Abscess and fly strike

[RavenousDragon]

That is a HUGE mark up for meds- most vets aren't quite that awful where I am.

I'm sorry you've had so many issues with the veterinarians. Most really are trying their best. Rabbits are just difficult. I hope that you can get your bun all back into shape.

Sending my love for a speedy recovery.

 

[Thumperina]

thank you so much/.

I just wonder what would happen if I just used triple antibiotic cream for people.

I feel stupid. I have antibiotic powder that was prescribed to another rabbit, it's still not expired. I should have brought that powder with me and asked if I can use it for my sick girl, instead of picking up brand new cream.

My concern is: when they prescribe, do they really prescribe what is best for my rabbit, or what they just have in stock? Again, it's useful to have a good exotic animal vet. That;s the key.

 

[RavenousDragon]

The answer to that question does depend- is it better for your rabbit to get the meds now? Or wait until a better one either comes in or send you to a human pharmacy? Most veterinarians in my experience only carry meds which they believe are going to be the best for your pet (e.g. why carry one type of antibiotic if you think another is better?).

Definitely don't use the human cream on your bunny. If she were to ingest it, it could cause serious problems. Bunnies also have very sensitive skin, so it might make things worse.

 

[Thumperina]

thank you.
SHe is doing about the same.. eating, pooping, doesn;t seem to be stressed about her wounds. The wound looks about the same but I just started to applu cream so we will see if it works.

Any of you guys heard about Furacilin?
Is it widely used in my native country (very cheap and effective for many things), but I never heard about it in the US

Here is some info
http://edudrugs.com/F/Furacilin.html

Usually we crush a pill to dissolve it in water. I wish I would have it here to wash her wound.

 

[Thumperina]

in general, what are possible outcomes of abscess?
Healing, dying, anything in between?
Can it happen that the bun feels OK (so that situation isn;t life threatening) but the skin remains the way it is? Or is it always heal or die situation?
My vet suggested laser therapy over the phone (without seeing her) - anybody tried?
I am recalling reading that manuka honey can be helpful - or was it about another condition?

 

[RavenousDragon]

As long as you are treating the abscess (which you are), generally, rabbits will do quite well. It takes a long time to heal, but they often do.

I don't know about the honey, but I do know about the laser. It works WONDERS. And most animals (even birds!) like it a lot actually. It helps animals heal much faster (except for cancer). It sort of feels like a warm massage. Most vets charge quite a bit for it since the machines are so expensive, but it often takes less than 15 minutes (depending on the settings, wounds, etc.). I've had rabbits fall asleep in my lap when I'm lasering them.

 

[Thumperina]

thank you once again, RavenousDragon and Aki,.
they called me to see how she is doing, and suggested a shot of ivo... something (didn;t get it over the phone)... when I said the wound isn;t much better.
Don;t know what it does. Poor Thumperina.
I am taking her to the clinic today.

 

[Thumperina]

I brought her to the vet today, we saw our regular doctor.
The one who served us on Saturday took a look and said she was amazed how good it looks now compared to what she expected.

They took a swab from her wound and it didn't show any infection or increased white blood cells. They shaved her more and scrubbed some debris and dead skin, and did laser too.
They told me to do hydrotherapy at home and I will be bringing her for laser (which is $18 per each one)
Everything looks good so far

 

[RavenousDragon]

That's GREAT news!!!! I'm glad to hear things are getting better. The lack of infection is a really good thing. Keep it up!

 

[mikenyny]

I don't know how it all happened so quickly.
She had urine scald last summer, but it was gone and she was fine during cool season. Thumperina is a large 9 lbs girl with a lot of fur . She is 4 yo
Now it's getting hot...She lives in the yard, taken inside for a night. . Yesterday I saw that she was trying to clean her privates and she was uncomfortable. Touched her butt - my hand was in blood. She had blood all over her butt and back legs. It was in the evening, so I washed her bottom and saw them... white worms, a lot of them. I had to wait till the morning to take her to the vet, today is Saturday.
The vet I wanted wasn't there so his collegue saw us. She said Thumperina has an abscess, a hole in her body, a deep pocket filled with fly eggs or whatever they are called. A good thing, she said, is that her urinary tract seemed intact.
they removed what they could and gave her one time med that was supposed to help kill those inside. I am given oral AB and pain med to give her at home. She has a large dewlap, giving medicine isn;'t easy at all.
She was all right, eating and moving, before I took her to doc. Now she is stressed of course from everything that we did, plus she is brought indoors which is unusual for her.
Several months ago I was told here on the forum to stop using cedar shavings for litter and I did, now using aspen shavings. Do you think she will process her AB OK?
Anyway, this is our sad situation... I am praying that she pulls thru.

I hope she pulls through. About 2 years ago, my 2 year-old female semi Lion Head got fly strike. She started staying in the back covered area and wasn't coming out in the daytime, seeming what I would say "ashamed", so I took a look at her - picked her up and put her on my lap and I noticed large white 1cm worms in her backside. I got a small round plastic bowl with some soapy water and fortunately managed to pick them all out - maybe half a dozen, and washed her rear end thoroughly. I wormed all the rabbits straight away. Since then - 2 years ago - I wash her rear end in the bowl of luke warm water - with washing up liquid - changing the water 3 or 4 times, then drying her for 10 mins with old towels, twice a week. The male rabbits don't suffer with dirty bums.

 

[Thumperina]

are you sure your bunny had fly larva? Mine had worms that were much smaller than 1 cm.
Also, fly strike isn't contagious to other rabbits, there is nothing to worm. This is how my vet explained.

I think Thumperina did not have a very pleasant time today at the vet. He removed a lot of skin off her, and now area looks naked, bloody and sensitive. She did't want to take her medication and seemed pretty stressed when I was trying to take care of her needs
For some reasons she stopped eating pellets (she diesn't eat them since I housed her in the house). Basically she only eats veggies.

 

[RavenousDragon]

Unfortunately, in order for tissue to heal- especially infected or dead tissue, the vet has to cut the bad stuff off and make it bloody. It sounds counter-intuitive, but in order to heal, you need blood. I'm sure she's stressed about being inside and in pain, but hopefully, as she gets better, she will start eating and being her normal self again. Did you happen to have Critical Care on hand?

 

[Thumperina]

they gave me a small bag just in case.
I developed back pain from manipulating her - carrying heavy travel cage with her, and so on.

 

[Thumperina]

Thumperina is clearly depressed from staying in the basement. She eats very little now. I hate the situation. don't know what to do

 

[JBun]

Does she have a bunny friend you could bring in as well to be with her? She may just be missing her friends.

 

[Thumperina]

Does she have a bunny friend you could bring in as well to be with her? She may just be missing her friends.

this is exactly what I did today. You know what? I could at least keep a track of what she ate and what she pooped... The friend ate all the food that was there )) He is already overweight. Not sure if I bring him again, but I think I will start letting her out a little bit (in the morning, before the heat)
Her wound looks much much better, I will keep taking care of the wound of course and will control flies (already getting trap that is supposed to wotk like magic). She is very stubborn. While at home , She doesn't eat pellets, or hay or even grass that I brought for her. A little bit of veggies occasionally. That't it. She used to eat a lot of fresh grass in the yard.
I think medicine starts bothering her too. She really refuses to take her meds (at the beginning she wasn;t resistant that much) , its been a week now... Do you think I can stop medicating her for now? There is no infection in her wound. She takes AB and anti inflammatory

 

[Thumperina]

the problem is that if I bring friends in, then I will be taking them back out in the evening, but she will have to stay. more reasons to be depressed

 

[Thumperina]

can medicine affect appetite? For people, I know, it can...
She doesn;t even eat broccoli crowns that were always one of her favorite..
Can someone comment on the choice of medications please? Are they bunny friendly?

sulfa/trimethoprim - AB
meloxidyl - pain med

 

[Aki]

It's nice if the wound looks better, but her not eating (especially not eating hay) is not normal at all and quite concerning. It means she's in pain or feels uncomfortable, it's got nothing to do with her being stubborn. How much meloxidyl is she getting? What do her poops look like? Does she poop less than before, or are they small? How much is she eating exactly? If she's not pooping at all or pooping only a small amount and not eating enough, she's on her way to GI stasis (it can be caused by medication, stress, pain... so here it wouldn't really be surprising). If she is you have to act fast - she will need something to help gut mobility (emeprid/reglan), force feeding until she eats a decent amount, water fed with a syringe (a small 1ml one to avoid drowning her) and continuing pain medication. Stasis can sometimes be stopped after one or two days of treatment but it's unlikely to get better on it's own and you will have a much bigger problem on your hands if it evolves into a blockage.

 

[Aki]

I know it gets really tiring feeling like there is always something wrong with your rabbit for weeks on end - stressing about it, treating it and paying for the vet... I myself just went through a whole month trying to find what was wrong with Aki who had several bout of unexplained stasis (finally found out and things seem to finally be OK). I'm exhausted, I still feel the stress of it all and I feel like I talked and thought about nothing but rabbit's poop for weeks which is kinda sad ^^.
But if the wound on your rabbit looks good, it's probable that once you've cured the stasis, you'll be able to put your rabbit back in her normal living environment and to finally think about something else.