Hard things on left side of body

[Fury the Bun]

Hi everyone!
I have a question about my rabbit (Fury, holland lop but with a little fuzzy hair, 3.5 months, male).

So he has a lump on the left side of his body in the end of the ribs (part of it still under the ribs), I can feel this thing from top of him and left side if his tummy is in okay condition. But if his tummy is a little bloated/full after eating I can feel that thing from the bottom also.

For the record:
I never check his tummy from his top nor his side, also he has a quite thick coat before so I can’t feel a lot from his top/side. But on 13th january he just get groomed and because of so many matted fur near his skin he need to get trimmed (they kept the fur on the legs and face and neck area tho). From this time I started to check his top and left body after he got balded since it’s easier to check now and as I remember he doesn’t have this lump atp. He usually get bloated and mucus poop and small poop after travelling. It’s usually goes away after 1 day but after that grooming travel it lasted for around 3 days. I also take him to the vet on 17th january and the vet said he only hears a little bit of gas so Fury is okay. He also said I didn’t need to continue the simethicone and benebac. They also run some poop test and it shows only too much gut flora and 1 suspected oocyst but the vet not sure abt this. The vet said Fury is underweight but eat normally so he suspected it’s this too much gut flora and stress after travel that cause him to be underweight, so he give nystatin for 7 days (and to stop if his poop is not okay) and ask to not bring Fury anywhere including the vet for sometimes to minimize stress unless it’s urgent. I give nystatin for only 5 days since his poop seems a little wet and small on the 5 day, I still give him simethicone tho since I suspect a bloat after vet travel, but I stop benebac.

1-3 days after that vet trip I started to feel this lump on the left side of Fury body (since it’s easier to see and check after he got balded). His tummy is okay tho, he also act normal and active, drink and eat and poop normally, everything is normal.

What I want to ask is:
1. What is this “lump” on Fury’s left side? Is it obstruction in his stomach? Or is it his other organ? Is this dangerous? (I attach the photo bellow you can see the “lump” on the left side of his body)
2. Should I risk it and go to the vet? Actually there’s no rabbit savvy vet near me, there’s only exotic vet which I think not know a lot abt rabbit(?) so the only vet I can go is this exotic vet
3. Is there a things like “too much gut flora” for rabbit?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Orenoko]

I think the only way to get to the bottom of this is to take him back to the vet for scans to find out what it is. Nobody here can really tell you what the lump is. His fur loss and weight is very concerning too as he's such a young boy. I'm not sure where you're based but an exotic vet should be able to help, even if they're not a rabbit specialist. I don't even want to suggest anything re his diet to help him gain weight as you need to find the cause first. It could be that all of these issues are related, but he really needs a scan of the lump to find out, I'd also ask for blood tests to see if there's anything obvious found on there. I'm sorry to say he looks in quite bad shape so I'd be trying to get him back to the vet ASAP if you can.

 

[bunny momma]

Do you mean he is bald because his fur was shaved due to matting, and now it is easy to see the lump?
Your vet is right that he is extremely underweight. Were you told to give him any syringe feeds or to slowly change his diet by adding more pellets or other food?
Is is difficult to diagnose the lump from a photo.
Rabbit digestion is very complicated and they need the right type of gut flora to properly digest food.
Your bunny requires a vet as soon as possible to diagnose the lump and to determine why he is not gaining weight if he is eating normally.

 

[Fury the Bun]

Thanks for your advice @Orenoko . Actually his fur loss is at normal stage since he is molting to adult coat, but he is bald now because the groomer shaved all his fur in the middle of the body. His diet is just hay and pellet, now I also give him critical care and sarx mix to help him gain weight everyday as per the vet request.

Thanks for your advice too @bunny momma . Yes that’s exactly what I mean, and I don’t even feel the lump there before Fury get shaved. I never try to palpated him right there before. Yes, the vet told me to increase his pellet intake and add sarx + cc to his daily diet. He is actually gaining a lot of weight right now after I changed his diet and after that nystatin medicine the doctor give.

@Orenoko and @bunny momma I will take him to the vet ASAP but I’m still afraid if the risk is worth taking because where I live (Indonesia) the nearest exotic vet with lab facilites that can do xray and blood test I can reach is around 30-45 minutes driving. Also the exotic vet seems to not know a lot about rabbit (last time I visited him, he don’t know what optimus pet and benebac is(?)) I’m quite concerned that he can’t give me any useful advice regarding Fury’s condition.
Should I just risk it now and go to the vet for xray and blood test or should I wait till he is a little less stress since he is traveling a lot and get gi stasis a lot this month already? (to the park, to the groomer, to the vet 2 times, and to move to my family home for the holiday)

 

[Orenoko]

Thanks for your advice @Orenoko . Actually his fur loss is at normal stage since he is molting to adult coat, but he is bald now because the groomer shaved all his fur in the middle of the body. His diet is just hay and pellet, now I also give him critical care and sarx mix to help him gain weight everyday as per the vet request.

Thanks for your advice too @bunny momma . Yes that’s exactly what I mean, and I don’t even feel the lump there before Fury get shaved. I never try to palpated him right there before. Yes, the vet told me to increase his pellet intake and add sarx + cc to his daily diet. He is actually gaining a lot of weight right now after I changed his diet and after that nystatin medicine the doctor give.

@Orenoko and @bunny momma I will take him to the vet ASAP but I’m still afraid if the risk is worth taking because where I live (Indonesia) the nearest exotic vet with lab facilites that can do xray and blood test I can reach is around 30-45 minutes driving. Also the exotic vet seems to not know a lot about rabbit (last time I visited him, he don’t know what optimus pet and benebac is(?)) I’m quite concerned that he can’t give me any useful advice regarding Fury’s condition.
Should I just risk it now and go to the vet for xray and blood test or should I wait till he is a little less stress since he is traveling a lot and get gi stasis a lot this month already? (to the park, to the groomer, to the vet 2 times, and to move to my family home for the holiday)

That's good to hear that he's gaining weight, critical care will help with that too so it sounds like he is on the right track. I'm not sure why the groomer shaved his fur, but it's done now so hopefully will grow in soon. In the meantime just ensure he stays warm (probably not a problem in Indonesia) but also dry. I'd try to reduce travel with him ie. Don't take him to the park or groomers (you can probably learn to groom him yourself in time) and only travel when essential. Rabbits don't generally do well with lots of travel, and he will probably be quite stressed going to the park, for example. If he has ample space to explore at home that'll be sufficient for him. I'd still get him booked in at the vet but ask them to give you some meds in case he gets stasis after the journey. They can hopefully do everything in one day so he won't need to go back again.

 

[Fury the Bun]

Thanks @Orenoko yes he has some electrical warmers and a mini hutch inside to stay warm and he also live in my room so cold temperature is not a problem. Sadly I live in a mini apartment and there’s no garden at all, but rn I already tried to not travel often with Fury. Sure I’ll try to get a check up appointment with my vet. Thanks gor ur advice