Hello everyone!  I just joined the site but find it so helpful always.  I have a problem that I am wondering if anyone else has ever delt with or has any insight.

I have a female mini lop named Oatie.  She is 9 months old.  I took her to her regular vet last Tuesday because I had noticed that when she ate something hard, like her treats it was as if it hurt.  Her normal vet began looking and feeling  around and noticed a lump in her jaw.  She did an XRAY and found that she has a lump.  Not only does she have a lump but she is missing 2 teeth ( she might not have been born with these 2 teeth).  She said that I would need to see another vet who could do surgery if needed.  This vet is in a totally different practice, not affiliated with the first vet.

 On Thursday, 2 days later I took her in to see this other vet.  I brought the X-rays with me and the vet looked at them. He said that it "probably was an abscess" and that since she is so young she probably wont live a full life anyways.  He told me that he could find out if it was an absess by sticking a needle in, but he never offered to do that, it seemed he was in too much of a rush.  He said that he could operate but it would probably come back, or we could try an antibiotic and it probably wouldnt work either.  He made me feel basically as if I should have put her down right then and there. 

So not wanting to take the news so hard I asked if I could try the antibiotic (chloramphenicol) first and then in a few weeks see how it is and then do surgery if needed.  Now since it is a few days later I am questioning things.  First, if he didn't check the lump other than looking at the XRAY how do we know it is an abscess?  And am I doing the right thing with the antibiotic first? 

I have read that abscesses are often a nightmare and keep reoccuring but he made me feel as if I should give up now, and put her down and that is the LAST thing I want to do.  I love my Oatie too much!  Anyone that has any insight or thoughts or knows of any good rabbit vets in Massachusetts let me know.  Thanks!

Welcome! I'm sorry to hear about the troubles you and Oatie are going through!

I'm not very experienced with rabbit abscesses, but we have many members that know a lot more about this. However, I would be peeved at the vet too! Here is a list of veterinarians that the House Rabbit Society recommends; maybe one is close to you.

http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

Welcome. I do think you need to find another vet - talk to your regular vet about your concerns and experience with this vet and see if she has another vet she can recommend to you.

Hi,
I'm sorry you're going through this with Oatie. Unfortunately, I think it's time to find vet #3. I don't know any personally anymore (was from MA) but you can go to the thumbtacked thread in this forum and use the sites for finding a vet near you. Look it up via zip code if you can. You want to look for Exotics vets in your area, so don't discount your good old yellow pages either. It's possible you could call the first vet and tell them you are dissatisfied, to ask if they know anyone else to refer you to. They may want to know if this vet is not all he's cracked up to be.

An abscess is common enough with rabbits to be more adept at diagnosis and treatment I think. I seem to recall a vet school in midstate too, so often a vet school would really like a patient for a teaching opportunity, so you could look for one of those near you as well. Don't give up hope.

Thanks all. RabbitPam.....how do I get to that thread to find a vet near me? Thanks!

That's unfortunate that vet #2 was so unhelpful. The link Peppy gave you should help you locate a vet in your area.

My lop had an abscess at the back of his mouth. It was drained twice and given a few weeks of antibiotics and cleared up. While it's true that abscesses often recur in rabbits, it's not fair to say "let's not bother treating it since it's likely to come back anyways." From my knowledge, a sample should have been taken from the abscess to culture to find out what type of bacteria it is and which antibiotic it's most susceptible to. Abscesses from Pasteurella have a higher likelihood of recurring.

This is hard situation for a bunny parent and you shouldn't have to deal with a vet like that. I really hope you can find someone better to help you and your bunny.

((((((Bunny Healing Vibes))))))))

Ditto ditto ditto on speaking with another vet. You could have struck that one on a bad day but it doesn't leave one feeling very confident.

I had a similar experience. I took my rabbit to the expert referred by my vet. He kept using the term "disaster". "These things are bit of a disaster in rabbits" etc. he didn't really give me options or much hope. I actually did strike him on a bad day and in email correspondence later, he was more genial.
I ended up just taking Jelly in numerous times to my own vet clinic and they were the ones that opened the abscess up a couple times to clean it out. And worked on getting the right antibiotic.
Earlier this year I was miserable about my rabbits situation. 6 months on we are in a much more positive place.

The thread that has rabbit vet resources.

http://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tab...fault.aspx

You might find it useful to join some other online communities and ask members direct also. Sometimes the lists are not up to date but they definitely give a starting point.

Posted By peppypoo on 10/21/2012 10:01 PM
Welcome! I'm sorry to hear about the troubles you and Oatie are going through!

I'm not very experienced with rabbit abscesses, but we have many members that know a lot more about this. However, I would be peeved at the vet too! Here is a list of veterinarians that the House Rabbit Society recommends; maybe one is close to you.

http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

--i am currently treating houdini-(bunz)-with chlorampheicol,and metrondizole-(flagyl)-for a chin abscess which is not dental related-,--we are their only first line of defense-so yes take an aggressive stance-asap- to this problem,--if radiograghs-(x-rays)-prove the abscess is dental related than this could result in surgery---sadly prey animals are up against the odds--abscesses can come and go--it is however the hidden ones that are life threatening,--sincerely james waller--new resident

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks all!
The abscess can be removed by the vet, I guess her main concern is Oaties teeth. Oatie is missing 2 teeth....she was not born with them. The problem is that one of her back teeth has nothing to wear down on. It the tooth keeps growing it would grow into her cheek so it needs to be removed. Both vets that she has seen can not remove her teeth. The tooth is healthy but will eventually be a big issue. Does anyone know of any rabbit vets in Massachusetts that remove teeth because my vet said I might need to go to New York or Pennsilvania for this. Thanks

Posted By oatiesmama on 10/28/2012 04:36 PM
Thanks all!
The abscess can be removed by the vet, I guess her main concern is Oaties teeth. Oatie is missing 2 teeth....she was not born with them. The problem is that one of her back teeth has nothing to wear down on. It the tooth keeps growing it would grow into her cheek so it needs to be removed. Both vets that she has seen can not remove her teeth. The tooth is healthy but will eventually be a big issue. Does anyone know of any rabbit vets in Massachusetts that remove teeth because my vet said I might need to go to New York or Pennsilvania for this. Thanks

--dr.jennifer graham--exotic ,avian,dvm,,in boston mass.--she is one of the foremost rabbit specialist in the u.s.a--she moved east from lynwood,washington a few years ago,--,rabbit teeth grow at a rate of 1-3 mm per week and require a steady diet of grasses to keep the teeth under control--that given they can still get misaligned,and infections-(abscesses,etc)--in oaties situation her teeth are the main concern-.ie.chewing grasses,some pellets with her remaining natural teeth--here is a link to a medical website for more info by dr.ester vanpragg--  http://www.medirabbit.com --sincerely james waller--

Great! Thanks James and Welcome also.

Oatiesmama, I hope you are able to get in with Dr Graham, she sounds promising.