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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Chin puss and scabs

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    • 3 buns mom
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        I just found this forum and am so happy to find others that feel the same way as I do about our bunnies.

        I have a 3 yr old French Lop, named Max. For the past 8 months or so, we have been battling a constant problem under his chin area. I first noticed hair loss, and redness. Then it started pussing up and scabbing. It looks green in the picture, but it’s not. Don’t know why that happened. Anyhow, went to a rabbit savy vet and he was put on antiobiotics every day and a penicilin shot every week. I can’t recall for how many months because he was being treated for fluid in his lungs before that. Well 6 weeks ago, I brought him to another rabbit savy vet and he suggested I give him a penicilin shot every day….so I have been doing that and it’s still the same.

        He had his teeth filed down last August because his back teeth were in bad shape and we hoped that would solve the problem. The 1st doctor also tested for fungus on his chin which came back fine. He is eating fine…he is 14 pounds and loves to eat!  His chin doesn’t seem to bother him unless I touch it or try to pull the scabs off (when they are loose and ready to fall off) he just doesn’t want my hands anywhere near his mouth after all he has been through. 

        Has anyone dealt with this before? I don’t feel a lump or anything…it just looks raw. Thanks in advance for any help.

         


      • AnnaW
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          Aww poor little guy! Was there a cut or graze there before that could have got infected?
          The only thing i can think to suggest really is (unfortunately for you) kind of bathing the area every day with warm water, maybe putting some antibacterial cream for rabbits on and then REALLY making sure the area is completely dry? :/ What a mystery, poor little thing! At least he has a mamma who loves him and has gone to the trouble (and i bet expense!) of getting him all the penicillin jabs


        • equalsign
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             Maybe get an X-ray done to make sure it’s not any teeth issues/infections.


          • jerseygirl
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              Welcome 3 Buns Mum : )

              I agree about the xray if you haven’t gone that route yet.

              Have you had the puss tested – a culture and sensitivity test? Some infectious agents can be resistant to penicillin.

              A member here had her bunny with a scab on his lip for the longest time. She finally found a vet that correctly diagnosed rabbit syphilis and he was treated and the problem solved. Typically rabbit syphilis effects mouth/nose/eye area and the genitals but there seems to be a new form presenting where it’s only effecting the facial region.
              Here’s more about it. 2nd half contains some pretty graphic pics so if your squeamish, just check out the top half of the article.
              http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/syphilis.shtml

              Edit to add: when I first saw the photo I was thinking it’s like Wet Dewlap syndrome (sometimes called green fur syndrome) but you don’t normally see green there? 

              That’s really odd. Maybe the flash light of the camera is illuminating something not visible to the eye?  Anyway, maybe it’s worth having a look over this article also. http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_d…/Moist.htm

              It’s possible your bun has a combination of things going on.


            • 3 buns mom
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                Thanks for your replies! I think the next step I am going to take is some dental x-rays to rule out any possible dental problems. Also, I think you’re right Jerseygirl, time for a culture test. I looked at the article on rabbit syphilis, and found it quite interesting. I am going to bring it up to the doctor, but since he has been on pen injection for a very long time and it hasn’t helped, but it is definitely something to bring up to the doctor. It very well could be “wet dewlap” syndrome. That is what I have thought all along due to his drinking water out of a bowl. I even changed bowls and that didn’t help….maybe next step is to put a water bottle somewhere and hope he uses it. First thing I am going to do today is call the vet and see if there is any antibiotic ointment I can put on the area.


              • Sarita
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                  Wonder if it’s pseudomonas. Sometimes that can be a real difficult bacteria to cure.


                • 3 buns mom
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                    I looked up pseudomonas and am definitely going to have a culture done! It very well could be that and I read that pen injections won’t help usually. Thanks for your advice.


                  • Nova
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                      I don’t know how well this applies to rabbits but in humans, Penicillin type antibiotics are notorious for causing yeast overgrowth. (yeast infection) – this happens because penicillin kills lots of bacteria, bad and good, but not yeast, so yeast can over grow. gross I know but it can occur anywhere that is warm, dark and moist. Perhaps add some acidophilus to your bun’s food, but the easiest way to get your bun the right amount of probiotics to combat yeast would be some Bene-Bac.

                      It’s worth a shot or worth bringing up to your vet. If it’s yeast it would likely be itchy but doesn’t have to be. Human women get this under their boobs sometimes if they have big boobs (sorry lol) .. I wouldn’t know, I’m flat

                      I think youre on the right track with some cultures tho


                    • 3 buns mom
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                        Nova, I was giving him bene-bac during the daily injection phase. The first doctor never suggested it. It was easy enough to give him, but like I said he hates my fingers near his mouth. He has been through so much in his short life. He bit my finger last night when I was looking at his chin. He never used to bite, but I don’t blame him now. The poor baby. The things we go through for our bunny loves…


                      • littlemissflip
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                          Another thing to consider (in addition to all the above possibilities) is whether he’s possibly physically irritating that chin area in a way that’s leading to rawness and infection. Last summer Captain Danger had some crusty bare/pink patches under his chin. They didn’t seem to hurt him, and they didn’t seem pussy or infected, but my vet was concerned. We ran a variety of cultures and tests, and everything came back negative. We tried changing up his water-delivery method, and I tried drying his vegetables (he’s a sloppy eater), thinking that maybe his chin was getting too wet and not properly drying out. We tried limiting his foods to see if it was an allergic reaction to something, etc. etc. We tried bathing the affected area with some kind of anticeptic wash (can’t remember what it was called). My vets were contemplating having us give him a sulphur treatment (despite the negative test results), and I really didn’t want to go that route…

                          Then I noticed him eating out of a hay-filled cardboard toy thing that we’d purchased from another bunny website… this cardboard box had small-ish holes on either side through which he could access the hay, only… he was shoving his entire big ol’ Holland Lop head into the holes! I realized that he might actually be scraping his own chin raw on the rough cardboard edges of those holes. I took that toy away and recycled it.

                          And… his chin cleared up! Of course, I don’t know for certain that it was the cardboard toy. It might even have been a combination of things. But the condition hasn’t come back in over a year, despite returning to his previous diet/water system, so…? Anyway, it’s just one thing to consider as you try to figure out what might be causing the chin irritation. Good luck solving your medical mystery!


                        • 3 buns mom
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                            Littlemiss flip – First and foremost… I literally laughed with your reference to your lops big head.   I can relate. Mine is a 14 lb French Lop and he looks huge against the other 2 rabbits (dwarf and rex).  But you did bring up a good point. Wish it could be that easy for me, but there is nothing around here that could be causing that.  He is always underfoot. He sleeps in the middle of the livingroom walkway and won’t budge, he’ll sleep in front of the oven when I am cooking, etc….He just plops his body down where ever he feels like it…and we always have to watch where we are going. His veggies and hay are usually placed on a blanket. Tried the basket thing, but they used it as a little box instead. He is too big to really fit anywhere, so like I said he is usually within eyesight and he’s lazy. Thank you for pointing that out though. Ooooooh, was just thinking as I was typing that last sentence, sometimes when he sleeps, he sleeps with his chin on the carpet like the picture below. Wonder if that could be somehow responsible.

                             

                             

                             


                          • littlemissflip
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                              gotta love those lops!

                              Hmm, I wouldn’t THINK lying with his chin resting on the carpet would cause the irritation, unless he’s rubbing his chin against the carpet, or unless there’s something in the carpet that he’s sensitive/allergic to??

                              I hope you can figure it out, and that it’s something benign and easily-resolved…. your bun looks and sounds like a big sweetie

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                          Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Chin puss and scabs