Morris' eyes look really bad

[crystal]

I am looking after a friend's animals, including chickens, cats, dog etc and also two rabbits. I went over to their house yesterday before they left so they could show me what to do. I noticed that one of the rabbits, Morris, has bad looking eyes. It looks all watery and pussy, sort of like conjunctivitis. Yesterday he could still see, but today when I went over there it looked like both of his eyes were entirely closed.

It's a hot day here, and he didn't seem to be moving around much so I was worried and have brought him to my house. I put him in my spare cage, and he slightly reluctantly sniffed around. He was a little more active but now is lying down.

I don't know a whole lot of info on him, because he isn't mine. What I do know is that when they got him he was very fat, and he is now a fair bit skinnier. I think he is about 1 or 2 years old, and a dwarf lop I guess (much bigger than my Lulu though).

So I guess I am wondering what this is, how serious it is for his health (life), and what I can do to help him. Should I wash around his eyes with water?

I'm having trouble posting pictures, does it work for people to go to the link below?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crissi/4255042213/

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

crystal wrote:

I am looking after a friend's animals, including chickens, cats, dog etc and also two rabbits. I went over to their house yesterday before they left so they could show me what to do. I noticed that one of the rabbits, Morris, has bad looking eyes. It looks all watery and pussy, sort of like conjunctivitis. Yesterday he could still see, but today when I went over there it looked like both of his eyes were entirely closed.

It's a hot day here, and he didn't seem to be moving around much so I was worried and have brought him to my house. I put him in my spare cage, and he slightly reluctantly sniffed around. He was a little more active but now is lying down.

I don't know a whole lot of info on him, because he isn't mine. What I do know is that when they got him he was very fat, and he is now a fair bit skinnier. I think he is about 1 or 2 years old, and a dwarf lop I guess (much bigger than my Lulu though).

So I guess I am wondering what this is, how serious it is for his health (life), and what I can do to help him. Should I wash around his eyes with water?

I'm having trouble posting pictures, does it work for people to go to the link below?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crissi/4255042213/

well,,this puts you in a pickle,,now they are gone,,this-problem-will not wait very long//has either rabbit had their bi annual jabs(immunizations)-for myxi.//.either way yes,the rabbit should be seen by a lagamorph-dvm specialist...the problem is only going to get worse--now,we are talking money//.contact them fot immunization and info about the rabbits//failing to contact them,,means using your money to have the rabbits examination--don,t plan on getting paid back,,/another idea hopefully you have a dvm spec. close by//call them about the symptoms,,,i say specialist because it takes a specialist to recognize myxi--it is lethal and won,t wait//.i am sorry..,an exam,with facial radiographs,antibiotics...are needed--please send a pm...sincerely james waller:rose:

 

[crystal]

We don't have myximatosis (sp?) immunizations here in Australia at all anyway.

Doesn't myxi affect their fur as well? It hadn't crossed my mind that it could be myxi, until mum came home and suggested it. I certainly hope not because it's in my house now! and also if it was myxi, wouldn't their other rabbit have it too? their other rabbits eyes look fine, and he is energetic etc. I am not jumping to conclusions at this stage...

 

[Amy27]

I am not really sure Crystal. But the eye does look red and painful. Could you contact the owners and see if they would pay if you took the rabbit to the vet? When are the owners coming back? Hopefully someone will be along soon who can recommend something you can rinse the eye with or what it might be. But I think the rabbit needs to see a vet.

 

[Maureen Las]

Even if it is not myxi but conjunctivitis it is still an infection that will not get better unless it is treated. You need to either contact them and ask permission to take him to a vet or contact them and tell them you will take him to a vet and pay yourself.

They are irresponsible for leaving you with their rabbit's medical problem which suggests to me that you care about their pets more than they do.

Think it over but the rabbit does need vet care and even if you paid for it you need to let them know what you are doing.
I am so sorry that you are being left in this dreadful situation.
But you are kind enough to recognize the problem and want to help the rabbit .

 

[Pipp]

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/understanding_myxo_feb06.htm

 

[fuzz16]

im not bunny savvy when it comes to this kind of stuff...but...

is he eating with you at all?

and someone correct me if im wrong, taking a warm cloth to wipe the eyes might help a bit with his discomfort

 

[crystal]

Thank you everyone for your responses...

