Very worried newbie

Hi All,

I'll introduce myself properly later on but right now I'm desperate for advice. Found your website when looking for some information about my french lop boy, Chives, and I'm really hoping you can help.

Took Chives to the vet this evening because yesterday he had developed a kind of hard swelling on his nose that looked like a button with a hairless ring around it. It definitely wasn't there on Saturday evening - it looked like an elastic band had been wrapped around it so I thought he must have caught it in something.

Today, he has hard scabs all over his chin and lips and little spots of scabs on his ears. Again they definitely weren't there the day before because I wash his chin every day with hibiscrub as he has a tendency to infection in the folds - so I would definitely have noticed.

The vet said his genitals also looked a bit red and hot (he has been neutered - a year ago).

He is fine in himself, he is eating away and seems quite happy and active.

The vet was very worried and thought at first it was myxi but his eyes are clear and his breathing is fine. He brought in a second vet with more experience but neither of them really had any idea what it is although the experienced lady said it wasn't likely to be myxi. They have given him an anti-biotic and some gel to put on the sores and have promised they will research tomorrow. The young guy said he was a bit hot but his temperature read at 39.1 which I believe is in the normal range? He has been vaccinated.

He lives with a girl rabbit and I am very worried for both of them although Onion is showing no signs of any problems and I examined every square inch of her this evening. There are loads of wild rabbits around.

Sorry for the long post but I'm trying to give as much info as possible to see if it gives you any ideas that might help.

Has anybody seen anything similar? Could it be something he has eaten? He has free run of a large fenced area. I'd be grateful for any information please.

Thank you for any help you can give.

Jocelyn

Just skimmed your post; but it could be nodular myxi :wave:

It's a less severe form that vaccinated buns get; with the correct treatment they can make a full recovery; but I have no experience of this, I'm sure someone will be along soon who does.

That sounds like bunny syphilis to me, AKA vent disease. Obviously it could be possibly nodular myxi (if your bun is vaccinated), but having another option to look at might also help.

Hiya - oh dear how worrying How long ago were they vaccinated? It does sound very much like nodular myxi to me, syphillis tends to come on very slowly over a period of a few weeks not pretty much overnight. Do you have any photos you can post?

Try doing a search on here for nodular myxi or myxomatosis and have a read of some threads to see what treatments seem to be working. Some have photos which may help you (although every case looks different - I've seen it present both with huge bumps and also with tiny pimples).

Best of luck, please do keep us posted on how they are doing.

Thanks for the replies. I've quickly looked up nodular mixi and vent and looked at some photo's. It certainly sounds like vent but the photo's are wrong. It is the top of his nose not his nostrils, which are fine. He has hard red scabs and his nose has this raised area which is still furry but is surrounded by a bare circle - it's very firm/hard.

He was vaccinated four months ago.

I tried to take some photo's earlier but he wasn't having it - he wouldn't turn his head towards me - I'll try again tomorrow.

Thanks so much for your help - I will talk to the vet about your suggestions tomorrow.

I would separate the bun just in case.

jbwho said:

his nose has this raised area which is still furry but is surrounded by a bare circle - it's very firm/hard.

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I can picture this exactly - it's identical to how I would have described the myxi nodule that my Harry got on his nose last year. Eventually it fell off leaving a deep hole which has now scarred over. I would be almost 100% convinced that what you are describing is nodular myxi.

Personally if the buns were mine I would keep them together - stress is a huge problem to buns and can make them even more poorly, and separating them from their companion can be very stressful. As they have been together throughout this then she would already have been exposed to whatever is causing it by now.

Good luck - if it is myxi and he has been vaccinated in the past few months then the prognosis is much better than if not at all, ideally if you can bring them indoors if they usually live outside, that will help as the raised temperature helps him to fight it. The only thing is that by the time he is better, you won't really be able to put them back outdoors until spring as they will have acclimatised to the indoor temperature.

Thanks Alison, I have made the decision to leave them together for that reason even though I am concerned about Onion too.

At the moment, they live in a big pen and have a lot of freedom to run about and dig to their hearts content. Bringing them inside would mean they would be very confined a lot of the time as I have dogs.

In other words, if I increase the warmth it will also increase the stress - which is more important for him?

The help is very much appreciated.

jbwho said:

In other words, if I increase the warmth it will also increase the stress - which is more important for him?

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Hmmm...tough one...I don't really know - anyone else got any thoughts on this? I'd chat with your vet tomorrow and see what they think too. Do you have, or can you get hold of, a snugglesafe? At least then he will have a warm pad to sit on if he wants to, and it should keep the general temperature inside his house a teeny bit warmer.

Please do keep us posted on how he is

AlisonA said:

Hmmm...tough one...I don't really know - anyone else got any thoughts on this? I'd chat with your vet tomorrow and see what they think too. Do you have, or can you get hold of, a snugglesafe? At least then he will have a warm pad to sit on if he wants to, and it should keep the general temperature inside his house a teeny bit warmer.

Please do keep us posted on how he is

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What about a steamy bathroom?

Myxi buns need to be kept warm but If its not really an option to bring them In the house then as Alison says get him a snuggle safe so he has some where warm to go.Also your buns will have their winter coats by now and you don't want them to over heat by bringing them into a centrally heated house.Good luck and please keep us posted

No news yet, he is about the same as yesterday - but at least he hasn't got any worse - so I'm feeling a bit more positive. The vet doesn't want to commit to what it might be until he has had advice from a rabbit expert He still feels it might be myxie but neither he nor his colleagues have ever seen anything like it before although they are quite familiar with nodular myxie. So in reality we are waiting to see what happens.

In the meantime, I have bought two snugglesafes (knowing full well that if I only bought one, Onion will probably end up taking possession:roll and I'm bathing and administering with gusto! So fingers crossed. We go back on Friday.

it's a lot easier if you post a photo, so we can decide what the disease is

The speed suggests something more like nodular myxi. Syphilis develops more slowly. Likewise any skin condition wouldn't usually spread so quickly.

Tam

Happy Hopping said:

it's a lot easier if you post a photo, so we can decide what the disease is

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They don't show up very well, this is the best I can get.





It really does look like he caught his nose in something. I can't get a photo of his chin.

Does it look like Myxie from what you can see?

Thanks
Jocelyn

hi its sounds like nodular myxi get to a rabbit savvy vet their bereathing adn eys do not need to be a problem with nodular myxi your rabbit needs ot get onto baytril immediatly and metacma and needs to have a probiotic such as fibreplex.. .keep bun warm(yes even tho temp ius up) i belive this to be nodular myxi if treated quickly then has a fighting chance my 10yr old had it last year and pulled through she too was vaccinated. i would change vets x

Thanks for the photos - that's exactly like the type of nodules my Harry had, and he had one in exactly the same place there on his nose too! I would be almost 100% certain that is what this is.

AlisonA said:

Thanks for the photos - that's exactly like the type of nodules my Harry had, and he had one in exactly the same place there on his nose too! I would be almost 100% certain that is what this is.

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agreed chelsea had nodules like thatthat is a classic symptom if the vets dont think that is "normal" nodular myxi change vets please...x

Sorry I don't have any advice as I have not experienced myxi or vent (thank goodness), but I do hope that your bunny pulls through this OK. sounds like you are doing the right things but as others have said on here, may be you should get a second opinion from another vet.

Sending your bunny some get well vibes.

Has he got little scabs inside his ear flaps??