Scabbing around mouth/possible mouth infection?

Question

bubbles mouth   Hello,

My bun Bubbles is about 6-7 years old (he was adopted) and about 2
months ago we noticed there was some scabbing on the corner of his mouth
(left side). At first we thought it was a cut but we took him to the vet
and were told that it was an infection (he didn't say what) and given two things: Malaket
wipes to clean the area and Triamcinolone Acetonide Cream to help heal
the area. It cleared up after a week so we thought we were ok. Fast
forward to today and we noticed that, 1) his right eye is watery (no
mucus, just tears), and 2) the right corner of his mouth is now scabby
and looks potentially infected. We used a warm washcloth to try and
loosen up the scabs and clean the area, and also used the Malaket wipes
again to clean it.
He seems to be his normal self (eating/drinking fine) and his stools
aren't abnormal or anything. We haven't changed anything in terms of his
food/environment either. He has an appointment with the vet but I'm worried this is some sort of tooth/mouth infection? My
last bun had teeth problems that caused watery eyes and eye discharge
that never really went away, and I'm afraid this is something similar.
I did read that it could possibly be syphilis and searched up pictures and info. I'm not sure if it's the same thing as Bubbles doesn't look as bad, but it could possibly be in the early stages? He's going to the vet today so we'll see what happens there, but I'm worried the vet might downplay it as something less serious than what it is/could be. I'm also attaching an image to show. This was before I cleaned the area. Thank you for the help!

Answer
Dear Catherine,

The scabbing you see is consistent with what would be caused by drooling.  And drooling is most often due to dental problems such as molar spurs.  Please see:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

The shampoo and corticosteroid creams are just a bandaid approach by the vet, who may not be experienced enough with rabbits to recognize this problem.  I suggest you use the list linked here:

http://www.rabbit.org/vets

to find a more rabbit-savvy vet who can do a deep oral exam and see if molars or other dental problem is causing this.

If there are crusty lesions elsewhere on the body, another possibility is mange, which can be treated with Revolution (selamectin).  But if this is the only spot the bunny has problems, that's less likely.


I hope this helps.

Dana