The owners are coming back Sunday night, and it is in the early hours of Saturday morning as I write this (2am here). I could see if the vet is open in the morning, and call the owners and ask if they would pay. If he definitely needs vet care because it's an infection (as said by someone, which is a big help thank you!), then I feel as though I will take him regardless of if they will pay or not (unless they strongly protest). Would people recommend I ring the vet first and ask how much it will cost, so I can give a figure to the owners? It totally shouldn't be my responsibility, and I shouldn't have to pay with my very limited funds but I do want to see this bunny suffer any longer.

I house/pet sat for these people back in August, when they had one other rabbit (who is still alive and doing well as far as I can tell) and at the time he had pretty bad fur mites. it must have been going on for a while but they hadn't done anything about it. anyway I got him some stuff for his skin from the vet, which didn't seem to do much. but after they got back they moved his cage and presumably cleaned it, now his fur is looking healthy. They have a whole lot of pets but they do not all get the right care, they are given the wrong kinds of food etc. anyway it seems like it's only me that notices that they are unwell, whereas they just let it go on...

I did notice when they first got this rabbit, about 2 and a half months ago that his eyes looked a bit weird then also, slightly like they didnt fit in his head, and might be a little swollen... hard to explain. so maybe it's just kept going on and this is the result?

I'm sorry if some of this post is not very coherent, as I said it is around 2am here. I better get some sleep, will check back in my morning before I make the calls.

thanks again for the replies, I really appreciate it.

 

[tonyshuman]

Vet is needed. A warm, damp washcloth is finew to remove the crusty stuff, at least to make him more comfortable. It is probably conjunctivitis based on what you said abou him having weird eyes becore. He may have a tooth root problem impimging on his eyes, or even a congenital eye deformity. He is probably ina great deal of pain and stands to lose the eye if not treated. It was quite irresponsible to leave a sick animal with you. Best of luck getting him vet care and convincing the owners to pay. Poor bunny and poor you!

 

[Maureen Las]

here's more library info

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=14567&forum_id=10

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

crystal wrote:

Thank you everyone for your responses...

The owners are coming back Sunday night, and it is in the early hours of Saturday morning as I write this (2am here). I could see if the vet is open in the morning, and call the owners and ask if they would pay. If he definitely needs vet care because it's an infection (as said by someone, which is a big help thank you!), then I feel as though I will take him regardless of if they will pay or not (unless they strongly protest). Would people recommend I ring the vet first and ask how much it will cost, so I can give a figure to the owners? It totally shouldn't be my responsibility, and I shouldn't have to pay with my very limited funds but I do want to see this bunny suffer any longer.

I house/pet sat for these people back in August, when they had one other rabbit (who is still alive and doing well as far as I can tell) and at the time he had pretty bad fur mites. it must have been going on for a while but they hadn't done anything about it. anyway I got him some stuff for his skin from the vet, which didn't seem to do much. but after they got back they moved his cage and presumably cleaned it, now his fur is looking healthy. They have a whole lot of pets but they do not all get the right care, they are given the wrong kinds of food etc. anyway it seems like it's only me that notices that they are unwell, whereas they just let it go on...

I did notice when they first got this rabbit, about 2 and a half months ago that his eyes looked a bit weird then also, slightly like they didnt fit in his head, and might be a little swollen... hard to explain. so maybe it's just kept going on and this is the result?

I'm sorry if some of this post is not very coherent, as I said it is around 2am here. I better get some sleep, will check back in my morning before I make the calls.

thanks again for the replies, I really appreciate it.

everything starts with a quality diet.//.if-you are correct in your assumption,,i will touch on the basics here and you decide if they have been seriously overlooked.//-non digestible.-(fiber)-hay/24-7/ie.timothy-orchard grass/.this is 70% of the diet--this keeps the teeth,and the gitract happy,,what goes in must go all the way through--so plenty of water-(hydration)-//.now for the digestible foods-quality-lowfat pellets,half cup daily(approx.)--anything else is a treat//fruit tree branches are great to chew on(good for teeth and gitract//.if a majority of the diet is digestible fiber--there are serious implications compromizing the rabbits health and welfare.//.we are victims of our own undoing--because we like to feed them,treats,junk food,etc..--as soon as the belly fills up the chewing stops--overtime the constantly growing teeth become misaligned and the root grows into the eye internal tear duct causing wet fur,and progressing to infection,etc.,gi-stasis etc.,lots of dvm bills$$$,,death...the basics are easily overlooked//.prey animals would rather die than show any weakness--therefore they do,//...sincerely james waller:inlove:ink iris:

 

[Amy27]

crystal wrote:

Thank you everyone for your responses...

