Causes for corneal ulcers in rabbits

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Akira Yamanouchi Rabbit eye with a corneal ulcer as seen with normal light	Akira Yamanouchi Same eye, seen with black light (Wood's light), after application of the fluorescein dye
Ivy Two year old French lop rabbit suffering from entropion (red arrow) and eye lashes falling on the cornea, accompanied by secondary dacryocystitis (green arrow). This condition can cause damage to the cornea and can be corrected surgically.

Traumatic causes	Bedding, e.g., hay or straw dust in the eye, bars of cage.
	Fighting, scratch by a cat’s nail
	Excessive rubbing, due to the presence of a foreign body, irritation,
	Self-trauma, secondary to conjunctivitis, boredom, irritation, pain

Viral causes

Myxoma virus

Secondary to bacterial causes	Presence of bacteria
	Blepharoconjunctivitis, or a chronic inflammatory infection of the eyelash and oil glands of the eyelids, accompanied by the inflammation of the membrane covering the surface of the eyeball. This disease can relate to the presence of bacteria or viruses (e.g., Myxoma virus).
	Chronic inflammation of the nasolachrymal duct, in that case, the ulcers are typically ventral or superficial.

Eyelid disease	Entropion with the edge of the eyelid that turns inward toward the eye.
	Distichiasis with abnormal growth of an eyelash from the meibomian glands along the eyelid margin.
	Trichiasis, an acquired condition in which the eyelashes are misdirected and grow inwards towards the globe.
	Crenated eyelid

“Mechanical” causes

Dry eyes due to a hindered production of tears.

Special eye conditions	Exophthalmia, causes by a retrobulbar mass (B-cell lymphoma), an abscess
	Ulcer development, secondary to glaucoma.

Diet	Mineral or vitamin deficiencies, e.g., vitamin A deficiency

Surgical causes

Exposure keratopathy, due to anesthesia.

A big thank you to Ivy (Serbia) and Akira Yamanouchi (Japan, Veterinary Exotic Information Network, http://vein.ne.jp/)

for the permission to use their pictures.

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