Tumors?

BunnyBoy · Apr 20, 2007

I'm curious to know how much pain my 7-year-oldand 10pound rabbit, G.Poo (Gracie until we found out he was a male

)because he has several marble sized tumors on his body. One is locatedon his neck, belly and side... He's lost a little wait but this hasbeen going on for about 2-3 years now but acts healthy and content. Hestill tries to get into everything & lets me hold him in myarms. My concern has grown a bit after his eyes started watering.

He's had a lot of "health problems".... most of these weremisdiagnosiss by vets who claimed to specialize in rabbits &other small animals. He's gone through so much poking and prodding I'vedecided to hold off on taking him to a veterinary clinic where he'lljust have to go through more of it.

We had another rabbit (his sister) who we loss a few years ago aftershe got fixed. We made her a big box pen in the middle of the livingroom & spoiled her. Unfortunately, one night we were doing aroutine check on her stitches and her whole insides cameout... :shock:We have bad experiences with rabbits.

Thanks if anyone can share any info! It would be greatly appreciated.

~Audrey

BunnyBoy · Apr 21, 2007

Here's a picture of him.

He'sshedding bad right now since the weather has been getting warmer. He'sgoing to be a soft bunny in a few weeks after he loses his long coat.

clarzoo · Apr 21, 2007

He's a cute rabbit, and boy is he molting, lol!

There's not a whole lot of advice to give about long-term bumps likehis over the internet. If they are just benign, a vet might recommendnot to do anything to them unless they begin causing him problems withmovement, etc. There is no way of knowing if these bumps are a problemwith out doing a biopsy on them. That could tell whether they arecancerous or not, as well as if they are infected, etc. The eyewatering could be a sign of discomfort, or something totally unrelatedto the bumps like teeth problems, allergies or respiratory problems.

I am so sorry you've had such bad luck with rabbits and vets. There aresome great sources on this site to find a rabbit savvy vet in yourarea. I'm going to go find the link, and post it here for you.

clarzoo · Apr 21, 2007

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15036&forum_id=17

Here ya go. Try that link for some great resources.

Also, I didn't answer the question about pain. You would be the bestperson to know if your rabbit is in pain. Decreased appetite, decreasedpoo, sitting in one spot and not moving, grinding teeth are all signsof pain.

naturestee · Apr 21, 2007

:yeahthat

I do recommend finding an actual good vet and finding out what these"lumps and bumps" are. Abscesses can be treated. Ifthey're cancerous they may have spread too much to be removed, butyou'll be able to learn what they are, if they're malignant, and ifthey're likely to affect major organ functions. A biopsy(tissue removal) might be needed to test them, but a vet might also beable to get enough of a sample by aspirating it with aneedle. No surgery, no stitches. And knowing infolike this can help you make decisions on his care.

I agree with Clarzoo that you are in the best position to determinewhether or not your rabbit is in pain. There are a number ofgood articles in this thread on pain in rabbits, safe pain medication,and taking care of ill rabbits:
Caring For Sick Rabbits

I'm sorry you've had such bad experiences with rabbits and health problems.