Rabbit diseases are not only digestive disorders or infections. The organs of vision can also be affected by diseases. For example, you may notice that tears are flowing from the animal’s eyes. This happens for various reasons. Let's look at why a rabbit's eyes can become watery, what diseases can lead to this, how to treat it at home and prevent problems.
Factors that could have caused
Causes of tearing can be eye microtrauma, blockage or infection.A rabbit can injure its eyes from stems of grass or straw that get into the eyes while absorbing food. Motes and dust get in for the same reason - the hay that is given to the animals turns out to be dusty. Dust gets into the animals' nose, throat and eyes.
A cold is another cause of watery eyes. But in this case, it is not external factors that are to blame, but internal ones. Those animals that live in a cold room with drafts get colds. In winter, rabbits' eyes water from the cold wind. When the rabbits' eyes become watery, they become swollen, red, and the hair around the eyelids falls out.
Diseases that cause tears in rabbits
Tears in a rabbit are caused not by one disease, but by several eye pathologies. There may be other reasons.
Conjunctivitis
Inflammation can occur due to mechanical injuries, infection or drafts. Conjunctivitis can be caused by exposure of the mucous membrane to aggressive substances, for example, when treating cells. It needs to be treated at home with antibiotics. A veterinarian must make a diagnosis and select treatment.
Keratitis
Inflammation of the cornea may be a consequence of conjunctivitis. Either the cause is infection or mechanical damage. In addition to tears, cloudy discharge and mucus flow from the rabbit's eyes. It is important to begin treatment for keratitis immediately, as complications can be serious. You can’t rely on folk remedies to wash your rabbit’s eyes with infusions. Antibiotics are used for treatment.
The consequence of untreated keratitis can be a thorn that severely limits the rabbit's vision. In severe cases, the animal may go blind.
Teeth cutting
Rabbits' teeth grow constantly, and the incisors need to be ground down on food. If grinding is not enough, the tooth grows quickly, may become curved and affect the tear duct. To rule out this cause, you need to examine your rabbit's gums and teeth. If inflammation, redness, swelling are noticeable, and the animal often gnaws at the cage, you need to take action. You need to take your rabbit to the vet because gum problems can occur for a variety of reasons, not just because the teeth are not worn down.
It is necessary to reconsider the diet that rabbits receive. Increasing the proportion of solid feed, for example, dry peas and corn have an effect. For the same purpose, you can feed the animals branches or put pieces of planks in the cage.
Clogged tear duct
The rabbit's eyes become watery due to the ingress of dust and caustic substances; if the rabbits are kept indoors, the bedding is not changed, because it is dusty and dirty. Especially if this happens all the time. If the reason that your eyes are watering is dust and nothing else, you can wash your eyes with warm boiled water or a herbal decoction of chamomile or calendula, tea infusion brewed without sugar. If such measures do not help, and your eyes begin to water again, then the reason is different.
Vitamin deficiency or food intolerance
If a rabbit's eyes are watery, and he himself is depressed, then the reason may be an unbalanced diet, in which there is little of some nutrients and excess of others. The animal moves little and does not eat. Allergies can also cause tearing.
First you need to review the rabbit's diet and adjust it. Most likely, you will need to give him more greens, vitamin food, and foods containing minerals.
It is important to give your rabbit a variety of foods.If the animal eats a monotonous diet, vitamin deficiency cannot be avoided.
When a rabbit has allergies, not only do their eyes become watery, but they also have a runny nose. The animal rubs its muzzle with its paws and sneezes. To eliminate allergies, the animal is left on a diet, and the foods that the animal ate are eliminated from the diet one by one. So, using the method of exclusion, you can find out which plant, vegetable or fruit causes an allergic reaction.
Prevention
Medicines that can be used to treat watery rabbit eyes can be purchased freely at a veterinary pharmacy or at a human pharmacy. These are ointments or drops with antibiotics. They are applied to small cotton swabs and wet the eyes from the outer corner to the inner one. Treatment frequency – 3 or more times a day. Treatment may take up to 2 weeks. To prevent animals on the farm from having watery eyes, you need to keep the cages clean. Change the bedding and leftover food, especially twigs, and ventilate the room if the rabbits do not live outside. Minimize the likelihood of drafts.
Feed rabbits soft hay, without sharp stems. Use soft straw. Properly formulate a diet so that animals do not lack mineral elements and vitamins. If necessary, feed rabbits with vitamin preparations.
In order not to miss the problem and detect it on time, you need to examine the rabbits at least once a week. While the disease is at an early stage, it is not difficult to cure. If your rabbit's eyes are watery, you should look for the cause. Most often, this is an infection that develops at the site of microtrauma. But the reason may be different. To begin treatment, you need to determine what caused the disorder. If you can’t do this yourself, you need to contact a veterinarian.
