My pair of rabbits, Bunnie and Clyde, just had a "litter" of bunnies.
Actually there are only two live babies and when I was examining them and the box, I discovered a dead baby.
Not unusual, many times you find a dead baby in a litter, so I picked it up to give it a quick look to see if I could see any anomaly.
Oh boy, did I ever.
One eye in the center of it's face, no nostrils and the snout was tapered and not well formed.
But the weirdest thing was the fleshy protrusion over it's eye.. really bizarre.
My bff and I both called it a cyclops.
After researching, I found the following:
Cyclopia is a rare birth defect that can occur in baby rabbits, causing a single large eye in the center of the face and other abnormalities:
Features: A single large eye in the center of the face, a proboscis above the eye, and a smaller than normal head with no openings for the ears, mouth, or nose
Cause: A failure of the embryonic prosencephalon to properly divide the orbits of the eye into two cavities
Incidence: 1 in 16,000 in born animals and 1 in 200 in miscarried fetuses
Survival: Most cases are not viable
I have pictures.
I find it educational. Some people find it offensive.
Should I post?
Actually there are only two live babies and when I was examining them and the box, I discovered a dead baby.
Not unusual, many times you find a dead baby in a litter, so I picked it up to give it a quick look to see if I could see any anomaly.
Oh boy, did I ever.
One eye in the center of it's face, no nostrils and the snout was tapered and not well formed.
But the weirdest thing was the fleshy protrusion over it's eye.. really bizarre.
My bff and I both called it a cyclops.
After researching, I found the following:
Cyclopia is a rare birth defect that can occur in baby rabbits, causing a single large eye in the center of the face and other abnormalities:
Features: A single large eye in the center of the face, a proboscis above the eye, and a smaller than normal head with no openings for the ears, mouth, or nose
Cause: A failure of the embryonic prosencephalon to properly divide the orbits of the eye into two cavities
Incidence: 1 in 16,000 in born animals and 1 in 200 in miscarried fetuses
Survival: Most cases are not viable
I have pictures.
I find it educational. Some people find it offensive.
Should I post?
