mouth/lip inflammation??

[AngelnSnuffy]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

I think I might order some "mountain grass" for the bunnies - is it good like timothy?

I believe it is!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Thanks! They always like a new hay here and there.

Anything new on Charlie's little mouth?

I hope it's just the silly hay and he's fine now.

 

[lagadvocate]

Oh gosh this is going from bad to worse.

The new "vet" I saw today turned out to know very little to none about rabbit medicine. He was supposedly able to fill in for the exotics doc but it was just awful. And we basically got nowhere except that he got my money for nothing. :X

Charlie's mouth is getting progressively worse despite the change to better hay. The crusty scabs are now all around his mouth (upper and lower lips). He seems ok but I just don't know. He also seems a little "off" if that makes any sense.

I am beside myself now because when I research his symptoms, I keep having rabbit syphilis come up. The crusty scabs on his mouth are apparently indicative of it, but it also said that there may/should be sores around the vent which, from what I can see, there are none. Oh I feel so helpless to help him :cry2

I'm calling my normal rabbit vet in the morning to ask for an appt for either tomorrow or Monday at least. I think that they take CareCredit -- anyone have any experience using that with their vet? I hope that they do. This vet is typically very expensive -- I've never gotten out of there with less than a $200.00 bill for anything. And with the money I blew on the crappy vet today plus our current tight budget ----well let's just say I really need them to take CareCredit.

Sorry for rambling, I just do this when I'm nervous. :?

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Syphillis is usually with bunnies breeding - has he been around others?

What about Rabbit Pox? that mimics syphillis and is viral. I was searching the internet about this and that came up. Now some places say it's myxi or whatever that is, but others say they get rid of it in time.

Good luck with the vet :hug:

 

[Bo B Bunny]

This has some interesting information - bad food/moldy can cause the mycotoxins thing....

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/myco.html

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Here is another link. Even has a picture:shock:. The vet should take the care credit.

Sounds like an antibiotic is in order and possibly a topical ointment, hopefully the vet will be able to figure out exactly what it is.

Good Luck, keep us posted.

http://www.radil.missouri.edu/info/dora/RABBPAGE/derm.html#XII

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I hope they find out it's something silly and not that

 

[Pipp]

How's Charlie?

I guess I should have given you the link to the Rabbit Syphillis section in the Library right off the top, that's why I was asking about his 'boy bits.' They can be born with it and have it dormant until stress or the luck of the draw brings it to the surface.

Vent Disease (Rabbit Syphilis)

But if it is Vent Disease, it's easy to treat, it just takes a shot or three of penicillin I think.

Good luck with the other vet. (Not sure what the first guy said he was going to do, btw???)



sas :clover:

 

[lagadvocate]

Well, the good news is that I was able to take Charlie to my normal rabbit vet this morning! The bad news is that he does have syphilis. But, like mentioned above, it's supposed to be relatively easy to treat.

So the vet gave me injectable bicillan to treat with every other day for the next 21 days. He did say that he was pretty positive that it is syphilis, but that his vent looks normal. So he said that ringworm or mites could be a possibility but he doubts it at this point because Charlie's mouth "screams syphilis" :?.

Sas, thanks for the info link and for telling me that it can remain dormant then appear because I was driving home thinking -- how in the world did he get this? But since we got him from the Humane Society in June.......

And I was worried about Carmel catching it, but the vet said that since they are not "nose to nose" so to speak that she should be ok. I told him that while they don't live together or share food bowls/litterboxes, they do use the same area for separate run times but he said that he didn't believe that it was transferred like that so I don't know. I really hope not but will keep my eye on her for any signs of trouble. Plus I suppose it would be a really good idea to practice good handwashing on my part because I have no idea if I could transfer it from him to her by handling???

So I guess that's where it stands for now. I'll be giving the first injection tonight when hubby comes home and hope that this will all be over in 21 days.

Thanks again to all for your help and concern!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Well, at least that's all it is. Let us know how he get on with the meds.

 

[lagadvocate]

Hi, just resurrecting this thread to give an update and to ask (yet another) question.

Charlie has had 3 doses of bicillan now and I am really amazed at how quickly his mouth is clearing up. After some debate and research, I decided to scale back his dose from every other day for 21 days to every 2 days for 21 days. My vet knows and feels this is ok.

So, although the injections are going fine (minus once when I injected my finger:rollseyes), I have noticed that he's putting out some really tiny poops. So question is: does anyone know about the bene-bac pet gel that is sold in pet stores? My bridge bunny had been prescribed bene-bac from the vet when he got bicillan, but the vet did not prescribe bene-bac or anythinglike thatfor Charlie.

From his little poops, I worry about GI slowdown and don't want him going into stasis. I'm going to start giving him some pumpkin tomorrow. He is eating fine, although he does take a little while longer to finish his salad on injection days. He also acts a little funny on injection days too (lays in strange locations, slows down a bit). He still gets excited about his food though.

So if anyone knows about or has tried bene-bac from the pet store, I'd love to hear about it! I just wonder if it's basically the same stuff that I have gotten from the vet.

Thank you all so much for bearing with all my questions!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Sounds like bene-bac is a way to supply the good bacteria when they are on medicines that take that out of their system. I can't imagine it would hurt him at all - but is he on something like that?

I would definitely do something to encourage his tummy to work. I'm so happy his mouth is getting better!!!

 

[Pipp]

Any Probiotic won't hurt, some swear by it, others says it doesn't do a thing. But it is often prescribed with antibiotics to keep the gut bacteria in balance. (My vet swears by it).

It does sound like the injections are upsetting his tummpy. But what you need pronto is hydration and fibre to make sure his gut is working at full capacity, so the pumpkin is still your best bet.

I also find that diluted carrot or fruit juice helps with the liquids intake, and Pedialyte is also an option.

I'm not sure what other drugs are given (if any) to offset the tummy upsets, but if he's not getting constant shots for a long period, you should be okay as long as you can keep those poops fluffed up. Small poops are the first sign of a slowdown (or blockage, apparently), so keep a sharp eye on him.

Hope he's back to normal quickly!



sas :clover: