Abcess

[WanderingWabbit]

Hey guys!

So I have had Tuesday now for 2.5 weeks... After finding her on a Tuesday evening.. Early this week I noticed a bump on her face by her mouth.. Looked like a large mosquito bite so I let it sit for a few days.. I was looking at her today and looking at it and pushed on it a bit and loads and loads of creamy colored sticky pus just started coming out.. Didn't stink thankfully... So I got it all out. Bless her heart. I thought she was going to have a heart attack... I cleaned it with peroxide and I guess I will go to the vet in the morning and hope I don't overdraw my account.. as I never planned to have a rabbit! Any advice as to what could have happened? Or how to treat it until morning? And I guess while I am there I will enquire about having her spayed.. I think I may keel over from the stench of her urine!

Edit to ad this:




IMMEDIATE INFORMATION:


Location Tennessee

Description (Breed, color, weight) Silver

Age unknown

Sex F

Concise Summary of the Rabbit's Condition:



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / CHECK LIST: (Please fill in relevant info).

Fecal and Urinary Output

- are the bunny's poops and pees normal? yes
- when did they last use their litterbox? a bit ago
- any unusual behavior? straining to pee? unusual litter habits?shaking water out of water bottle...
- what litter and/or bedding do you use? Dog pee pad

Medical History

- spayed/neutered? no
- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before? no
- is s/he on any medications? no

Diet

- what specifically does your bunny eat? Zupreem pellets and Western timothy
- when and what did s/he eat last? 5 mins ago
- any changes in the way s/he eats? (ie: not eating a particular food, odd chewing motions, etc) no


Other

- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally? yes
- is the rabbit molting? no
- any weight loss? no
- any sign of drooling? wet face? no
- runny eyes? no
- wet nose? coughing? sneezing? Sneezing occasionaly, past 3 days.
- is s/he breathing normally: yes

Additional

- any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach? no
- has the rabbit been outdoors? yes, 2 weeks ago when I found her.
- any other pets? if so, have they been ill?2 dogs, many hamsters; no

 

[ra7751]

First....do not use peroxide. Not a good thing on rabbit skin. That appears to be a dental abscess so an x-ray to look at the roots of the teeth and the structure of the jaw should be in order. I have had perfect success on numerous abscesses in treating with a combination of injectable Pen G and high end dosing of Azithromycin. This combo has the punch to get to the core of the abscess which is where the drugs need to be. The urine smell could be from the infection. And she certainly should be on very aggressive pain meds.

Randy

 

[tonyshuman]

I agree with Randy. For now, you can give some home pain meds. This site has dosing info for Motrin (ibuprofen) and aspirin:
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html
It won't do much for the pain, but should at least help a little until you can get her to a vet.

The abscess will need to be seen under x-ray to determine if teeth are causing it, and if so, the teeth will need to be removed.

No matter the cause of the abscess, you will need a very aggressive antibiotic treatment. Do not let the vet send you home with just a bottle of oral Baytril. Injectible Pen G benzathine/procaine every other day plus oral azithromycin is a good course. Other good options are cloramphenicol (oral) or injectible Convenia. Do not let the vet send you home with anything other than one of these choices. This article is very helpful and I would print it out and take it to the vet unless you already know the vet is good:
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~jwmoore/bicillin/bicillin.htm

 

[WanderingWabbit]

Did not get to go to the vet today. Had to go into work and have a very not so understanding boss. I'll go Monday AM.. but am now worried as I do not have the funds for an Xray. My vet charges $80 for Xrays.... When I found this rabbit two weeks ago, I had no idea all this would happen so soon when I have no money. I am behind on bills and am hoping to get caught up...

 

[Nancy McClelland]

check around your area for any rescue organizations and see if they have any vet recommendations. I've always made sure that our vet's know our bunnies are rescues and that we cannot afford a large bill, which is true, and they've usually helped out by lowering some charges or not levying others at all. Good luck.ray:

 

[WanderingWabbit]

I do not think we have a rabbit rescue in the area.. Only a guinea pig rescue.

 

[tonyshuman]

Guinea pig rescues are often very sympathetic to rabbits--of all the pets, they say GPs are the most like rabbits. It's worth a try at least. GPs get some of the same tooth problems that rabbits do so they would at least know of a vet who can handle this issue well.

Also here is a list of the House Rabbit Society-affiliated rescues.
http://www.rabbit.org/adoption/index.html

You can also go to petfinder.org and type in your zip code and search for rabbits--any rescues that come up can be contacted that way as well.