Any ideas on what could cause this?

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Big Wild Spot has a bump on the side of his face. He is the same one that got the cut on his ear just a few days ago. I don't know what happened to his cheek but there was a bump on it this afternoon. It wasn't there last night and I don't think it was there this morning either (It was dark but I had a flashlight). I caught him and felt it and it is hard like bone (definetely not soft like a tumor or tick), but he is still able to move his mouth and everything (he was cleaning himself). Any ideas on what it is? Here are a few pictures:

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/4bunnies/000_4367.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/4bunnies/000_4366.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/4bunnies/000_4370.jpg

[TexanSquirrel]

Wow. Might be an infection - any sign of where he might have a little wound for the bacteria to get in? I think pam's husband is a vet, maybe you should PM her....

[squirrelfriend]

Looks like an abcess to me. If you say he cut his ear a couple of days ago perhaps he got nicked there too? Does it move if you try to move it or is it stuck to the bone? an abcess can be hard if it is very full but it will still move a bit. Take a closer look at the skin undr the fur. Is there a spot where the skin feels a little thinner than the rest? If so that would be the head (like a pimple. You could poke it with a needle and squish it out (not for the queezy sort) if it is. Once it is lanced it will heal within a week or so. I have found that a larger hole is better than a smaller one when lancing it. This way it will stay open for a bit longer and can drain more. A pin prick will seal right up soon after and it will swell right back up. By a larger hole I don't mean huge just a bit bigger than a pin prick. Hope your bunny feels better soon.

many times these will rupture on their own and drain but they will be building a lot of pressure before this happens and be quite painfull for them. Lancing it, even though it sounds harsh is actually going to save this guy a lot of pain. Can you imagine what it would feel like to have a zit that big?

[Mars]

My first thought is an abcess tooth or gum. :thinking

[acorniv]

Can you look inside his mouth and see anything?

This is a helpful discussion for me too, because Blind Bob has a similar swelling. His is not as localized as the little bunny's. That is really an interesting lump - perhaps it originated with a tiny wound or else it is being contained by bone or something to be sticking out so far but not spreading back towards the ear.

Squirrelfreinds, since I may soon be dealing with an abcess lancing too, can you recommend a tool? A small exacto knife tip? or just a large needle?

What would you clean it with and what topical antibiotic would you use afterwards?

Best of luck to the little guy - what a cutie!

[LynninIN]

Incision and drainage on a rabbit is more difficult than a squirrel, dog or cat. Rabbits don't make liquid pus, they form a thick membrane that surrounds infection with a very thick yellow pus instead. Other mammals bodies will do this internally to protect from systemic (blood) infection and it is thought to be the reason rabbit's immune systems "wall-off" the infection sights. Because of the structure rabbit abscesses cannot easily be lanced and drained they usually require surgical removal and/or antibiotics.

My guess is tooth related also.

[webld4u2]

I am with Mars and Lynnin!! Can you smell his breath?

[Pam]

My DH looked at the picture. He agrees...abscess. He said it is probably a Pasturella infection.

[TexanSquirrel]

Poor little dude! Keep us posted!

[Abacat]

SR&B2 I think an abcess too...read this link.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/lumps-rabbit-face.htm

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Thanks guys. It was so hard I didn't even think of an abcess. Are there any antibiotics that can clear it up? This little tyke is so wild (ready to be released I have just been waiting for it to stop raining) that I can't really get a good look at it or in his mouth. He kicks and squirms every time I grab him. If there is an antibiotic I can give him, I would rather go that route. I really don't think a trip to the vets is a good idea for him. I can see it now. He would be all stressed being back inside a building and with all the other animals around and would get loose when the vet tried to look him over. And I wouldn't want him to get knocked out for it because I know how sensitive these little tykes are. He is doing so good, I don't want to lose him now. He is up to 284 grams. He is like a miniature rabbit and has full rabbit attitude!

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I started the little tyke on sulfatrim. Hopefully that will take care of it. I will not be able to lance it and let it drain. It was hard enough just getting the antibiotics in him. I think he got the abcess after fighting with his brother. His brother has a wound on his back, so that makes 3 incidents in the last two days. So, I am splitting them up. The little guy is going to be staying in the bay area between the cage door and the second door. His wounds aren't too bad, mostly scabbed over, but I want to keep an eye on it for a few days before I release him.

[TexanSquirrel]

With Teal'c the BunBun, if you flip him over he freezes. That's how we trim his nails and check his teeth. Just a thought....

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Yeah, I tried that. This one doesn't freeze EVER! He is pure wild. I can grab his little brother and check him out all I want but grab him and he is all struggle. I have them separated now. I am hoping it was them fighting amongst themselves and not Zippy hurting them. We will see. Big Wild Spot is still in with the squirrels.

[TexanSquirrel]

Oh well, it was worth a try!

[acorniv]

I'm glad you've got him on some meds now. I hope it clears up quickly. No chance of wrapping him in a towel and lancing it, I suppose? The wrapping does two things - makes them manageable and it calms them. Deep compression is very soothing, neurologically ( it's why humans hug, and why we squeeze when we're scared)

What is the blunt nosed animal in the lower left of your photo of squirrels and bunnies? I've been trying to figure it out for days, LOL I've about decided it is half puppy half bunny.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I don't know what it is about bunnies, but they have always reminded me of my boston terriers. I think it is something in the ears and nose. They are just sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute!

Both little tykes are doing good this morning. I couldn't catch the big guy to give him his meds, so I will have to do it at lunch when I go home to feed the robin. The little guy is doing good in the outside enclosure and wasn't drenched, even though it was raining and the cage he is in doesn't have a roof. The little cutie was hiding under the box I gave him and was staying nice and dry under there.

[Momma Squirrel]

So glad to hear the two little ones are doing well and hanging in there. Bunnies are just so precious and fragile.

[acorniv]

I don't know what it is about bunnies, but they have always reminded me of my boston terriers. I think it is something in the ears and nose. They are just sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute!


So is he younger or a different species than the pointed nose little rascal, um, I mean rabbit behind him?

They're co cute I just about can't stand it every time I see that photo!

Glad they're all doing well today.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

They are the same species. The guy in the lower left is a little younger than the others. I think the way the picture was taken also makes him look a little different.

Well, I went home at lunch to feed the robin and decided to try to catch Big Wild Spot to give him his meds (I only have 30 minutes for lunch and my house is 5 minutes each way from where I work). The mission was a sucess, but I noticed a large chunk of fur missing from the top of his head and a rather large surface wound underneath. So, I have now put the two bunnies back together in the outside enclosed area away from the squirrels. I guess it was one of the squirrels (probably Zippy) that was doing it and not them fighting. Now I am just hoping it wasn't a combination of both and they will start attacking eachother. I don't have another cage to put them in so they better be good. I will be keeping a close eye on his wound and will probably put some antibiotic ointment on it this afternoon when I have a little more time. Hopefully the problem is solved now and everyone will get better.

[acorniv]

That has to be less painful than a tooth, so may be good it was an external wound. I've noticed that abscesses tend to get bald around the injury site, before they drain or dry up. I think Blind Bob is loosing some hair on his too, but he didn't give me a good angle to see it from today. I hope the balding is a good sign, and I think it is.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

No, the new wound is on the top of his head. The abcess is still fully furred. When I got home from work, I noticed that the little guy had a chunk of fur missing from his back. Sure enough, he has yet another injury! I'm telling you these two are a handful. This one looks deeper and has gone through his second layer of skin under his fur. The other wound was just a little one on the surface. So, now the little guy has two wounds on his back, probably from his brother or the squirrels and the big guy has the abcess, a cut on his ear, and a semideep wound on the top of his head. I caught them both and weighed them and medicated them. The big guy is at 285 grams and got sulfatrim for the abcess and I put neosporin on his head wound. The little guy was at 181 grams and got neosporin on his back wounds. Since they were fighting since lunchtime when I put them together (the little guy got the second wound on his back in that time frame), they are now separated and separated from the squirrels. I have the big guy in the outside bank and the little guy in a dog carrier in the squirrel cage. Hopefully there will be no new injuries. If there are they are self inflicted or there is something else causing them. Here are a few pictures:

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/4bunnies/000_4371.jpg
The outside bank (that is the little guy in the left hand corner)

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/4bunnies/000_4372.jpg
The little guy

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/4bunnies/000_4380.jpg
The big guy (you can see the abcess and new wound)

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/4bunnies/000_4381.jpg
Another one of the little guy

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r299/4bunnies/000_4387.jpg
The new wound on the little guys back

Do you think the little guy needs to go on sulfatrim too? I haven't put him on it in the hopes that he will heal up and be able to be released in a few days. If I start him on antibiotics I have to keep him another full week. Also, do you think the dog carrier will be big enough? It is one of the medium sized plastic ones for like a pug sized dog I would say.