What if my bunny has an abscess? When should I take them to the vet?

Unfortunately abscess formation in rabbits is quite common. I'm not surprised Runt is lethargic since there is a pretty reasonable chance that she has a fever. Those abscesses are going to have to be lanced and drained and Runt will then have to be placed on antibiotics and pain medication more than likely. Depending on how long it's actually been since Runt has had anything to eat or drink would be the way I would determine whether or not this is an emergency or if it can wait until your appointment. Rabbits cannot go very long without having something to eat because they end up getting something called gastric stasis which can unfortunately be deadly if untreated. If Runt has not been eating for 24 hours or more I would say you should go ahead and bring her somewhere now rather than waiting.

This is probably an abscess that burst, and it is a good thing that it burst. However you should not bathe your rabbit with this open wound. Since abscesses in rabbits are very nasty and can actually come back in the same place, you should take Peanut to a vet to clip, clean, disinfect/flush the area. Your vet will also check whether your rabbit has more abscesses you may not have noticed. Please take him to your vet before the weekend.

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.

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.

Hello, thank you for using PetCoach. Sorry that Parsley is having this issues. As long as she is eating and drinking and acting otherwise normally I would not put her down for an abscess. Rabbits make abscesses that are very well walled off from the rest of the body so they rarely get systemically ill from it. The pus they make is very thick and chunky. Because of these two things, it is almost impossible to get an abscess to clear up with oral antibiotics alone. I think that is waste of your time to do. In my opinion, your only two options are to: 1. do nothing or 2. have surgery to remove the abscess. ( https://rabbit.org/abcesses-in-rabbits/ ) Hope this helps. Best wishes.

If the bump is appearing where the abscess was, then I'd be concerned that it is reoccurring (a common problem with abscesses in rabbits). It's best to have your vet check him as soon as possible, because these are much easier to remove, the smaller they are. I hope that helps and Bun gets better soon.

Thanks for reaching out about Bella and including photos. Hyper-salivation can be the result of dental disease, ingestion of toxic material and other problems. A veterinary visit is recommended to assess and provide a diagnostic/treatment plan. The sooner the visit, the better the prognosis. Try and provide water via a syringe for now. Good luck.