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New male bun with large lump in dewlap

S

spider

Warren Scout
I took in a 5 year old male bun on Monday from a family that were struggling to care for him due to family illness. My girl had lost her companion recently so I was thinking about a friend for her when I heard about this already neutered lad. I knew he was a big boy but he is really overweight. When I got him home I weighed him and had a good look over him. He has a large dewlap so I was concerned he was actually a she. He is definitely a he but I found a large tangerine/small orange sized lump in his dewlap which explains why it is so large. I didn't notice when I collected him and unless you had a good feel in the fat I guess you wouldn't notice. With all that has been going in with the family I can understand how it was missed.

Once I saw him moving about a bit I could see that it hangs down quite a lot. It gets in the way when he cleans and before too long it will really hinder his cleaning and eventually eating and movement.

I took him to a rabbit savvy vet on Wednesday. She agreed it felt very attached which I know isn't usually a good sign. She got a small sample via needle but it wasn't pus and was difficult to get more than a little blood. She called later to say there are some cells and they don't look nasty but she couldn't be sure. We'd need to send it off to have a better idea but she wasn't confident of the sample so it may still be inconclusive. We decided to book him in for exploratory surgery in the hope it can be removed. We could then take a better sample to send away.

He also had some spurs on his molars that she used a rasp on. I'll ask them to have a better look when sedated. She thinks we caught them in time so that an appropriate diet will do the rest. His was fed sweetcorn, apple and carrot a lot in his previous home which explains a lot.

I've done some searching of threads on the forums and so far lumps in the dewlap are mostly fatty or abscesses. I really hope this is the case. The attached nature of this lump obviously has me concerned. I guess we will have to wait and see what his op on Friday brings. This was the earliest she could do and it will give him a chance to settle in as he's been quite phased by the move and subsequent vet trip. I haven't decided on a name yet as the lump situation has thrown me and I guess I'm a little scared to get too attached. He's an agouti and white with dutch type markings. I'm working on gaining his trust at the moment as I don't think he's had good people experiences in this life. He was hutch bound and now has lots of space which I think was quite scary for him too.

Clare
 
I don’t have any experience or advice but just wanted to send healthy vibes and say I really hope it’s nothing serious now he’s just found a lovely new home xx
 
spider said:
I took in a 5 year old male bun on Monday from a family that were struggling to care for him due to family illness. My girl had lost her companion recently so I was thinking about a friend for her when I heard about this already neutered lad. I knew he was a big boy but he is really overweight. When I got him home I weighed him and had a good look over him. He has a large dewlap so I was concerned he was actually a she. He is definitely a he but I found a large tangerine/small orange sized lump in his dewlap which explains why it is so large. I didn't notice when I collected him and unless you had a good feel in the fat I guess you wouldn't notice. With all that has been going in with the family I can understand how it was missed.

Once I saw him moving about a bit I could see that it hangs down quite a lot. It gets in the way when he cleans and before too long it will really hinder his cleaning and eventually eating and movement.

I took him to a rabbit savvy vet on Wednesday. She agreed it felt very attached which I know isn't usually a good sign. She got a small sample via needle but it wasn't pus and was difficult to get more than a little blood. She called later to say there are some cells and they don't look nasty but she couldn't be sure. We'd need to send it off to have a better idea but she wasn't confident of the sample so it may still be inconclusive. We decided to book him in for exploratory surgery in the hope it can be removed. We could then take a better sample to send away.

He also had some spurs on his molars that she used a rasp on. I'll ask them to have a better look when sedated. She thinks we caught them in time so that an appropriate diet will do the rest. His was fed sweetcorn, apple and carrot a lot in his previous home which explains a lot.

I've done some searching of threads on the forums and so far lumps in the dewlap are mostly fatty or abscesses. I really hope this is the case. The attached nature of this lump obviously has me concerned. I guess we will have to wait and see what his op on Friday brings. This was the earliest she could do and it will give him a chance to settle in as he's been quite phased by the move and subsequent vet trip. I haven't decided on a name yet as the lump situation has thrown me and I guess I'm a little scared to get too attached. He's an agouti and white with dutch type markings. I'm working on gaining his trust at the moment as I don't think he's had good people experiences in this life. He was hutch bound and now has lots of space which I think was quite scary for him too.

Clare
Click to expand...

Firstly I am sorry to hear of your recent loss of one of your Rabbits :cry:

A few years ago I adopted a Buck who had developed a large lump in a similar location to the Buck you have just adopted. It too felt as though it had a 'stalk' making it seem to be attached to deeper areas. The lump was surgically removed and was found to be an encapsulated abscess, the pus being far too thick to be drawn out during a FNA. The pus within the necrotic abscess capsule was literally a rock solid lump. The Rabbit went on to make a full recovery with no recurrence of the abscess.

