vets are stumped........can you help?

i have a 4yr old ( possibly he was a rescue) male lionhead, he was neutered before i got him and apart from a sensitive tummy to certain things he is now the picture of health ( unlike when i got him) however sunday morning i picked him up to do his daily bottom check( he gets stripped right back in the summer but i leave him longer in the winter as hes an outdoor bunny and just clip round his bottom every month and blast the dead hair out with my dog grooming dryer he LOVES i!) and i noiced he had a small cut/tear near his bottom, i didnt think much of it bathed it and he seemed fine. checked him again monday, and the cut had scabbed over but near it he has a large swelling - almost looks like a cyst or that it might be filled with fluid? he went to the vets monday and will be going back tomorrow if hes no better, vet wasnt sure what the swelling is and thought maybe due to the cut but its NOT an abcess, hes been on metecam and antibiotics, the cuts clearing up nicely but this lump hasnt changed? any ideas? hes now not eating much nor pooing much, he will go back tomorrow to vets regardless unless its better, but just wondered if anyone had any ideas on what it might be?

I'm sorry I cant help but good luck to you.. I hope your wee bun gets help and recovers quickly...

Nose rubs to him and hugs for you

Fee x

How does your vet know its not an abscess, have they taken a fine needle aspirate to determine what the lump is? My first thought would be an abscess, but only your vet can tell with tests.

Yep, would need to stick a needle in it to confirm 100% it's not an abscess. Is it on his abdomen? Just thinking it could be a hernia (which obviously you wouldn't stick a needle in). The vet could also do an xray/ultra sound to see what it looked like/if it's attached to anything.

If it's effecting his eating then I would get him in first thing tomorrow AM as rabbits guts can get into problems if they stop eating/pooping which is often a secondary issue ie. they feel unwell/in pain and don't want to eat and that can be more serious than the original problem.

Oh dear, I really think he needs to go in as an emergency. It may well not be this but Roger had the same swelling, wasn't eating or pooing and I phoned my vet, and he said to take him straight in, which I did. Was so very lucky as he had a hernia and because it was strangulating the bowel that was why no poo and didn't want to eat. If I had left it, it could have ruptured (what the vet said) and I would have lost him. Was touch and go anyway, and the longest morning of my life, as he was admitted straight away, but I was warned that there was a good possibility I would loose him, but Simon being Simon, against all the odds got him through it. It was only much worse for Roger because he was a severely disabled bunny with neurological problems, so I think you just need to get your bunny to the vets as soon as. Good luck, hope all goes well.

Forgot to say, Roger's hernia was right by his man bits, not his abdomen. Apparently hernia's are not always in abdomen area in bunnies, like they are on people. Sorry, just reread your post and saw that he is not eating or pooing much, read it quickly before and thought he wasn't eating or pooing at all. I'd still get him in first thing though.

How is bunny today?

sorry for late update. the lump is right by his bits BUT vets fairly sure its just swelling due to the cut - the swellings going down and the cuts healing up fine, however he hasnt eaten at all since i last posted - he went back to the vets the day after i posted, they gave him some injections and some medicine for at home , he had a little look at his teeth and we decided if he didnt eat by the fri morning hed go in and chekc his teeth properly just incase - he didnt eat so went in, had a cou0ple of tiny spurs but not enough to stop him eating and vet confident thats NOT the problem, so hes back home with me being syringe fed a special solution every couple hours or so, hes not eaten AT ALL, he was drinking till today but pretty sure hes not drunk today though is a lot of water in the solution hes being fed so im not overly worried about that.......he still hasnt pooed more than a couple tiny droppings vet was honest and said he hasnt a clueand to be honest its not looking good at all for the little fella so will be carrying on tomorrow but if he hasnt eaten by monday morning that will be nearly aa week and will be taking him to the vets to have a serious discussion - i wont see him suffer hes indoors though in a cage so i can keep an eye on him, luckily the dogs are being good and not bothering him! x

Have they taken x-rays? Also is he on pain relief?

hi yes hes on pain relief plus a ton of other stuff - no xrays no. to be honest im not sure we could if he won eat hes just getting weaker, its odd hes happy to swallow the stuff hes fed by a syringe but he wont touch anything else at all, not even if its put right by his mouth!

If he's very weak a conscious x-ray might be possible and would at least let you see what the swelling is connected to and possibly help with a treatment plan sending many vibes x

sorry no the vet had a look at the swelling when they knocked him out for his teeth - hes pretty sure its just inflamation from the cut - and unconnected to the not eating, and the lump is going down well now with antiinflams etc

I agree a conscious x-ray may give some answers. My vet did a conscious x-ray of one of my buns who had urine issues so checked her for stones/sludge this way.

