Possible eye infection?

[Casuallullaby]

I'm a huge worrier, and I know this could just be normal tears, but I wanted to get some other rabbit owners opinion on whether or not Ziggy might have the start of an eye infection. He's 8 weeks old, completely healthy eating habits and he's having healthy bowel movements, he just has a little bit of sticky in the corner of his eyes.

None of my other rabbits have ever had eye infections, so I would just rather be safe than sorry. Does this look abnormal to anyone?

 

[ts786]

I do not think this is a problem, personally.

If you gently lift the skin above and below the eye, what do you see? How do the whites of her eyes look? Is this happening with one or both eyes? How much are they watering? What color is the discharge?

IMO, eye infections are rare relative to corneal damage, allergies, and foreign particles on the eyes. Hay has tons of small shards that can easily go airborne and wind up in an eye, causing irritation. Larger pieces of hay, and the way rabbits get into mischievous situations & rub their eyes, means corneal abrasions are common...the abrasions are generally self-healing over a few days and do not require medical supervision unless something changes. Finally, allergies can make eyes water as well...and hay is an extremely common allergy.

 

[Casuallullaby]

If I lift the lids they just separate from the eyeball with a little bit of normal clear moisture. The whites look white, it's happening in both eyes and the amount of watering has varied but it hasn't gotten any worse.

I didn't know that rabbits could have an allergy to hay. Is this something they usually outgrow? His digestive system seems to be working perfectly fine so I'd assume if it is allergies it's not too much of a problem.

Thanks for your input. Like I said, I thought I might just be worrying too much, but better safe than sorry.

 

[Azerane]

Watery eyes should not be something that you commonly see in a rabbit.

In this case where both eyes are watering a small amount is likely is due to hay dust or perhaps a reaction to something else in the environment such as litter or something else around your house.

Other common causes of watery eyes include damage to the eye, eye and respiratory infections, and overgrown tooth roots. If it's a result of a hay allergy, you can try a different brand of the hay your using, or another variety of grass hay.

 

[Ivythelionhead]

My rabbit Ivy got a very serious eye infection a few months after a got her, she scratched her eye with her nail which had hay on it and it got into her eye and got infected I got her a antibiotic from my vet and it went away in no time. I have a alergy to grass and pollen and hay but it has slowly gotten better as I've got older but I dunno if its the same for rabbits.

 

[Rabbits4ever2]

it could be serious.
if you see it sticking around on the eye, take buns to the vet immediately.
eye infections can be hard to cure.