Pipp
Well-Known Member
This series was posted on Craigslist by Carrie, I contacted her and she may have posted here. (Sorry, I forget!)
Here's the background (Craigslist posts, copied with permission):
Question about Eye Problems in Rabbit
Reply to: [email protected] [?]
Date: 2009-01-16, 10:40PM PST
Hi there,
I have a female lionhead dwarf rabbit who it 3 or 4 years old. After I got here, she developed (very quickly) a white "coating" in here eye - it kinda looked like a cataract that people get. At the time I lived in Abbotford and took her to a vet there - he said it was a cataract, and not to worry as it wouldn't hurt her and surgery would be ridiculously expensive and complicated. It was fine and stayed the same for a couple years until now. A few months ago, I noticed it looked bigger and took her to a rabbit specialist vet in Surrey, who said that it wasn't a cataract, it had the characteristics of more of a "growth" kinda thing, but she could still see ok and was in no pain. Both times I bought eye drops for her to rule out infections, etc. Both vets also put various drops in her eyes and did full inspections, so these vague diagnosis' are not because I'm cheap
Anyway,today when I fed her I notices her whole eye was covered in pus and all her eyelids and surrounding area. I wiped it away as best I could, but was worried about hurting her. From what I can see right now, 90% of her eye is pure white, and the eye is smaller and more sunken in than her other eye which is normal. Also, by the corner of her eye, it looks very red, raw and irritated. I have been giving her drops for infection for awhile (it was an ongoing bi-weekly thing both vets had recommended) so I think it is more a problem to do with the actual eye.
Has anyone else had this problem? I will take her to the vet tomorrow, but would love it if anyone had advice or maybe something I could mention to the vet to help them figure out the problem.
Thanks,
Carrie
Edit: I forgot to mention, my rabbit (Aurora) has never been in any pain that we've been able to see through out this. She has never shyed away from us touching her eye, head, etc., and the white of her eye has never been too pink/red or irritated. Even tonight, as gross as she looks, she didn't react at all when I was wiping her eye and trying to see it, etc. So that is at least one good thing, and the reason why I'm not rushing her to the emergency vet tonight.
Update on Eye Problems in Rabbit
Reply to: [email protected] [?]
Date: 2009-01-17, 1:06PM PST
For those interested in more information on this for their own sake or in case it happens to their rabbits, I also posted it on a forum recommended to me by a craigslist user. You can see it and it's replies here:
http://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab.../1/view/topic/postid/93576/Default.aspx#93591
********************************************************************************
Hi everyone, and thanks for replying so quickly.
I have been on the phone with many vets in my area this morning. The vet I go to is called King George Animal Hospital, and the vet is Dr. Sharon Prus. She is a Rabbit Specialist. However, she is out of the office until Monday. They recommended I call Kennedy Heights Animal Hospital, who also has a rabbit specialist. After calling I found out that he is out of office until Monday, and they said my usual vet has more training in rabbits and so I should wait to see her.
I also called Eagle Ridge Animal Hospital to see if I can see Dr. Upjohn, who is recommended by many people and animal rescue/advocacy groups in the area, and he is away until the 28th, which leaves them with no rabbit specialist either.
All 3 vets (well, receptionists) said it is probably some sort of infection that is looking a lot worse because of her "cataract" or whatever it is that was in her eye previously. Although it looks very gross and horrible to me (which the vets said are common of eye infections), she doesn't seem to be in pain as she is eating, drinking, and pooping normally, carrying out normal activities, not shying away when I go to touch her, or not moving away when I "clean" her eye. Also, she is not swaying her head or any other abnormal behaviour. The vets said unless it actually started bleeding or she started acting differently, my best bet would be to probably wait until Monday, when I can get in to see her regular vet.
The eyedrops previously prescribed for her were Tobradex Opthamalic Suspension, with the instructions to put one drop in the right eye twice a week on a continual basis. When calling the vets today I asked if I should continued this they said yes, to give her drops for today and tomorrow, and then she will be in Monday at 3:45pm. Unless, of course, there are any changes in her eye or behaviour, and then we will have to make some more calls.
