Why does my rabbit have a recurring chin abscess and skin problems?

Thanks for reaching out about Thumper and including photos. By the description and swelling on the right side of the face, a dental abscess is highly suspicious. The dental disease is making it difficult for Thumper to eat, therefore loosing weight. A veterinary visit is recommended, the sooner the better. Rarely do antibiotics solve this problem, might requiring some surgery or tooth extraction. Good luck.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Donut. It appears that she may have some dermatitis (inflammation of her chin) and resulting infection. With chin dermatitis, oftentimes it is caused by drooling from some form of dental disease. It would probably be warranted for your veterinarian to take a good look at the teeth under anesthesia/sedation. Most likely regardless of the cause there is a bacterial infection occurring now. I would recommend culturing the lesion. If antibiotics are indicated, many pharmacies do flavoring which can really help with oral compliance. Also, I would try to keep the lesion dry with an astringent or manually just keeping the area dry with a clean cloth. Overall a good exam and history (any new changes in bedding, food area, detergents, caging), with some other diagnostics if possible including x-rays, blood work and oral exam will probably be helpful toward determining the underlying cause. This could be very easy to treat especially if due to misalignment of her teeth. Good luck with Donut.

I am very sorry to hear about Stanley. It sounds like she definitely needs to visit the veterinarian. In a rabbit with a swelling like this we worry very much about an abscess, or pocket of infection under the skin. This can be especially common in rabbits with dental issues, such as overgrown teeth (which it sounds like your bunny is suffering from). She needs to see the vet not only to address the abscess (which may require the vet to open and drain and then prescribe antibiotics) but also to address the teeth which may require trimming to allow her to eat normally. If untreated the condition can progress and lead to a painful death as the rabbit eventually becomes unable to eat.

Hello. If your veterinarian has no cultured the lesion, it is time to do so. Mac may have a resistant bacterial infection, or perhaps, even a fungal infection that may require a change in medications. Another concern is there could be a foreign object that penetrated the skin & is causing these recurrent infections. A grass awn, or even a broken claw can basically disappear under the skin creating chronic infections. I would probably start with an x-ray to see if anything is visible & submit a sample for culture & sensitivity. Last resort would be to open the area, explore & possibility biopsy some of the tissue to understand why this is not healing. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It's hard to tell from photo, but that looks like some superficial skin hanging down from the surface of the jawline. If this is the case, there is likely an open wound. The skin that is hanging either needs to be trimmed off or it needs to be sutured back into place. This should be done by a professional to ensure the best outcome, and to allow you to obtain oral antibiotics and pain medication. When rabbits aren't feeling well, they can often stop eating which is a recipe for disaster unfortunately. I would have Totoro checked out some time soon to be examined.

Hi, it looks like there is still some infection. I am not sure what was the first diagnosis but this looks like an abscess to me and it can be tricky for antibiotics to clear the infection. In me experience, it would be better being removed and treated as a lump, provided X-rays, general health support this decision. Abscesses quite often end up reoccurring if not eradicated completely..if you wanted to try oral medications for a bit longer, injectable antibiotics would be the way forward. Hope this makes sense.

It sounds like Wagner has an abscess, the best thing to do is to take him to the vet to have this cleaned out, antibiotics and daily cleaning are usually necessary. There is a chance that this could be some sort of infected tumour, but the abscess is usually more common.