Is your vet bunny savvy. Someone may be able to recommend one on here if you are not confident or need a second opinion. You could try him with some different food. When one of mine had a dental the other week she would not eat her normal pellet but a friend brought some science selective and she wolfed it down. Might be worth a try as you can get small bags of it, mine now have it as a "treat".

Try to tempt him with some herbs too, I always find that thyme is good. For some reason they seem to like the strong smelling stuff when poorly. Also try some kale.

Sending him vibes x

is your vet rabbit savvy?

I really think you need to get a 2nd opinion asap from a rabbit specialist. If you would like to speak to my vet, I am sure he would be happy to advise over the phone. If it were me I wouldn't except the vet being 'fairly certain' about something as that simply isn't good enough, and I was in the same situation myself, but with the prospect of Roger being pts, sought a 2nd opinion, only to find that the original vet had completely mis-diagnosed. With then finding out what the real problem was, and appropriate treatment he then went on to make a full recovery, and I made a formal complaint about the original practice, and they refunded all the money I had paid in full for the needless suffering they had caused to Roger, and all the upset to me. I think it still sounds more along the hernia line and surely common sense would tell the vet, that all your little guy is going through, can no way be caused by a little cut. Something much bigger is going on here. I believe the cut is purely co-incidental, and as my vet has told me, you need to concentrate on the real problems, symptons as if you focus too much on something like the cut and don't look any further it is easy to miss the real problem. Fair enough to consider cut initially, but then when it becomes apparent that that cannot be causing all that is going on here, then take it out of the equation and focus on the real symptons you have in front of you. I would like to think that your little guy can be saved, but to stand a chance, it is going to need rapid intervention from a rabbit specialist. You could also as well contact your local bunny rescue and ask them which vet they use, and then get an emergency appointment, as in all probability he will have seen something like this before. Good Luck.

Hi, right firstly, my vet is very experienced, i wouldnt trust ANY of my animals with anyone else. secondly, hes not blaming the not eating on the cut - infact he has already said its highly unlikely that its connected. the swelling is now gone, and as i said not a hernia, it was simply due to the cut he had.Ive tried other foods - cannot give fresh stuff as it makes him vey sick , i cant risk trying loads of different foods because i could end up with a bunny ten times more poorly , so have tried the foods i know he can tolerate, he did eat a very small amount last night...............we are still stumped, the vets given him a thorough check over under GA and cannot find anything wrong! hes completely happy in himself, quite bright, and caught him busy making himself a bed earlier - he just reluctant to eat!

Well that's good to hear. Let's hope he starts to pick up some more by himself.

suz_and_gordon said:

sorry for late update. the lump is right by his bits BUT vets fairly sure its just swelling due to the cut - the swellings going down and the cuts healing up fine, however he hasnt eaten at all since i last posted - he went back to the vets the day after i posted, they gave him some injections and some medicine for at home , he had a little look at his teeth and we decided if he didnt eat by the fri morning hed go in and chekc his teeth properly just incase - he didnt eat so went in, had a cou0ple of tiny spurs but not enough to stop him eating and vet confident thats NOT the problem, so hes back home with me being syringe fed a special solution every couple hours or so, hes not eaten AT ALL, he was drinking till today but pretty sure hes not drunk today though is a lot of water in the solution hes being fed so im not overly worried about that.......he still hasnt pooed more than a couple tiny droppings vet was honest and said he hasnt a clueand to be honest its not looking good at all for the little fella so will be carrying on tomorrow but if he hasnt eaten by monday morning that will be nearly aa week and will be taking him to the vets to have a serious discussion - i wont see him suffer hes indoors though in a cage so i can keep an eye on him, luckily the dogs are being good and not bothering him! x

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Could it be that he is not happy being indoors and even if the dogs are leaving him alone the smell of them close by may be upsetting him ?

Have you tried putting him back in his own environment to see if he will eat there ? Always assuming that the temperature change wont be too drastic. If he is now in a centrally heated room he obviously cant go back outdoors again until later next Springtime. If this is the case then can you bring his outdoor hutch indoors and keep him in a room where the dogs are not allowed to go ?

lol no no room for the hutch indoors !! and no the dogs dont bother him at all hes used to running around with them etc. Ive stopped his meds wodnering if that was upsetitng him on advice form the vet- and hes eaten every night since and today while i was at work hes eaten nearly as much as he normally would in a day - so fingers crossed he may be on the mend!