damaging them in the process. The tendency of hay to have small, sharp shards that can be light enough to go airborne doesn't help either, and it's impossible to completely avoid this short of not feeding any hay at all (which would obviously cause even more serious issues than eye injury or irritation). On a good note, corneal abrasions tend to heal rapidly without requiring major action in most cases, and I think rabbits eyes heal even more rapidly than our own. Those drops help reduce irritation to encourage healing, and they can help reduce the frequency of eye rubbing (which obviously can slow healing by doing more damage.) Drops that are thicker are preferable to thin liquids because they last longer (and, at least for people, usually provide much more relief.)

While this is a moral discussion all on its own, those drops (and most human eye drop products for that matter) have been extensively tested on rabbits and have established a low probability of serious adverse reaction.

With that said, I personally avoid products like Clear Eyes or Visine as these eye drops have some pretty significant concerns that have only recently come to light (most of these regard chronic use but still.) Brands like Refresh, Blink, and Systane are IMO preferable despite the premium pricing. The products that are thicker are better for rabbits, and, in the case of extreme eye irritation, some of the gel/ointment products can be very useful as they give the longest duration. In the case of extreme damage, such as a *very* severe corneal abrasion, medicated drops/ointments may be necessary to reduce the itching/irritation and to prevent secondary infection (for example, eye drops with an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, or both, although I am not sure what particular brands are used with rabbits.)
 

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