dewlap has a large ball

[rabbits and bees]

My 2 year old Flemish Giant doe had a large dewlap and yesterday it got shiny and now it appears to have a round ball where her dewlap was. I thought she was just pulling fur off her dewlap, but upon closer examination it looks like her dewlap has been replaced by a ball the size of a lime. The ball is not centered,but instead is off to one side. It is soft and doesn't appear to have any places where there is obvious infection, although the skin is scaley where she has pulled fur.

Any ideas on what could be wrong?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I would take her to the vet. There can be a lot of things going on but if there's a knot there - it needs checked by a rabbit savvy vet.

 

[naturestee]

IMO, the most likely possibility is an abscess. This is a nasty infection under the rabbit's skin. It requires vet treatment and is sometimes life-threatening because the infection can spread. Do you have a good rabbit vet?

Also, for reference depending on how much your vet knows, many prefer to treat abscesses without "popping" them or removing them surgically. Injectedantibiotics such as penicillan in combination with oral antibiotics such as zithromax are considered by many to be the "best" way to treat. Just make sure penicillin is given by injection and not by mouth- it's a mistake sometimes made by vets that don't treat rabbits often and can lead lead to severe stomach upset and/or death (sorry to scare you but it's happened to forum members).

ray:

 

[tonyshuman]

Yep, vet time. It could be an abscessed wound, but depending on the location it might be like JimD's Chippy's benign cystic teratoma (whew what a mouthful) that they've been dealing with since May: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=36155&forum_id=16 (there's a pic about halfway down the first page). However, since you say it's shiny, that makes me think abscess more than tumor. It could also be a swollen insect bite, which could be bad too. A member here lost a bunny to what she thinks was a brown recluse bite. In any case, it's time to see a vet ASAP because there really is no home treatment for any of these things.
Here's the link to our library article on abscesses: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11791&forum_id=10


Best of luck to you and your bunny.ray:

 

[rabbits and bees]

Sounds like it is time for me to make the acquaintenance of the "rabbit vet" and have her checked out. Normally, she is ready to bite me rather than look at me, but tonight she let me palpatate the ball and rub VetRX into it, without any protest. I looked for anything that might be a site of infection, thinking that if there was some trauma it could be drained through the same place the infection might have entered.

I appreciate the tips on the antibiotics. I knew that oral antibiotics could upset the flora in the rabbit's system, but didn't know that an injection could prevent that.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Keep us posted on how she does.

If you need help finding a vet, I know we have some great resources.

 

[rabbits and bees]

Thank you for all your advice and the links to the site on abcesses. By reading all the information on abcesses and alternative treatments before we went to the vet, I felt much better prepared to ask questions and make decisions concerning Matilda's treatment options when we were at the vet's office.

On the day I took Matilda to the vet, I was doing errands first and happened to meet a wonderful lady who used to raise Flemish. She looked at the ball on Matilda's neck and agreed with me that it was an abcess. She had some suggestions, including requesting Baytril tablets - the brown ones instead of the purple ones because they are easier to crush.

The vet diagnosed an abscess and recommended surgery to remove it. Since Matilda is a breeder, who doesn't like being bred so I am unsure I will ever get any kits from her, I told the vet I didn't want to spend the small fortune on surgery.The vet figured out the dosage for penicillin by injection for a 14 lb rabbit, explainedwhere to give the subQ injectionand sold me 14 days worth of Baytril tablets. I stopped at Tractor Supply and got the penicillin.

Matilda had been chewing on the growth and the tissue where she was chewing was hard and dead. Since the abcess was growing and was annoying her, I decided to drain it, which I did by slicing the dead tissue with a single edge razor blade. There wasabout 1/3 cup of infection in the abscess and after I got it emptied I rinsed it out withsalt water. Matildawasn't upset about the abscess being drained but wasless than thrilled with the salt water irrigation.

I packed the cavity with dry table sugar (antibiotic properties in an anerobic environment)then put dry gauze into the incision to hold the sugar inside. Unfortunately, the location of the incision was at the front of the cavity, since that was where Matilda had been able to chew on it andshe pulled the gauze out a few hours later.

