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Help with rabbit abscess advice please!

ettaariane

New Kit
I have a lovely lop called Mr Ching and he lives in the house. We have been battling with an abscess for almost a year. Firstly he had it cleaned out and was on injections for weeks. Then he had it removed but some of it was so deep where his back leg is that they had to leave it. We continued with cyrstopen injections for some months and when his back began to scar we decided to take him off injections. He then had a period of nothing at all but the abscess started to enlarge again. He has been on Baytril for three weeks but it isnt halting the growth of the abscess. My vet said he should be able to have something called Septrin but she can't seem to find the correct dosage. I have been pushing her for a week now with no result. I am getting pretty desperate as he can't go on much longer at the rate the abscess is growing. Does anyone know the dosage of Septrin for a 2.5kilo rabbit. ? Thanks. Etta
 
Hello

Septrin is an antibiotic that is probably not the best to use for an abscess unless its based on the results of a culture and sensitivity test.

I would have thought that a Cephalexin abx such as Ceporex would be more appropriate as it has good tissue penetration including bone

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Intervet___Schering-Plough/Ceporex_Injection/-34152.html

My Vet uses Septrin(Trimethoprim/Sulphamethoxazole), but not for abscess type problems. The dose for Septrin is 30mg/kg ORALLY every 12 hours
There is a similar abx which is injectable ( Trimetheprim/Sulphadiazine ) and the dose is 48mg/kg by subcutaneous injection every 24 hours. Again my Vet would be unlikely to use this for abscesses.

Has your Vet considered packing the abscess with an antibiotic impregnated bead ( Antirobe )

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Pfizer_Limited/Antirobe_Capsules/-30236.html
 
Thank you

Hi there. Thank you for such a quick and informative reply. I will follow the link you provided. I did suggest the antibiotic beads but some professionals don't always like advice and I was told it wouldn't really help. I thought it would after reading quite a lot about it. I feel a bit better now since your reply. Sometimes wish I didn't get so attached to rabbits. I have fifeteen but Mr Ching is my baby. Thanks again anyway for your help. Etta
 
Hi there. Thank you for such a quick and informative reply. I will follow the link you provided. I did suggest the antibiotic beads but some professionals don't always like advice and I was told it wouldn't really help. I thought it would after reading quite a lot about it. I feel a bit better now since your reply. Sometimes wish I didn't get so attached to rabbits. I have fifeteen but Mr Ching is my baby. Thanks again anyway for your help. Etta

You are welcome :)

I hope the Vet can help Mr Ching
 
Bunny Abscess

Hi Etta
My bunny Tubby has a nasty abscess and the vet has given me Septrin. Tubby weighs the same as your bunny and I am giving him 0.8 mls twice a day.
I hope this helps and that bunny gets better.
Hannah
 
I'm quite worried your vet doesn't know the dose rate for common AB's ther are all in the BSAVA small animal formulary or alternatively they can ring the help line for doasages does your vet generally deal with bunnies cos most vets lance flush then pack abcesses then last resort remove-my bunny has recurrent abcesses but not generally in the same place unless it is not lanced and treat properly initially.
I hope you bunny floppit gets well soon
 
As well as giving antibiotics i don't know if you would consider packing out the would with the highest strength Manuka honey you can buy.Its sometimes works brilliantly with Abscesses.I would ask your vet to take a swab of the abscess wall to see which bacteria you are dealing with.I also think It would be be an Idea to go onto ceporex until the swab cultures come back
 
we had a rabbit with an abcsess in her mouth, we fed her manuka honey (15+umf) and she was given betamox, a penicillin based antibiotic, can't remember the dosage. If you are using manuka honey on the skin, it should be UV treated, the honey can contain spores ( can't remember what) so should be blasted with UV to kill them.

ps, the bunny is still with us, about 6 months after the vet thought she would have to be PTS.
 
Last edited:
Mr ching. Rabbit abbcess.

I wrote a while ago about my rabbit, asking for help regarding a recurring abcess. He is still around and I thank everyone who replied to my plea for help.
I have learnt a lot after fighting for mr ching for over a year. I now believe that vets are sometimes too quick to revert to cutting. If an abcess is left to run its course naturally the pus changes from a stiff soft cheese texture to a smooth running texture and the abbcess develops its own head which bursts enabling it to clean itself out and heal. Cutting too soon stops the natural healing process and it is difficult to discharge a non ready abcess as the pus is too thick.
I keep the area clean with an hibiscrub and give him a daily dose of baytril. When the abbcess bursts I clean it out with a hibiscrub using a none needle syringe. Mr Ching and I have had great success dealing with his abcess outbreaks. However,I am not advising anyone to forego visiting the vet. My vet and I have walked the path together and I still take him just to have his health checked.

Thank you again to all the kind people who forwarded me advice.
 
Hi All,

I agree with you that not to cut the abscess too soon. We did it
first but they come back anyway.

I agree with Maizy to use the highest strength Manuka honey ( 25 the
higest ??) I am using it as well. Works wonder.

My rabbit BunBun has her face abscesses for over 3 years now. Here is her story. Hope it helps.
She first had the abscesses on the left side of her face when she was 5 years old. Our rabbit specialist(in Sydney) tested the bacteria and choose the antibiotic. BunBun is on this antibiotic daily up until now. The first two times the vet removed the abscesses straight away as they grew back. this did not work as they came back quickly. The vet told me and my partner beforehand that surgery may not be able to fix this problem. Then He told us to watch closely. Regular check-up and the vet will decide when to have a surgery. Flush the abcesses as they pop. When the abscess grows quite big and has a thick skin around it that means it is hard to pop so the vet has to lance it open and clean it. In the first two years BunBun needed surgery every 4 months or so to remove the abcesses. I am sorry to say this as it
looks painful but she was back to normal on the second day after surgery. Eating and running. Then from 2008, the vet noticed the growth rate of the abscesses has slow down. they are small one and pops easily. No surgery since, just occasionally lance them out. flush with iodine and pack with Manuka honey. The manuka honey also kills the bacteria to a degree I think.

The vet said the rabbit's muscle has a lots of thin layers in it, when he removed the abscess he has to remove the meat around it as well but not to damage the function of the muscle or nerves. This makes it difficult as the bacteria can easily spread to different layers. That's why he thinks they often come back. As with the antibiotic he said the antibiotic will stop the bacteria to go to other parts of the body. BunBun only has abscesses on her left face. But he said even he does not know the reason why the antibiotic does not work fully on her face. He suspects couple of reasons but I forgot what they are.

Now bunny is more than 8 yrs old she has other problems like teeth,
back and joints problems but the vet just got her all fixed recently. We are so happy to see a bouncy rabbit again.
OH we use zeniquin 25mg tablet ( BunBun's bacteria reacts to baytril but
zeniquin is more powerful, see what your vet says), two times a day
so 50 mg a day. we crush and mix it in sugar water!! she likes it. My vet said to use high dose so needs to check liver and kidney regulary. So far OK after 3 years. I hope BunBun will be able to past 9 yo. I ask my vet in the beginning how long should a rabbit lives , he told me if with care 10 yo shouldn't be a problem. I didn't believe him but now I do.

I think you are on the right track so keep up with the good work !!
Good luck to Mr Ching !!!!!!!
 
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