I will try to take some pictures of it, but my digital camera is broken, so I will have to use my cellphone. I won't post them on here because they might gross people out. However, if you would like them either to see what I am talking about, or for future reference for your own rabbits, I can email them to you.
So thank you all for all your help, and I will update on Monday after the vet to let you know how it's going.
Update in Eye Prblems In Rabbit
Reply to: [email protected] [?]
Date: 2009-02-09, 1:19PM PST
Hi everyone. This is an update to my previous posts about the eye problems my rabbit has. I've recieved many emails and concern from people, so thank you all.
You can read my first post here:
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pet/996152633.html
And my first update here:
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pet/996836893.html
Now, here is what is new:
Vet Visit #1:
I took Aurora (my rabbit) to the vet on Monday Jan. 19th. Upon examintation, the doctor wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but said to leave her for a week and they would slowly work on here. They cleaned out here eye, and realized she had an abscess so they did a surgery to clean it out. They decided to leave her eye in, as they thought she would have a better chance of healing, less infection, etc than if they took the eye out and had a larger cavity to deal with. I picked her up on Friday Jan 23rd, and the vet processes and bill were as follows: $48 for the examination, $85 for eye abscess surgery, $15 for fluid therapy, $85 for anesthesia, $36 for medication given there, and $60 for medication I took home (she is on 2 oral meds and one eye drop) and $18 for hospitalization. So vet visit #1 cost $347 and was diagnosed as an eye abscess. It was hopefully supposed to get better, and I needed to bring her in in a week for a check up.
Vet Visit #2:
I took her back to the Vet on Fri. Jan. 30th, and the doctor said she looked a little better and to keep giving meds, etc. The recheck cost was $24 and the anesthesia cost was $35 (they gave her a local to clean out her eye a little). I needed to bring her back in in another week for another check up. Vet visit number 2 cost $59. Oh, they also packed her eye with antibiotic balls and medicated gauze for no extra cost Meds continue as before.
Vet Visit #3:
I dropped her off at the Vet this Friday Feb. 6th, and picked her up this Monday morning. They had to do a another eye surgery on her. There was no charge for the examination or recheck, so that was really nice. The eye surgery cost $100, and they packed her eye with antibiotic balls again and this time stitched it shut. Fluid therapy was $15. Anethesia was $85. $25 for injected meds there. I had to buy more meds too because hers were out. She is not on the eye drops anymore as it is stitched, but she is on the same 2 oral drops which were another $40. Hospitalization was $24. This surgery there was no pus, etc when the vet was cleaning here - just lots of tissue mass. So she took a sample to send to the lab - $60 - to see if it is a tumor - in which case she said nothing can really be done and she should be put down. Those result will be in later this week as she is sending the sample today. Vet visit #3 cost $362.
So all in all vet costs have been $768 so far. I've mentioned the costs for a couple reasons. For one, when I was trying to research her problem. I couldn't find any sites that said how much money I could expect to spend to treat her, so this might be a good reference for any of you who might encounter this kind of problem. Another reason is because these prices seem very fair and reasonable. The vet is King George Animal Hospital, and the vet is Sharon Prus. She is a rabbit specialist, and has been very kind and caring. I can definately tell this vet is not in it for the money, but for the love of pets, and I would love to recommend her to anyone looking for good animal care.
The other reason I posted the vet bills is in case anyone has any money they can contribute to them. If you don't want to, please don't send hate mail as it will be ignored, just ignore my request. If you can and want to, please email me and we can talk via email or phone about it. Any amount is appreciated, as she is still needing to go back in for more check ups in one week, and probably a couple more times. (Unless it is a tumor.) But right now all the money owed is sitting on my visa card, and I would appreciate any help anyone can afford. Also, I would love suggestions if anyone knows where you can apply to recieve financial aid for your animals. I would also be willing to barter sevices for money (babysit, create a website, create and edit videos for your personal or buisness use, etc...)
If I have forgotten anything let me know and I can make an edit to this main post, or if you have any questions about the vet or your own rabbit or anything feel free to email me. Thanks!