Matildais doing well, eagerly eating her Baytril mixed withcanned pumpkin twice a day and the abcess is open without any visible drainage. I will continue the Baytril and penicillin injections until the Baytril is gone. Since the incision was in the already dead tissue, I don't think the abcesswill close againand it now just needs to heal from the inside out. I looked at ihe abcess tonight and it appears to be healthy tissue inside with the tissue on the outside continuing to die on both sides of the incision. Matilda may end up with a bald spot on the side of her neck, but I think she is going to be alright.

 

[Maureen Las]

I want to commend you on the initiative required in treating her abscess yourself and am very glad that she is doing well.

There are several points that I wish to point out to other rabbit owners who may think of following suite .

it is not advisable toopen an abscess on a pet yourselfunless you are a vet using sterile technique and the appropriate instruments

it is not advisable to do surgical procedures without the ability to assess the pain level that it will create in the animal nor without the appropriate training or instruments
salt water solutions to irrigate a wound are excrutiatingly painful:irrigating with salt water is damaging to surrounding tissue


I am glad that she is doing well butI would discourage others from doing procedures like this on their own. Seek out an appropriate veterianarian

rabbits and bees,

Sounds like you would do well on the current series "Survivorman"...
making do with what you have ..you do have the appropriate medication and a positive outcome
so we are definitlely glad that this is turning out well.

 

[rabbits and bees]

The vet thought that if Matilda continued to chew on the abscess, she would open it herself and told me that if that were to happen, I should rinse it with soapy water. Soapy water sounded more painful to me than light salt water, so that was why I selected that option. The vet and I agreed that hydrogen pyroxide would not be a good option because it kills healthy tissue.

I also decided to go ahead and open it several days after taking her to the vet, because she was continuing to chew on it, the outside tissue where I sliced with the sterile razor blade was hard from lack of blood supply and it seemed to me that opening it quickly would be less painful for her than continuing to chew on her own skin.

the best thing to come out of this was that I found a "rabbit vet" with whom I am very comfortable - so much so that the day after I took Maltilda to the vet, I recommended this vet to a friend whose rabbit had sore hocks and they too were delighted with the vet.

 

[pamnock]

angieluv wrote:

salt water solutions to irrigate a wound are excrutiatingly painful:irrigating with salt water is damaging to surrounding tissue

Sterile saline solutionsarecommonly used for wound flushing as well as being usedto flush the eyes- it doesn't burn and it doesn't damage the tissue.



Pam

 

[Maureen Las]

I don't believe that it was sterile nor was there a ratio of salt to water mentioned...
if properly prepared it can be used. I don't believe it was boiled prior to use

http://healthfieldmedicare.suite101.com/article.cfm/normal_saline_for_wound_care
better to have vet recommend the use of it, use sterile technique and the proper way to prepareif it is to be made at home

 

[Pipp]

angieluv wrote:

I don't believe that it was sterile nor was there a ratio of salt to water mentioned...

Yes, and I do believe table salt has impurities that can irritate and do more harm than good. I was also aware that honey has healing properties, but I'm not sure about sugar. It may be the same 'impurities' issue as the salt.

These are 'bastardized' versions of tried and true home breeder treatments, and while I'm not as adamant about vet care being the only option, I do think approaches like these should be made very cautiously.

As far as keeping the infection at bay externally, I highly recommend washing it with Betadine, it works very well and won't poison the poor bunny if she licks it.

The only other thing I'll add is that you may need a month or more of antibiotics. These days the opinion is that it takes two to three months of injected penicillin and oral antibiotics to completely eradicate an abscess. Otherwise they have a nasty habit of coming back or popping up elsewhere. And its important not to stop early or stop and restart antibiotics.

And she may very well not stop chewing the area, that habit is very common, in which case you'll need an 'e' collar. There is a way of making a comfortable one as opposed to the 'satellite dish' style often used, I'll see if I can find a link.


sas :clover: