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Bunny with Cheek Swellings

22 9:48:19

Question
Hello Dana:
I have a Holland Lop male, who is 9.5 years old- his name is Scooter.

He was just at the vet for a 6 month checkup. I was concerned since he still had some minor swellings on his face. He has had them since about March of this year.  When the vet checked it in May, she thought it was a virus, as it was inconsistent with other lumps she has seen.  He also had a small moveable pea-sized lump on his leg, and she thought it was the same thing. That leg lump had a cytology, but nothing she thought was serious.  It was very hard, but did not show any evidence of white cells. (He still has the lump)

(I consider this vet rabbit-savvy, by the way --- the practice specializes in small animals like cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs)

At this latest checkup last week I asked about the possibility of dental abscesses -- some of them had gotten a little bigger (they can differ in size daily.  Again, she thought it was the shopes virus, and not to be concerned,as the placement of the swellings was not consistent with dental abscesses.  Also, he is not fixed, which she said could contribute to his puffy cheeks.

Oh, and he does have runny eyes about every other day or so.  I asked her about these, and if they could be related to dental issues, but she said they likely were due to something else.

Some other background on him:
He has had dental issues;  he has had about 6 molar trimmings in the past 3-4 years. In addition, he has a chronic ear infection, and tested positive for EC about 3 years ago.  He is currently on metacam (1x.day) and sulfatrim 2X/day for his ears.  He was on Panacur for about a year, but not for the past 9 months, as his symptoms had subsided.

Scooter is eating (both pellets and greens, although he is getting picky about his greens), is pooping normally, and still plays.  He is also very affectionate.  

Do you have any insight about these swellings, and its relationship to a virus? Or something else? I did look up Shopes and the pictures I see much more pronounced and drastic-- the lumps aren't noticeable until you pet him.  Is a virus such as this possible in a domestic rabbit?

Thank you very much for your help.

Connie

Answer
Dear Connie,

Domestic rabbits occasionally show signs of the Shopes virus, but--as you've noted--the appearance is not as dramatic and horrible as it is in our native cottontails.  Sometimes it's little more than a little wart/papilloma on the ear.

If the lumps your bunny has are moving freely with the skin, then they are less likely to be dental abscesses.  Whether they are Shopes lesions could be determined only via biopsy.  But I'd be surprised to see bilaterally symmetrical Shopes papillomas on a bunny.  Not saying it's impossible.  But Shopes lesions are really not all that common in domestics--at least so far.

Un-neutered male bunnies do often develop big, muffy head, just as tomcats do.  But if his jaws seem abnormally puffy, then I'd set up an appointment with another rabbit-savvy vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

just for a second opinion.  Radiographs of the head might tell more.  Since I can't see him from here, this is really the best I can offer.

I hope this helps.

Dana