littlebreadloaf
New Kit
Hello!
So I've had Captain Nemo for a year and a half now. I adopted him when he was about two years old. We had a six month battle with facial abscesses stemming from an infected impacted molar, with five abscesses and three teeth removed in total. We tried a whole series of medications from penicillin to manuka honey. He was finally cured by inserting an antibacterial gel commonly used in dogs into his face and leaving it there for two weeks before removing it. He's doing GREAT now in regards to abscesses and his face has been clean for five months.
I tell you all of this back story just in case any of his previous medications have caused his current tic. He gets these random spasms where he arches his back and bites at the rug. At first he would arch his back and then lick his sides (he prefers his left but he'll lick either side) really voraciously for a few minutes. While it hasn't really gotten worse he now bites the rug in front of him instead or licks whatever is closest. It's the most bizarre thing. I've had rabbits for thirteen years and I've never seen anything like it.
He hasn't stopped eating, pooping, drinking or acting normal in any other way. His sides are not pain sensitive, though touching them seems to trigger the behavior more. I've been to my vet once and she guessed either a strange allergy or mites. We started both my rabbits on Revolution in case of mites. I cleaned everything in the vicinity with a bleach solution, all my laundry, rugs, etc. That was a week ago and he's still doing it. I haven't changed anything in his diet in months, nor have I put anything new in their pen. I also haven't used any new kinds of lotions or shampoos, in case he was allergic to something on me. He does not sneeze or have a runny nose.
Any guesses? I haven't been back to the vet to try allergy medicine but I'm concerned that this will progressively get worse and he will accidentally bite my other rabbit. He is in control of himself so far and if my hand is in his way he will lick it instead of biting. I'm also worried that this might be an internal issue and he's somehow feeling pain in his internal organs. Thoughts, anyone?
So I've had Captain Nemo for a year and a half now. I adopted him when he was about two years old. We had a six month battle with facial abscesses stemming from an infected impacted molar, with five abscesses and three teeth removed in total. We tried a whole series of medications from penicillin to manuka honey. He was finally cured by inserting an antibacterial gel commonly used in dogs into his face and leaving it there for two weeks before removing it. He's doing GREAT now in regards to abscesses and his face has been clean for five months.
I tell you all of this back story just in case any of his previous medications have caused his current tic. He gets these random spasms where he arches his back and bites at the rug. At first he would arch his back and then lick his sides (he prefers his left but he'll lick either side) really voraciously for a few minutes. While it hasn't really gotten worse he now bites the rug in front of him instead or licks whatever is closest. It's the most bizarre thing. I've had rabbits for thirteen years and I've never seen anything like it.
He hasn't stopped eating, pooping, drinking or acting normal in any other way. His sides are not pain sensitive, though touching them seems to trigger the behavior more. I've been to my vet once and she guessed either a strange allergy or mites. We started both my rabbits on Revolution in case of mites. I cleaned everything in the vicinity with a bleach solution, all my laundry, rugs, etc. That was a week ago and he's still doing it. I haven't changed anything in his diet in months, nor have I put anything new in their pen. I also haven't used any new kinds of lotions or shampoos, in case he was allergic to something on me. He does not sneeze or have a runny nose.
Any guesses? I haven't been back to the vet to try allergy medicine but I'm concerned that this will progressively get worse and he will accidentally bite my other rabbit. He is in control of himself so far and if my hand is in his way he will lick it instead of biting. I'm also worried that this might be an internal issue and he's somehow feeling pain in his internal organs. Thoughts, anyone?
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