Rabbit with swollen mouth! *Abscess: anyone know how to drain?*

[shadow rabbit10]

This could be serious and she needs a vet. You don't know what this is and at this point, it seems only a vet can tell. If it an abscess, the chances of it popping itself are slim. An abscess can kill an animal if the puss gets into the bloodstream (that's how my rat died). An abscess is basically a puss filled sack if you did not know. If it is an abscess, a vet can pop it safely. However, if it a broken tooth, or some kind of tumor, she REALLY needs a vet. She could be in pain and it's not good to let her live like this. I may sound pushy, mean, and overreactive, but I am just telling the truth.

 

[dainerra]

if it was summer, I would think fly strike or similar. 1000% get this girl to the vet. If there is no way that you can afford it, check into care credit or try to find a vet that will take payments. Another option would be to surrender her to the humane society for treatment.

 

[Mykee]

I think, since the abscess is getting larger and painful, I am going to try to drain it myself. I did a ton of research, so I know how to properly. I am just worried about how far I should cut into the abscess. Has anyone ever done this before?

 

[dainerra]

if you don't know what you are doing, you could KILL your bunny. An abcess that isn't handled properly can release toxins into the blood stream, leading to a body-wide infection. Also, you are centimeters from her brain. Do you have something to sedate her? A means of restraining her? A clean, sterile area to work on her? Something to numb the pain?

 

[gaited horse]

If I was on your shoes I would cull the rabbit. But I don't have per rabbits I have breeder/show/meat rabbits.

 

[AinaWGSD]

You don't drain rabbit abscesses. They are not a pocket of fluid pus the way dog/cat abscesses are. They are hard chunks of infection, much like bumble foot in chickens, that need to be debrided in a similar fashion. Debridment is extremely painful and the stress of doing it without anesthesia could potentially kill her. I have seen rabbits die from stress after far less painful (and stressful) procedures. Even if she survives the debridement, the pain afterwords could push her into GI stasis, which could kill her. Bunnies don't do well with pain and there's not a whole lot of pain management options available to them.

If she is a pet, then she really needs to see a vet. Even if you do manage to successfully debride the abscess this time, without proper antibiotics it will simply be back with a vengeance in a matter of days or weeks. I wish I could tell you what those proper antibiotics were, but unfortunately the extent of my knowledge on rabbits and antibiotics is that amoxicillin will kill them and therefor I would be leery of using any related drug (like penicillin) without a rabbit-knowledgeable veterinarians prescription. Even with antibiotics, abscesses can still come back. If she is not a pet, or not quite a pet, and taking her to the vet is prohibitively expensive, then you really need to consider how unfair this is to her and think about culling.

 

[Mykee]

At the top of the abscess, the skin is really hard and dark colored. Is that normal? As for me draining the abscess, I did a lot of research, and I have a disinfectant and an antibiotic. There are people who have succesfully drained the abscess of a rabbit. I understand the hestiancies (that's why I have not drained it yet). She is my pet, but I don't have much money to spend on smaller pets. Also, I lost my other rabbit to something that looked like a tumor, and I don't want to lose this one. Is there a possibility it will burst on its own?

 

[dainerra]

I'll be blunt.

if you don't have the money to pay for her vet care, the right thing to do is to either turn her over to the humane society or have her euthanized. It is unfair and cruel to have a pet that you are unable to provide basic care for. And a trip to drain an abcess is one of the least expensive vet visits!
When my daughter's bun broke his leg we were prepared to put him down if necessary but the vet offered us the option of making payments plus a generous discount since he used the treatment as a learning opportunity. $350 ($600 without the discount!) Patches was 100% and you would have never known that he was injured. It took quite a while to pay off but the clinic was patient because we are long standing clients.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

I'll be blunt.
if you don't have the money to pay for her vet care, the right thing to do is to either turn her over to the humane society or have her euthanized. It is unfair and cruel to have a pet that you are unable to provide basic care for. And a trip to drain an abcess is one of the least expensive vet visits!
When my daughter's bun broke his leg we were prepared to put him down if necessary but the vet offered us the option of making payments plus a generous discount since he used the treatment as a learning opportunity. $350 ($600 without the discount!) Patches was 100% and you would have never known that he was injured. It took quite a while to pay off but the clinic was patient because we are long standing clients.

I agree. If you're not a vet, you should not be trying to complete surgery. Abscesses are very dangerous to do yourself. Abscesses are cheap to drain. I know because my rat had one flushed and it was only about $60. EIther take it to a vet (the right thing to do), or turn it in to the humane society.

 

[Mykee]

So, would most vets be able to drain a rabbit abscess? Or do I need to find a special vet? I have a vet for my cat-she has lots of experience-and she would not charge me too much. Also, would medications be expensive, or is it just a straight fee? Thanks for the help!