damp under chin and on dewlap!!

Hello, First thing in the morning i will make May a vet appointment with Iain Cope, but i thought i would post some pictures of the area that is worrying me. May is about 2.5 - 3 years old, French lop and unfortunately a bit over weight!!! (we are on the case) she has this yellow, damp patch on her dewlap and under her chin. I would say it has been there for about a week, I've cleaned it but this hasn't made any difference. The skin under the yellow area is normal.She's eating as normal, drinking as normal (from a bottle) pooing and weeing as normal. There's no dribble from her mouth area, infact around her mouth is dry, her eyes are clear and nose dry. I have noticed her licking the front of her dewlap, but she certainly couldn't reach under her chin!

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What do you guys think??

Bunny Boo. said:

Hello, First thing in the morning i will make May a vet appointment with Iain Cope, but i thought i would post some pictures of the area that is worrying me. May is about 2.5 - 3 years old, French lop and unfortunately a bit over weight!!! (we are on the case) she has this yellow, damp patch on her dewlap and under her chin. I would say it has been there for about a week, I've cleaned it but this hasn't made any difference. The skin under the yellow area is normal.She's eating as normal, drinking as normal (from a bottle) pooing and weeing as normal. There's no dribble from her mouth area, infact around her mouth is dry, her eyes are clear and nose dry. I have noticed her licking the front of her dewlap, but she certainly couldn't reach under her chin!

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What do you guys think??

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I'm guessing she uses a water bowl?

You seem to have done a lot of checking of her yourself and she is cared for extremely well, bless her!!

Wet dewlap could indicate some teeth issues, but that said, she isn't dribbling or anything. I'm sure Iain will check her back teeth as far as is possible, to see whether there's any possible link there. Sometimes if it's dental pain they rest their head on the water bowl.

Is she eating her hay well?

I'm glad you're seeing such a good vet. The thing to watch out for would be a fungal infection in a constantly wet dewlap. Given that the skin looks good underneath, I would suspect all is well, but I will be interested to hear what Iain says

Bunny Boo. said:

Hello, First thing in the morning i will make May a vet appointment with Iain Cope, but i thought i would post some pictures of the area that is worrying me. May is about 2.5 - 3 years old, French lop and unfortunately a bit over weight!!! (we are on the case) she has this yellow, damp patch on her dewlap and under her chin. I would say it has been there for about a week, I've cleaned it but this hasn't made any difference. The skin under the yellow area is normal.She's eating as normal, drinking as normal (from a bottle) pooing and weeing as normal. There's no dribble from her mouth area, infact around her mouth is dry, her eyes are clear and nose dry. I have noticed her licking the front of her dewlap, but she certainly couldn't reach under her chin!

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What do you guys think??

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As she uses a sipper bottle I doubt that the wet chin is due to water dribble and dental related ptyalism (excessive salivation) is usually likely to involve the sides of the mouth aswell as the chin. Have you noticed that she tries to pull at that area at all ? This may sound like an odd question, but have you checked her bum/under-carriage ? Rabbits who are rather......ermmmmm....portly can find it to be tricky to keep their bum clean and in frustration they may pull at their dewlap/chest.

Another question- does she shake her head a lot ?

Trying to stop May eating is normally the problem! Hence her weight gain. she's eating all sorts, veggies, small amount of pellets and ad lib hay! I've watched her eat hay and there seems to be no problem there! She is even chewing on her sticks.
She has a bottle to drink from not a bowl so no head resting. Will let you know what Iain says.

I've noticed that she's licking that area not excessively though. No head shaking. Her bum area is not sparkly clean, no stuck on poo just a little stained on the white areas. She had a little health check a month ago and they had a look as best they could at her teeth and they were happy, but I must admit it was not Iain that saw her as she went in for jabs so used my local vet for that. It's such a mind boggling thing!!

It could be Spring related - I have a couple of does who have started "nesting" activities. She can only eat what you give her and as long as she has plenty of hay to chew she doesn't need too much of other foods. Some pellets, a little bit of veg, or forage. Are you reducing her food gradually until she gets some weight off?

Bunny Boo. said:

Trying to stop May eating is normally the problem! Hence her weight gain. she's eating all sorts, veggies, small amount of pellets and ad lib hay! I've watched her eat hay and there seems to be no problem there! She is even chewing on her sticks.
She has a bottle to drink from not a bowl so no head resting. Will let you know what Iain says.

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Good to know she is eating her hay Well done May!

tonibun said:

It could be Spring related - I have a couple of does who have started "nesting" activities. She can only eat what you give her and as long as she has plenty of hay to chew she doesn't need too much of other foods. Some pellets, a little bit of veg, or forage. Are you reducing her food gradually until she gets some weight off?

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I am reducing her food gradually, the problem that i have is she is part of a trio (she is bunny leader) i feed them twice a day and they share between them two handfuls of veggies and one egg cup of pellets (morning and then the same in the evening) and add lib hay. she eats so fast that the other two barley get a look in!!! hence i have to feed my conti extra when I'm sitting with them as she doesn't get enough at meal times. :roll: