Rabbit Abscess

[dlhente...@yahoo.com]

The day before this past Thanksgiving, we took our rabbit to the vet
because he had a bump under his chin. It turned out to be an
abscess. After several weeks of treating it with antibiotics after
the vet drained it, he had to surgically go in and remove it. The vet
also had to remove one of his lower teeth.

Little Brickie made a remarkable recovery. He had been losing weight
and has since gained it all back. His appetite has improved greatly
and he is back to jumping and running all over the place. However, we
noticed a slight drainage out of his right eye. So back to the vet
today and his abscess is back. The vet drained it again and packed it
this time.

I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience with their rabbit
having an abscess.

Brickie is a fighter and hopefully he will recover as well as he did
before.

[rosgroupsacc]

Hi

I haven't personal experience but have learned a lot from peope who
have.

Firstly, getting the antibiotic that is going to work best on the
pathogen causing the abscess is vital. Did your vet culture for
sensitivitiy? Then of course, being able to get the antibiotic you
need. Many countries have access to bicillin which we haven't in the
UK, but Azithromycin is an excellent alternative and I've read many
success stories from people who have used it.

Your vet packed the site...do you know what with? Was it maybe
gentimicin impregnated beads? I remember one person saying that his
vet had said that using a wick was more effective than beads. The
wick is inserted surgically at the time of the abscess removal and the
chosen antibiotic is poured into the wick daily to get it to the site
of the infection. Again, it would need to be an appropriate
antibiotic that was used for this.

Abscesses in rabbits can act in a similar way to tumours in people.
That is they can branch off into other areas and it can be very
difficult at the time of surgery to spot any 'tendrils' making their
way into a different part of the body. That seems to be how they
spread to new areas. So maintaining a healthy immune system is vital.
Echinacea and goldenseal are believed to boost the immune system so it
may be worth ensuring your rabbit has those to help fight infection
sytemically. Also check that a full range of vitamins is in what
you're feeding, but don't overdo it with Vit A as that can be toxic to
the liver if overdosed.

Finally, have you spoken with your vet about applying Manuka honey?
It is a very specific honey that only comes from New Zealand. However
it's widely available and can be quite competitively priced. You want
a high strength sort, 10 or above, and it should be applied to the
affected area. I've seen it a lot on e-Bay.

I hope some of this helps. Very good luck to you and to Brickie

Ros


On Apr 18, 2:55 am, "dlhenterpri...@yahoo.com"

[dlhente...@yahoo.com]

Thank you so much for all your detailed information. I printed this
out for the vet. We took Brickie on Friday and he is doing good. He
is on antibiotics now.

Thanks again.

On Apr 19, 5:29 am, rosgroupsacc <rosgroupsacco...@googlemail.com>
wrote: