Patridge bantam chicken poorly foot?

[clarissahen]

Sophie ( RSPCA rescue rabbit) is a 3yr old black bun. She is bright, lively, eating well.

About ten days ago she sprouted what looked like a small but non-inflamed spot above her eye. She has subsequently added a few more, above her brow, one on her nose, one on her head. She does not scratch them. They do not weep or crust. She has been jabbed for Myxi and , to be honest, she'd be dead by now if she had it. Before I whip her off for a stressy visit to the vet, does anyone have any idea what might be going on?

[SnowWhite]

Hi, I'm no expert but I've had a few bunnies over the years. Can you tell us how big the growths are and what colour they are, whether there is any fur loss in the area etc? This will give us all a better idea of what you're dealing with.

 

I've had a rabbit with small cysts and abscesses on the face before which I only found on close inspection on an otherwise healthy rabbit. These lumps were about the size of a small pea, not red or imflammed especially and only visible when I parted the fur. These can be caused by small wounds or scratches. In rabbits the abscesses tend to be 'solid' not the weeping kind and the vet will prefer to cut them out rather than lance them as you might a boil.

 

I had a very old rabbit who had an abscesses in his tooth/jaw. This was only spotted when it grew so large (and almost overnight) that I could see it through his fur. It is amazing how quickly they grow so if you do anything, watch Sophie like a hawk to monitor any changes. Rabbits are prey animals so they hide pain very well and when they do start to show you signs of suffering are they in a very serious condition and a lot of pain.

 

I've also had a rabbit with fleas!! In this case there were small, pimple like bumps which looked a little red. Rabbit did not scratch especially so I did not suspect fleas but there they were, to my horror. A does of Frontline from the vet did the trick.

 

Either way, you do need to take Sophie to the vet. That way you can put your mind at rest too. It is probably nothing serious so don't panic. I hope everything goes ok.

[clarissahen]

Hi..thanks... small, grey, petit pois size. Seem to be going today...As I say, she is as bouncy as ever ...

[SnowWhite]

How is Sophie getting on?

[clarissahen]

Well, I took her to the vet today...just in case. i have spent many hours on the internet and not found anything that even bgins to resemble what she has and, as I said before, she is as bright as ever, fur in great nick, hopping about , eating up etcetc. So, guess what?! The vet has no idea what it is either, though she agreed with my diagnosis of weird variant of papilloma virus. She is sure it is not cancer/myxi/allergy/mite etc etc.She said we cd spend £150 anaesthetising her and having a biopsy done...but, hey, she isn't actually ill, she doesn't mind if you touch the bumps, her teeth and everything else are fine and she cd pop her little clogs on the operating table so the vet thought it wd be an unnecessary risk and expense and may still tell us nothing! So £17 later ( actually cheapest trip I've ever had to a vet..but it was £17 to find out that I knew more than the vet! She's home again and fine...apart from the nascent elephant man impersonation! Bizarre!

[SnowWhite]

Glad to hear that she's doing ok! Completely agree with you - no sense in putting her through the stress of an anesthetic if she's fit and well. Sounds like you have a good vet if they didn't force you down this route too!