I posted here a couple of weeks ago about Pika’s severe corneal ulcer. It was touch and go whether his eye would rupture and need to be removed, which would possibly be fatal with his heart defect. He is fortunately now almost fully recovered and just with a bit of cloudiness/scarring on his eye, which we think will go away with time.
I have 5 rabbits, including a bonded quartet. I have had rabbits for 18+ years and never dealt with something like this. During the time Pika was recovering, our other 9 y/o boy Cadbury kept having fleeting eye irritation. It would get red and weepy, then go away in a few hours. He was just treated for an URI, so we thought it was related to that.
Then tonight, our 1 y/o picture of health girl Inlé was noted to have an obvious, large eye ulcer during a nail trim. She will need to go to the vet first thing and likely start the same treatment as Pika. Luckily, we are thinking we caught it before infection set in. (But the bills are adding up – about $1400 in the last 6 weeks)
Needless to say, after a third rabbit inexplicably developed eye injuries, we went on a frantic search through their habitat for any potential cause. Then we discovered this tunnel.
This isn’t the exact tunnel (it was purchased from either Petco or Petsmart some months back), but it’s very similar: https://www.chewy.com/etna-3-way-tunnel-hanging-balls-cat/dp/1542822?utm\_source=google-product&utm\_medium=organic&utm\_content=Etna&srsltid=AfmBOoogyOomV4FQtGSOip6Q1D5xca-EmMFsvpIjl2me9pp9EB9L1xIqfrg
As seen in my photo, this tunnel is held together by metal wire. This should be held together by a plastic fitting. However, the plastic fitting is low-quality, and the wire inside is very sharp. (I almost cut my finger on it when checking its sharpness)
Our quartet is recently bonded and VERY active. The tunnel is their favorite. We think they were probably being playful and darting in there, causing the severe eye injuries when they hit the wire.
We don’t know this for sure, but I wanted to put out a PSA. Get rid of this toy if you have it. It’s not worth the big vet bills, chance of blindness/deformity, and pain for the bunnies – not for a $15 cat tunnel!
by MameJenny