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Rabbits with abscesses? Please help

i-love-bunnies

Warren Scout
Hello, Has anyone ever had a rabbit with multiple burst abscesses? What was the outcome - euthanasia or successful treatment?
 
I have quite a few buns who either have existing abscesses or have had abscesses in the past :wave:

The prognosis depends on where the abscess is located, the extent/severity of the infection, and what treatment you are prepared to undertake.

Do you have any more details about the abscesses?
 
She is a youngster who has had several wounds (bites from another rabbit) that have burst. I took her to the vet who has given me stuff to clean the wounds with and she's on high dose of baytril twice a day.
One vet said she will probably survive but the other just pushes for pts continuously. Obviously I don't want to cause her suffering if it is untreatable but I also want to give her the best I can and don't want to just give up on her.
She has 4 abscesses on her back and hind quarters.
 
That's really good news...abscesses on the body (rather than the head) tend to be the easiest to cure.

I think my vet would probably recommend surgical removal, and cleaning the wound out twice a day if needed...plus antibiotic treatment, probably penicillin via sub-cutaneous injection every other day.

Hope this helps
 
Hi, sorry to hear about your rabbit...

Toadstool had an abscess from a small bite wound that was so big it started on his back and drained underneath him, ie the abscess, which only showed as a tiny lump under his layers of fur outside, (he's a cashy so mega-fluffy) actually went through his whole body. One vet wrote him off. The other gave him depocillin injections - taught me how to do them at home to save dragging him to the vets twice a week. I also, after advice here, packed the abscess with manuka honey, factor 25. First I used a syringe to get out as much pus as possible :)mrgreen:) then I warmed a small amount of honey in an egg cup by standing it in a shallow dish of hot water. Once the honey melted (not too hot!) I syringed it into Toadstool's bite wound until it travelled all through the abscess and dripped out through the exit/drain under his stomach. After the first night the wound went from angry red to pale pink. He stayed on depocillin a few months, had one tiny encapsulated abseess recur (presumably one small pocket left over from the existing one) but has basically never looked back. That was over a year ago, maybe two. Your bunny CAN be saved - keep going to the better vet and meanwhile order some manuka honey - it has to be a high strength to work; people here will advise you on suppliers.

He will be okay with the right treatment. Dental abscesses are notoriously hard to cure, but a bite wound is totally different...
 
My boy has just had an abscess the size of a satsuma successfully removed from his abdomen:shock:
It was the result of a severe reaction to the surture material used at neuter.
(not done by my vet).. so dont despair:)
 
I don't think any of my buns have had abcesses, but Tigger (my cat) had a really nasty one on his face that kept coming back. It took a long time for it to clear completely but he is absolutely fine now. Looked horrendous for a while though - and the stuff that came out of it was disgusting - poor puss.
 
I'm a little overwhelmed with info now - abbymarysmokey and tinsel - I'm currently giving 0.5 mls of baytril morning and evening and washing wounds with hibiscrub, which is an antiseptic, mixed with salt and cooled boiled water. I am also using cotton buds and tweezers to pull out the pus.
One of my vets has mentioned possible surgery but not the other one who has written her off completely. I have been twice and never know which vet till I get to the surgery.

Anyway, I haven't been offered any kind of injections and I have no idea what to with the honey! The abscesses vary in size with the biggest being the size of a golf ball - maybe slightly smaller. The others are size of ten or five pence pieces.
 
Wow, you must live near me. I am in Havant too.

If you need any help with your poorly bun or just to meet up for a cup of tea and some moral support, just let me know. I have this coming week off work and would love to meet another bunny lover.

I know when Molly was so ill recently I really wished I had some help - just someone to sit with me while I was nursing Molly. Lara did offer to come over:love:, but the New Forest is such a long way away.
 
I live by the industrial estate in Havant. I work in Leigh Park:)

I have the coming week off work so if you fancy meeting up, just let me know.
 
I'm a little overwhelmed with info now - abbymarysmokey and tinsel - I'm currently giving 0.5 mls of baytril morning and evening and washing wounds with hibiscrub, which is an antiseptic, mixed with salt and cooled boiled water. I am also using cotton buds and tweezers to pull out the pus.
One of my vets has mentioned possible surgery but not the other one who has written her off completely. I have been twice and never know which vet till I get to the surgery.

Anyway, I haven't been offered any kind of injections and I have no idea what to with the honey! The abscesses vary in size with the biggest being the size of a golf ball - maybe slightly smaller. The others are size of ten or five pence pieces.


Can you use a syringe to draw out the pus rather than tweezers? More effective and less likely to hurt bun too. Was it thoroughly in boiling water after every use. And then use a different syringe to pump the honey in.I think depocillin is meant to be more effective than baytril - see what other people think? It sounds as if your vet isn't that rabbit-savvy - is there another practice you could go to? Maybe Rhianna could advise as you live so close... I can't recommend the honey strongly enough! :wave:
 
Thankyou Tinsel I will try with the syringe although I am careful with the tweezers. The stuff is just so damn sticky!

I have a choice of two vets very local or a few further away but still close, maybe it's worth a ring round.

Oh, and I've ordered some honey factor 25 which is expensive stuff as I found out :roll: Not sure what exactly to do with it.
 
Thankyou Tinsel I will try with the syringe although I am careful with the tweezers. The stuff is just so damn sticky!

I have a choice of two vets very local or a few further away but still close, maybe it's worth a ring round.

Oh, and I've ordered some honey factor 25 which is expensive stuff as I found out :roll: Not sure what exactly to do with it.

No problem. I think you'll find the syringe more effective - you may have to widen the tip with a needle to make it big enough (soften the plastic in boiling water first if it's hard to do). As you say, it's very sticky and that's part of the problem. Do talk to Rhianna about which vet she could recommend in case it's near you?

With the honey, you need to syringe it in (with sterilised syringe) twice a day once you've got the pus out. I think I said stuff in my first post about how to soften it so you can get it into the syringe. It is expensive, but you should see a difference overnight. If bun could then be looked at by a rabbit-savvy vet things should improve. The honey is handy to have as you can smear it on any future wounds (touch wood there won't be any, but in case) and it acts as a natural antibiotic. My vet was absolutely amazed by what it did for Toadstool. If you do a search for Toadstool you can see my previous posts - there may be more info there?

Do keep us updated :wave:
 
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