The owners are coming back Sunday night, and it is in the early hours of Saturday morning as I write this (2am here). I could see if the vet is open in the morning, and call the owners and ask if they would pay. If he definitely needs vet care because it's an infection (as said by someone, which is a big help thank you!), then I feel as though I will take him regardless of if they will pay or not (unless they strongly protest). Would people recommend I ring the vet first and ask how much it will cost, so I can give a figure to the owners? It totally shouldn't be my responsibility, and I shouldn't have to pay with my very limited funds but I do want to see this bunny suffer any longer.

I house/pet sat for these people back in August, when they had one other rabbit (who is still alive and doing well as far as I can tell) and at the time he had pretty bad fur mites. it must have been going on for a while but they hadn't done anything about it. anyway I got him some stuff for his skin from the vet, which didn't seem to do much. but after they got back they moved his cage and presumably cleaned it, now his fur is looking healthy. They have a whole lot of pets but they do not all get the right care, they are given the wrong kinds of food etc. anyway it seems like it's only me that notices that they are unwell, whereas they just let it go on...

I did notice when they first got this rabbit, about 2 and a half months ago that his eyes looked a bit weird then also, slightly like they didnt fit in his head, and might be a little swollen... hard to explain. so maybe it's just kept going on and this is the result?

I'm sorry if some of this post is not very coherent, as I said it is around 2am here. I better get some sleep, will check back in my morning before I make the calls.

thanks again for the replies, I really appreciate it.

You are such a good bunny sitter to be willing to take this rabbit to the vet and pay for it. I would try to call the vet. See what available times they have and see if they can give you an estimate of the charges. It may be hard though as they may not know what tests they will run until they see him.

I hope you got some sleep. I would seriously think about whether I would pet sit for these people again if they are not willing to pay the vet costs. That shouldn't be your responsibility. I hope everything works out.

 

[crystal]

Just quickly before I rush out the door...

James Waller, I'm pretty sure the diet is not good. I don't know the protein figures and stuff but in my opinion they do not eat the right kind of food, and they have too much dry food (which is too grainy looking).

I spoke to them this morning, they will pay for the vet. so this is good. I have just made an appointment for 11:45, not with the usual vet I go to but apparently this older guy also sees rabbits so hopefully he is knowledgable. my usual guy is probably on holidays at this time of year.

Anyway will come back here after the vet...

 

[crystal]

Took poor Morris to the vet. He is not coming home again, he did have myxo. As much as I didn't want it to be and didn't want to think it was... I couldn't do anything about it.

We were talking with the vet about what I could do to relieve some pain until his owners came back tomorrow to say goodbye. Then I thought it would be worthwhile calling them in case they wanted him put to sleep while I was there, but I didn't think that was likely because I thought the kids would want to say goodbye. Much to my surprise, they said to have him put to sleep when I was there. He had a high temperature, he couldn't see and his mouth and privates were swollen. It's very sad that he had to be put to sleep, but it was the right thing because he was in a bad way and suffering.

I am glad that I could make him more comfortable in his last 24 hours. He would have been more uncomfortable if he had stayed in his hutch outside.

Hopefully their other rabbit, and my rabbits have not been infected. From what the vet said I think it's likely they will be fine. I came home and had a shower and put the clothes I was wearing in the wash.

One last thing I would like comments on, particularly from people with children... The 4 year old boy loved Morris, I think he will be very sad. I was wondering if it would help his grief if I got a photo made up for the boy, Adam, to remember Morris by. As a young kid, can anyone speculate about if they think he will he move on pretty quickly anyway, and a photo will remind him to be sad? or would it give him something nice to remember Morris by... I'm not sure, since I have not had my own children yet. I guess I would like to hear about the experiences of other people, what helped their child grieve the loss of their pet...

This post has become rather long, thanks everyone for your replies and advice.

 

[tonyshuman]

How sad! You really did the best thing for him, and the owners did too. You really went above and beyond in your pet sitting. It was a sad situation, but at least he's not suffering anymore.

 

[Maureen Las]

You are a wonderful person.

It took you coming in there and assessing the situation for that poor rabbit not to have prolonged suffering

I am wondering why their other rabbits were not infected. ?

