• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

How concerned should I be?

santabunny

New Kit
My daughter got a bunny for Christmas. Initially the bunny was skittish with people and would go into a flat passive posture and freeze. Then after a week or so, he would start to come out of his cage and sniff around the living room where his cage was. However, he started getting into too many tight areas that were off-limits, like under the TV, and not coming out, so we moved his cage to the kitchen, which has ceramic tile floor.

Since then, he pretty much stopped coming out of his cage, but I try to take him out once a day for some exercise. However he just hides out under the table. About a week ago, I dropped him while taking him out of the top of his cage and he got a nasty cut on his upper lip, and his bottom tooth was chipped. The lip seems to have healed, but when I inspected the area (not fun for the bunny, who apparently likes to have Q-tip pry open his mouth even less than being picked up) I noticed a large bulge on his tongue. I started reading on what it might be and I suspect it my be an abscess. Also, it looks to me like some minor inflammation might be developing on the tip of his nose. Behaviorally, after he chipped his tooth, he stopped eating apples. He has never been a big eater of treats - completely disinterested in carrots or anything hard - the only treats he would respond from the time we got him were apples and bananas. Anyway, my wife is an MD and she thinks the thing on his tongue is a benign cyst of some kind. I don't know if its always been there since we got him, but I do no that also the bunny has and had from day 1 as very small amount mucus discharge from both eyes, really just looks like sleep residue people have, but now that I read all this stuff about abscesses, I am concerned. Other than the eye discharge, though, I don't see any discharge from the mouth or the nose. He is still eating pellets and hay, although I don't really think he enjoys food period.

Prior to joining us, he was a 4H project bunny and lived in a shed full of wire bottom rabbit cages, probably not handled a lot, and as a result he seems to like to hang out on his wire-top litter box we bought him, although he doesn't eliminate there... instead he pees in his water and treat bowl, so I'm also thinking that than he could easily have got an infection through the cut lip.

However, since he's never been a particularly chipper bunny, it's hard to know if he's in pain, or what his behavioral baseline is. My wife thinks he's just fine, and spoiled because I'm making a fuss over the lip/tooth thing. So I'm trying to monitor whether the discharge increases, or whether the lump grows, but, again, that's not too easy since holding him tends to end with my hands kicked and cut up by his hind claws. (Also, this bunny was not neutered, so I am thinking possibly that might mellow the kicking).

Any advice appreciated...
 
he needs to see a vet asap! it could be he can only eat soft foods if he has damaged his mouth and teeth. he sounds like he is struggling and in pain eating anything hard.

his other behaviour sounds like he is frightened. rabbit are prey animals, they do not like being picked up. it will take a while to build up trust. and if he is injured he will be unhappy. the majority of rabbits will kick when picked up. to them they just feel it's a predator. try sitting at his level and spending time with him, build up some trust. it could take a long time due to his past.

where abouts are you? someone will beable to recommend you a rabbit savvy vet in your area.. and he should be taken asap. he should really have been taken as soon as possible after he was dropped. bunnies are so fragile and there could be a number of problems, visible or otherwise.

of course, any of these problems could lead to more. an example with the eyes could be his teeth have been pushed out of line and damaged, this will affect the roots which will cause runny eyes.


please please take him to the vets asap. as i said, a rabbit savvy vet is very important as rabbits are classed as exotics and you want the best vets possible treating him. he will need an examination and possible xrays and medication.

as for the neutering, this can be discussed with the vet. but make sure he is fit and healthy first and recovered from his fall and his injuries.

you are very right to worry and i hope he can be seen asap and he will be ok.
 
Last edited:
:( oh poor guy

sounds like he may have always had dental problems since he had eye discharge since you got him, a symptom of dental problems. this is why he only liked soft foods. how much hay does he get?

assuming his back teeth are the problem, he needs his teeth spurred by a rabbit savvy vet. his front tooth that got chipped could now be a problem too. and i would suspect it has an abscess, they're very common in rabbits when they got a cut.

neutering him would also be good. it would help his behavior, he could get a friend then, and it will prevent cancer.
 
To answer your question 'How concerned should I be' my succinct reply is 'VERY'


For all the reasons given in the two previous responses your Rabbit needs to be examined by a Vet as a matter of urgency.
 
As the others have said, he really, really needs to get to the vets asap. Rabbits can go downhill so quickly and as a prey animal they don't tend to show signs of pain :(
 
I hope you get on well at the vets. Once he's been treated for all his problems, poor thing, do come back here and do some investigating about making his living conditions more rabbit-friendly.

If he's relaxed and feels safe, it'll be much easier to make friends with him. For instance you mention he's not come out of his cage much since it's now on ceramic tiles. He probably finds them too slippery underfoot and prefers to stay where he can grip (so he can run away if he gets scared). [And of course he's in pain so he doesnt want to play anyway...]

It's lovely to see how much interest you're taking in him and how closely you're observing him, I think you'll find it very rewarding to see how he responds. You do have to be patient though! Good luck at the vets :D
 
As everyone else says a vet visit is the next step :wave:
Whats a 4H project bunny btw??

A US based thing with all types of animals. Usually for kids. Its supposed to make kids learn to love animals from a young age and they show them :roll: Its a nice idea but they could give better research to them since I've seen bad advice given. Like apparently whoever OP got this bunny from didnt know a whole lot or they didn't care. :(
 
Back
Top