My rabbit has an abscess and is lethargic. Is it an emergency?

Check his teeth if he will allow. Make sure they aren't overgrown or misaligned. This could affect his appetite. If he stops eating, he is at risk of developing gut stasis which can be life threatening. Ideally, he should be examined by your veterinarian or a vet experienced in treating rabbits. It should be done today/tonight, if possible, since a rabbit that is lethargic or not eating should be considered a veterinary emergency.

This is very concerning and your rabbit will need to see a vet today. Not eating for a herbivore such as a rabbit can cause its gut bacteria to starve and in turn you rabbit may die. He could also have an intestinal obstruction (usually caused by a hairball), or a tooth abscess. Gut bacteria can die quickly. Please do either ring your vet and there will be information on the answering machine directing you to an out of hours service or find an out of hours hospital in your area to take Bluebell to. http://poolhousevets.com/ are open 24 hrs

Hi, I am sorry to hear about Percy, a rabbit who is not defecating is a very serious condition which can indicating one of two emergencies gut stasis or gut obstruction. Both are life threatening. Since your rabbit demonstrating the signs mentioned above of: no fecal pellets, loss of appetite and lethargy it considered an emergency please take him/her to your vet immediately as rabbits can deteriorate very fast. Good Luck

Hello, and thank you for your question. Rabbits do not always show obvious signs of pain or illness; oftentimes being more quiet or eating a bit less, or pooping less are the first signs that something is wrong. It does sound like her symptoms may be related to the issue she had in June (gut stasis). Other possibilities would be pain from another area such as her teeth or an injury, or focal or systemic infection. I would recommend having her checked out by the vet within the next 12 hours if she is still acting very quiet. In the meantime, keep her hay and pellets close by to encourage eating, as well as her water, and monitor her poop output closely. If her appetite or energy are worsening over the next few hours, if she is producing very little to no poop, I would get her to the vet sooner, as gut stasis in rabbits can quickly become an emergency. I hope this helps, and that Miss Cottontail feels better soon!

It could be an abscess, i can't tell for sure from the picture though. rabbits do not have the ability to process the pus that tends to stay very hard compared to other animals, for that reason if it is an abscess you will need to take Bella to the vet in order to have it lanced and cleaned under sedation.

Thanks for reaching out about Blueberry. Being bloated, lethargic and grinding teeth make this an emergency and should been seen tonight, ASAP. Grinding the teeth is a sign of pain. A gastrointestinal or urinary obstruction are possible. Good luck.

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.