Obviously it's impossible to say whether your Buck's lump will be the same sort of thing, but it is possible that it wont be anything really 'nasty'.

I hope that all goes well for him xx
 
spider said:
I took in a 5 year old male bun on Monday from a family that were struggling to care for him due to family illness. My girl had lost her companion recently so I was thinking about a friend for her when I heard about this already neutered lad. I knew he was a big boy but he is really overweight. When I got him home I weighed him and had a good look over him. He has a large dewlap so I was concerned he was actually a she. He is definitely a he but I found a large tangerine/small orange sized lump in his dewlap which explains why it is so large. I didn't notice when I collected him and unless you had a good feel in the fat I guess you wouldn't notice. With all that has been going in with the family I can understand how it was missed.

Once I saw him moving about a bit I could see that it hangs down quite a lot. It gets in the way when he cleans and before too long it will really hinder his cleaning and eventually eating and movement.

I took him to a rabbit savvy vet on Wednesday. She agreed it felt very attached which I know isn't usually a good sign. She got a small sample via needle but it wasn't pus and was difficult to get more than a little blood. She called later to say there are some cells and they don't look nasty but she couldn't be sure. We'd need to send it off to have a better idea but she wasn't confident of the sample so it may still be inconclusive. We decided to book him in for exploratory surgery in the hope it can be removed. We could then take a better sample to send away.

He also had some spurs on his molars that she used a rasp on. I'll ask them to have a better look when sedated. She thinks we caught them in time so that an appropriate diet will do the rest. His was fed sweetcorn, apple and carrot a lot in his previous home which explains a lot.

I've done some searching of threads on the forums and so far lumps in the dewlap are mostly fatty or abscesses. I really hope this is the case. The attached nature of this lump obviously has me concerned. I guess we will have to wait and see what his op on Friday brings. This was the earliest she could do and it will give him a chance to settle in as he's been quite phased by the move and subsequent vet trip. I haven't decided on a name yet as the lump situation has thrown me and I guess I'm a little scared to get too attached. He's an agouti and white with dutch type markings. I'm working on gaining his trust at the moment as I don't think he's had good people experiences in this life. He was hutch bound and now has lots of space which I think was quite scary for him too.

Clare
Click to expand...



Hi Clare

How lovely of you to give this man a new home :love:

You are right, from your research it's often a fatty lump or an abscess. Your vet seems to have done all they can and I believe the best option now is to have it removed and then analysed (if it doesn't seem like an abscess at the time).

I have had to deal with this issue fairly recently, where an abscess was found attached and had to be cut away from the main tissue.

I hope all goes well for your lovely little bun - what's his name?
 
Thank you all for your replies. It has been tough after losing Uncle Peter. We also lost a very dear cat in November. It has been a very tough time. Uncle Peter had confirmed e. cuniculi year before last that left him with some problems with his heart and also some neurological, that sadly meant we lost him rather suddenly. Our remaining girl Maisie was treated with Panacur for 28 days. Now to think our new boy may not be with us very long if the lump is malignant. I have let the previous owners know and they were horrified. They offered to take him back but I couldn't do that of course. Although briefly the thought did cross my mind as I know there could be tough times to come but mostly as he was so phased by the move here and having trouble settling in. They have offered to help with the vet bill, which is very kind.

So far the vets have only charged for the consultation, which included the spur rasping, needle aspiration and slide analysis. I just called to check there was nothing outstanding, which there isn't. I'm very impressed with them so far and not because of the cost. They are not my local vet so new to us. I sought them out as our local vet didn't stock Filavac and are not very rabbit savvy. I have used a specialist exotic vet at another further away practice, especially for Uncle Peter's unusual EC case (he wasn't showing the typical signs). They are pricey and it is good to find one a bit closer.

I haven't settled on a name for new bun yet. I feel awful as he's been with us a week, although I was away with work for a couple of days. He's only just coming out of his shell really. So I hope he will tell me soon. He has an unusual marking in the iris of one of his eyes. Not a sign of disease but I like his eye is slightly blue. It reminds me of my brother Jack who has striking blue eyes. So he may be called Jack! Not very original for a rabbit!

His eating seems to be picking up and I've seen him do some small binkies! He's a very chunky lad so small is probably all he can manage. His poos are still on the small side and he's not too keen on the forage I've been offering him but neither is he eating his old pellets or the new ones I've offered. He must be eating hay and he is nibbling grass and weeds in his exercise area. He does need to lose weight but not too fast. It is really lovely to see him make use of the space he now has. He's got up some speed despite his bulk. At first he squeezed himself under the hutch as I think he was agoraphobic after being in a small hutch in a shed.

I had ruled out it being an abscess as we didn't get any pus in the sample. I've been lucky in that I haven't had to deal with a rabbit abscess yet but I know they can be tricky. At least with surgery we will hopefully be able to remove it, whatever it is. I'm feeling a lot more positive about it all. Although of course the anesthetic is always a worry. I've had buns spayed and castrated before and some 10 years ago but it is always a worry. Especially as this boy has been through quite a lot and has had trouble settling.

Ramble over!
Clare x
 
spider said:
Thank you all for your replies. It has been tough after losing Uncle Peter. We also lost a very dear cat in November. It has been a very tough time. Uncle Peter had confirmed e. cuniculi year before last that left him with some problems with his heart and also some neurological, that sadly meant we lost him rather suddenly. Our remaining girl Maisie was treated with Panacur for 28 days. Now to think our new boy may not be with us very long if the lump is malignant. I have let the previous owners know and they were horrified. They offered to take him back but I couldn't do that of course. Although briefly the thought did cross my mind as I know there could be tough times to come but mostly as he was so phased by the move here and having trouble settling in. They have offered to help with the vet bill, which is very kind.

So far the vets have only charged for the consultation, which included the spur rasping, needle aspiration and slide analysis. I just called to check there was nothing outstanding, which there isn't. I'm very impressed with them so far and not because of the cost. They are not my local vet so new to us. I sought them out as our local vet didn't stock Filavac and are not very rabbit savvy. I have used a specialist exotic vet at another further away practice, especially for Uncle Peter's unusual EC case (he wasn't showing the typical signs). They are pricey and it is good to find one a bit closer.

I haven't settled on a name for new bun yet. I feel awful as he's been with us a week, although I was away with work for a couple of days. He's only just coming out of his shell really. So I hope he will tell me soon. He has an unusual marking in the iris of one of his eyes. Not a sign of disease but I like his eye is slightly blue. It reminds me of my brother Jack who has striking blue eyes. So he may be called Jack! Not very original for a rabbit!

His eating seems to be picking up and I've seen him do some small binkies! He's a very chunky lad so small is probably all he can manage. His poos are still on the small side and he's not too keen on the forage I've been offering him but neither is he eating his old pellets or the new ones I've offered. He must be eating hay and he is nibbling grass and weeds in his exercise area. He does need to lose weight but not too fast. It is really lovely to see him make use of the space he now has. He's got up some speed despite his bulk. At first he squeezed himself under the hutch as I think he was agoraphobic after being in a small hutch in a shed.

I had ruled out it being an abscess as we didn't get any pus in the sample. I've been lucky in that I haven't had to deal with a rabbit abscess yet but I know they can be tricky. At least with surgery we will hopefully be able to remove it, whatever it is. I'm feeling a lot more positive about it all. Although of course the anesthetic is always a worry. I've had buns spayed and castrated before and some 10 years ago but it is always a worry. Especially as this boy has been through quite a lot and has had trouble settling.

Ramble over!
Clare x
Click to expand...


Hi Clare

You've been through quite a tough time, but I am glad you've found a good vet :D


You are right, the GA does pose a greater risk to rabbits than other species, but a very good and experienced vet can usually handle anything that is thrown at them so I am hopeful of a very good outcome. And in the last 10 years rabbit anaesthesia has progressed somewhat :)


I think Jack is a good name for a rabbit - why not? :)
 
Just wanted to update this. It has been a bit of a roller coaster ride. When the lump was removed it was very attached with a sort of cord like structure that ran in to the body cavity. The vet didn't dig deep to remove it as the main lump was large enough and took long enough to remove. Plus when the main lump was cut open it was a complicated, 'nasty' looking mass and assumed to be cancer. Based on this I nearly didn't have it sent off for analysis. Thankfully I did as it came back as benign necrotic tissue. Even the lab said it wasn't simple to diagnose and it took a while for the results to come back. The initial report said something about further investigations needed or words to that effect. They said it was most likely from a trauma that had gone necrotic and encapsulated itself. Amazing really, what the body does to protect itself. We still have to keep any eye on him in case it regrows but we are 6 months on and no sign of anything yet. He does have another lump in another area but this appears unattached and non growing so we are just keep an eye on it. His teeth are also a bit of an issue but we've cut right back on his pellets so hope we can resolve this.

Oh and his name is Mr Tumnus. After very slow split set up introductions with our older lady Maisie he is now living in our huge aviary set up with her. A far cry from the lonely life in the tiny hutch he came from. He's so active, happy and in love with Maisie. It really is a joy to see.

I would like to add that "rescuing" rabbits privately like this isn't a good idea for the inexperienced! I've been involved in rescue (although only a few rabbits) so I knew it may not be straight forward but this still took me by surprise. I don't regret it though.
 
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