wet-chinned bucks

[rabbitgirl]

Hey Pam et. al,

Bub has lately been extremely wet in the chin area. His dad tended to be the same way, especially when excited and/or sexually active, but Bub seemed more so lately.It's been hot and he's been panting and drooling, but he was wet this morning after running around chinning things. There is no drool coming from his mouth this morning--the corners are dry--but the area around the scent glands is often quitewet like this morning.

He's always left wet streaks when chinning me, ever since he hit puberty, but it seems to be more in the past few days. My first thought was tooth problems but I'm now thinking it's not drool at all. Is this just normal for some bucks? He seems to have REALLY a lot of hormones going on in the past week too......:shock:

I'm puzzled......has anyone seen this?

Rose

 

[Runestonez]

Our neutered boy Solembum 'drools'. Not from his mouth...it is his scent glands on his chin but it may as well be slobber! He leaves streaks when he 'nuggs' things! It is really wet! But he is a nugging monster and seems to enjoy himself so we leave him be! I don't think it is anything to worry about. Just over active hormones?!

 

[Bassetluv]

That's interesting, because Raph is the same way...under his chin the hair is always wet and matted. I too thought it was tooth problems (still have to rule that one out by a vet, tho), but he does handle all foods well.

 

[Bunman]

Wet dewlap should be kept an eye on, as it can be a symptom of mallocclusion, & cause dermatitis. If the bun is dragging its dewlap in its water bowl, try putting less water in the bowl.

 

[JimD]

....and if you're using waterbottles, make sure that the flow is not too much and/or the fonts move freely.
I had one bottle that got mineral deposits on the font and it would get stuck every now and then.....ususally when a bunnie was drinking. If it hadn't got stuck real good and emptied out, I would have still been trying to figure it out.

 

[pamnock]

Males have larger scent glands than females and generally "chin" more, which can result in more liquid discharge from the scent gland pores.

As long as there is no evidence of an abscess or tumor in the area (not uncommon along the jaw line), I would not be overly concerned.

As already mentioned, "wet dewlap" can cause a bacterial infection of the chin or dewlap. This is generally caused from the rabbit continually getting wet from the water bottle or dish.

Pam

 

[rabbitgirl]

Thanks all! Bubber has been very normal lately and no sign of problems in the jaw area. While checking I discovered a hidden case of fur mites in the folds of his neck skin, but he's all dusted and fur's growing back.

I figured out what happened though, and it was kind of funny after all. His latest trick is to scale 3 ft. of chainlink to let himself back into his cage. I think he landed chin first, smack in his big water bowl, because he's been dry ever since and was dry when I went back to check an hour later.

He still gets drooly when excited and chinning, but normal levels (just like daddy).

It's a good thing I was concerned though, because that fur mite issue was hidden pretty good--this way I caught it early.

Rose