Carrie
Here's the background (Craigslist posts, copied with permission):
Question about Eye Problems in Rabbit
Reply to: [email protected] [?]
Date: 2009-01-16, 10:40PM PST
Hi there,
I have a female lionhead dwarf rabbit who it 3 or 4 years old. After I got here, she developed (very quickly) a white "coating" in here eye - it kinda looked like a cataract that people get. At the time I lived in Abbotford and took her to a vet there - he said it was a cataract, and not to worry as it wouldn't hurt her and surgery would be ridiculously expensive and complicated. It was fine and stayed the same for a couple years until now. A few months ago, I noticed it looked bigger and took her to a rabbit specialist vet in Surrey, who said that it wasn't a cataract, it had the characteristics of more of a "growth" kinda thing, but she could still see ok and was in no pain. Both times I bought eye drops for her to rule out infections, etc. Both vets also put various drops in her eyes and did full inspections, so these vague diagnosis' are not because I'm cheap
Anyway,today when I fed her I notices her whole eye was covered in pus and all her eyelids and surrounding area. I wiped it away as best I could, but was worried about hurting her. From what I can see right now, 90% of her eye is pure white, and the eye is smaller and more sunken in than her other eye which is normal. Also, by the corner of her eye, it looks very red, raw and irritated. I have been giving her drops for infection for awhile (it was an ongoing bi-weekly thing both vets had recommended) so I think it is more a problem to do with the actual eye.
Has anyone else had this problem? I will take her to the vet tomorrow, but would love it if anyone had advice or maybe something I could mention to the vet to help them figure out the problem.
Thanks,
Carrie
Edit: I forgot to mention, my rabbit (Aurora) has never been in any pain that we've been able to see through out this. She has never shyed away from us touching her eye, head, etc., and the white of her eye has never been too pink/red or irritated. Even tonight, as gross as she looks, she didn't react at all when I was wiping her eye and trying to see it, etc. So that is at least one good thing, and the reason why I'm not rushing her to the emergency vet tonight.
Update on Eye Problems in Rabbit
Reply to: [email protected] [?]
Date: 2009-01-17, 1:06PM PST
For those interested in more information on this for their own sake or in case it happens to their rabbits, I also posted it on a forum recommended to me by a craigslist user. You can see it and it's replies here:
http://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab.../1/view/topic/postid/93576/Default.aspx#93591
********************************************************************************
Hi everyone, and thanks for replying so quickly.
I have been on the phone with many vets in my area this morning. The vet I go to is called King George Animal Hospital, and the vet is Dr. Sharon Prus. She is a Rabbit Specialist. However, she is out of the office until Monday. They recommended I call Kennedy Heights Animal Hospital, who also has a rabbit specialist. After calling I found out that he is out of office until Monday, and they said my usual vet has more training in rabbits and so I should wait to see her.
I also called Eagle Ridge Animal Hospital to see if I can see Dr. Upjohn, who is recommended by many people and animal rescue/advocacy groups in the area, and he is away until the 28th, which leaves them with no rabbit specialist either.
All 3 vets (well, receptionists) said it is probably some sort of infection that is looking a lot worse because of her "cataract" or whatever it is that was in her eye previously. Although it looks very gross and horrible to me (which the vets said are common of eye infections), she doesn't seem to be in pain as she is eating, drinking, and pooping normally, carrying out normal activities, not shying away when I go to touch her, or not moving away when I "clean" her eye. Also, she is not swaying her head or any other abnormal behaviour. The vets said unless it actually started bleeding or she started acting differently, my best bet would be to probably wait until Monday, when I can get in to see her regular vet.
The eyedrops previously prescribed for her were Tobradex Opthamalic Suspension, with the instructions to put one drop in the right eye twice a week on a continual basis. When calling the vets today I asked if I should continued this they said yes, to give her drops for today and tomorrow, and then she will be in Monday at 3:45pm. Unless, of course, there are any changes in her eye or behaviour, and then we will have to make some more calls.
I will try to take some pictures of it, but my digital camera is broken, so I will have to use my cellphone. I won't post them on here because they might gross people out. However, if you would like them either to see what I am talking about, or for future reference for your own rabbits, I can email them to you.
So thank you all for all your help, and I will update on Monday after the vet to let you know how it's going.
Update in Eye Prblems In Rabbit
Reply to: [email protected] [?]
Date: 2009-02-09, 1:19PM PST
Hi everyone. This is an update to my previous posts about the eye problems my rabbit has. I've recieved many emails and concern from people, so thank you all.
You can read my first post here:
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pet/996152633.html
And my first update here:
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/pet/996836893.html
Now, here is what is new:
Vet Visit #1:
I took Aurora (my rabbit) to the vet on Monday Jan. 19th. Upon examintation, the doctor wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but said to leave her for a week and they would slowly work on here. They cleaned out here eye, and realized she had an abscess so they did a surgery to clean it out. They decided to leave her eye in, as they thought she would have a better chance of healing, less infection, etc than if they took the eye out and had a larger cavity to deal with. I picked her up on Friday Jan 23rd, and the vet processes and bill were as follows: $48 for the examination, $85 for eye abscess surgery, $15 for fluid therapy, $85 for anesthesia, $36 for medication given there, and $60 for medication I took home (she is on 2 oral meds and one eye drop) and $18 for hospitalization. So vet visit #1 cost $347 and was diagnosed as an eye abscess. It was hopefully supposed to get better, and I needed to bring her in in a week for a check up.
Vet Visit #2:
I took her back to the Vet on Fri. Jan. 30th, and the doctor said she looked a little better and to keep giving meds, etc. The recheck cost was $24 and the anesthesia cost was $35 (they gave her a local to clean out her eye a little). I needed to bring her back in in another week for another check up. Vet visit number 2 cost $59. Oh, they also packed her eye with antibiotic balls and medicated gauze for no extra cost
Meds continue as before. Vet Visit #3:
I dropped her off at the Vet this Friday Feb. 6th, and picked her up this Monday morning. They had to do a another eye surgery on her. There was no charge for the examination or recheck, so that was really nice. The eye surgery cost $100, and they packed her eye with antibiotic balls again and this time stitched it shut. Fluid therapy was $15. Anethesia was $85. $25 for injected meds there. I had to buy more meds too because hers were out. She is not on the eye drops anymore as it is stitched, but she is on the same 2 oral drops which were another $40. Hospitalization was $24. This surgery there was no pus, etc when the vet was cleaning here - just lots of tissue mass. So she took a sample to send to the lab - $60 - to see if it is a tumor - in which case she said nothing can really be done and she should be put down. Those result will be in later this week as she is sending the sample today. Vet visit #3 cost $362.
So all in all vet costs have been $768 so far. I've mentioned the costs for a couple reasons. For one, when I was trying to research her problem. I couldn't find any sites that said how much money I could expect to spend to treat her, so this might be a good reference for any of you who might encounter this kind of problem. Another reason is because these prices seem very fair and reasonable. The vet is King George Animal Hospital, and the vet is Sharon Prus. She is a rabbit specialist, and has been very kind and caring. I can definately tell this vet is not in it for the money, but for the love of pets, and I would love to recommend her to anyone looking for good animal care.
The other reason I posted the vet bills is in case anyone has any money they can contribute to them. If you don't want to, please don't send hate mail as it will be ignored, just ignore my request. If you can and want to, please email me and we can talk via email or phone about it. Any amount is appreciated, as she is still needing to go back in for more check ups in one week, and probably a couple more times. (Unless it is a tumor.) But right now all the money owed is sitting on my visa card, and I would appreciate any help anyone can afford. Also, I would love suggestions if anyone knows where you can apply to recieve financial aid for your animals. I would also be willing to barter sevices for money (babysit, create a website, create and edit videos for your personal or buisness use, etc...)
If I have forgotten anything let me know and I can make an edit to this main post, or if you have any questions about the vet or your own rabbit or anything feel free to email me. Thanks!
Carrie