Seems strange..
Everything in that home should be disinfected so the other rabbits have a better chance of not contracting it.
I suppose that you will have to do that also as it seems like you are the responsible one here.
Why don't you get the child a stuffed rabbit . it would be a new toy and maybe help him focus on that rather than his little friendbeing gone

thanks for being so caring :great::blueribbon:

RIP Little bunny ink iris:

 

[crystal]

They just have other rabbit, but he has not been desexed yet so the two of them are not living together. They are both outside though, and do swap back and forth from one in a cage, and one in the chicken coop, and back again (if that makes sense?). They had not noticed before I went over there on the day they left (thursday) that his eyes looked bad, that was when he was swapped from the chicken coop into the rabbit hutch. so the second rabbit has been living for the past 2 days in the big chicken house where Morris was, which probably wasn't ideal in hindsight but I hadn't really considered that he had myxo. I just thought his eyes were a bit infected and needed treating. since they are coming home tomorrow, and he has already been in there 3 days, all I have done to limit the risk was close the door to a smaller cage that is within the big chicken coop. this was where Morris slept, so it might be more "infected" than everywhere else. I don't think it's my responsibility to clean out the cage, but I might help my friend if the parents are going to make her do everything. we'll see.

thank you for your kind words.

I think there was something else I was going to say but I can't remember haha

 

[sbaxter]

I look after lots of children ,in the respect of helping him to grieve it`s best to let him lead the way, that way he can learn to cope with grief the way that is comfortable for him, i`d make give him a few options of cuddly rabbit,photo,release a balloon in memory etc,some like something to hold onto, some may just need to do the marking of the passing of that pet.RIP little bun,and well done for making his last days comfortable your a credit to us all ray::sosad

 

[crystal]

Yeah you're right, he should grieve how he wants to... thanks for that. I think I will leave it up to them.

I am tired and may be totally over reacting, but I have noticed tonight that my bunny Lopsy's eye looks slightly different to normal. one looks ever so slightly puffy, so of course I have concluded it is myxo and he is going to die... :cry2

does anyone know, if a rabbit comes into contact with myxo, is it possible for them to show signs like 24 hours later? is this too soon? Morris was only in my house for 24 hours, and it is now about 10 hours since Morris left my house. also, he was not within maybe um 6 or 8 metres of Lopsy and Lulu...

I hope I can get a good sleep tonight so I can be more rational and not such a mess tomorrow haha

edit: just so you know, Lopsy is showing no other signs of illness. he was very energetic and wouldnt stay still very long to look at the eye.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

james waller wrote:

crystal wrote:

I am looking after a friend's animals, including chickens, cats, dog etc and also two rabbits. I went over to their house yesterday before they left so they could show me what to do. I noticed that one of the rabbits, Morris, has bad looking eyes. It looks all watery and pussy, sort of like conjunctivitis. Yesterday he could still see, but today when I went over there it looked like both of his eyes were entirely closed.

It's a hot day here, and he didn't seem to be moving around much so I was worried and have brought him to my house. I put him in my spare cage, and he slightly reluctantly sniffed around. He was a little more active but now is lying down.

I don't know a whole lot of info on him, because he isn't mine. What I do know is that when they got him he was very fat, and he is now a fair bit skinnier. I think he is about 1 or 2 years old, and a dwarf lop I guess (much bigger than my Lulu though).

So I guess I am wondering what this is, how serious it is for his health (life), and what I can do to help him. Should I wash around his eyes with water?

I'm having trouble posting pictures, does it work for people to go to the link below?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/crissi/4255042213/

well,,this puts you in a pickle,,now they are gone,,this-problem-will not wait very long//has either rabbit had their bi annual jabs(immunizations)-for myxi.//.either way yes,the rabbit should be seen by a lagamorph-dvm specialist...the problem is only going to get worse--now,we are talking money//.contact them fot immunization and info about the rabbits//failing to contact them,,means using your money to have the rabbits examination--don,t plan on getting paid back,,/another idea hopefully you have a dvm spec. close by//call them about the symptoms,,,i say specialist because it takes a specialist to recognize myxi--it is lethal and won,t wait//.i am sorry..,an exam,with facial radiographs,antibiotics...are needed--please send a pm...sincerely james waller:rose:

it was your location ,,that tipped me off to myxi,,i am so sorry to hear that the little guy will be pts.ink iris::rainbow:..i would have rather been 100%wrong...for more info on this dreaded disease just use google/wikapedia...myxomatosis//-your dvm may have info also as to how to protect against the disease,,or mortality rate in your area.//.people in the uk -rabbits united forum-can infom you also//or any member that lives in your vicinity---this disease is contageous,any other rabbit will be at risk.//.discuss this with your dvm spec...sincerely james waller:inlove:ink iris: