May 2011
Thumper is the Three Legged Cross Playgroup pet rabbit. He is a dwarf lion-haired rabbit and true to his name, once he has had enough of me, he thumps! During school time, he is fed and watered by the staff and children at the playgroup but during the holidays he enjoys a luxurious spa break in the playgroup manager’s conservatory! Having been around children that adore him for a little while now (he is older than most of the playgroup girls and boys!!) he is extremely tolerant.
I have been seeing Thumper on and off for 2 years now. He has had repeated problems with his 3rd eyelid. The 3rd eyelid is a small sheet of tissue that slides over the corneal surface of the eye under the eyelids to offer added protection. They are needed in cats, dogs and rabbits as their eyelid anatomy is slightly different from our own. This membrane has its own blood vessels, lymphatic supply and tear glands. One of the main glands in both of Thumper’s third eyelids (also known as the nicitans membrane) has a tendency to prolapse. This scrolls the whole membrane forwards so it protrudes at the corner of the eye. If the membrane is pushed out for a prolonged period it can become dry, swollen and bruised. It can also cause the eye surface to dehydrate which can cause major infections and pain. Usually a short course of eye drops is enough to reduce the swelling in the nicitans gland so it slides back into place but unfortunately, on this occasion the normal drops had no effect.
We tried other types of drops but nothing seemed to help. Our only option was to operate on Thumper and try to stitch the glands back into the correct place. This is a fiddly procedure which involves extra small operating instruments and very thin suture material. All seemed to go according to plan and Thumper woke up well from his anaesthetic – he started eating almost as soon as his eyes were open!
Two weeks on the swollen membranes are beginning to settle and the glands are sitting back in the correct place. Thumper is now back at the nursery with his guinea pig companion and all the little ones!
