Big bubble on rabbits neck!

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have a one year old cottontail. She's been released for 2 weeks now, but she still comes back all the time to me in our backyard. I noticed about a week ago a big gray-ish bubble (and it's a clear bubble) on her neck! This is freaking me out, because I've googled it and can't find anything about bubbles on rabbits' necks. Please tell me what it is!! It's about .5 inches from her neck and as wide as ... not quite as big as a dime, but almost!

ANSWER: Hi,

I can't really tell you exactly what it is.  I could guess if she is outside.  My first thought would be a tick.

If you can get to her and examine it to see if it's a tick, and be able to pull it off carefully with tweezers, that would be good.

I know this is technically a wild rabbit but you may want to consider keeping her inside, given she is not totally wild and she may let others get too close to her and do her harm, plus she is not familiar with things in the neighborhood that can kill her, such as cars, other pet animals, especially cats in the neighborhood.  She probably doesn't have a full instinct anymore when it comes to knowing what plants are poisonous or not.

The issue is more complicated than just a cottontail because you have raised her and fed her and she is used to people.  There is a certain dependency there and she may be better off as a pet inside.  The agouti breed of rabbit looks just like a cottontail.  But if you can consider it at least, she will have a much longer life with you, getting better care and protection than out in the neighborhood, probably dying a preventable and unnecessary death prematurely.

Consider it.  All the work you put into her, plus her trusting of you as a person - you'd never do anything bad to her, unlike others in the neighborhood - I'd hate to see all that go up in smoke.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi! Thanks so much! This is such a relief that it's only a tick and not cancer or something like that.

I read that I should smear some Vasaline or something on the tick before pulling it off to suffocate it. Will the head really stay embedded? If it's not necessary, I wouldn't want to go to smear gooey stuff like that on my rabbit.

Answer
Hi,

there seems to be conflicting trains of thought as to how to deal with removing a tick, and whether to try to smother it (with vaseline, alcohol, etc) or not.

The claim from those that say "smother" is to really cover well the entire tick so that it cannot breathe, and that it will detach itself in order to save itself.

THe other camp says either with tweezers or fingers, grab the tick as close to its head as possible and slowly pull back on it (slowly) to remove the entire head and body together.

I'd say whatever you believe would work better where the tick actually is on your rabbit's body.  Also keep in mind if you smear it with vaseline and then try to pull it out it's going to be very slippery even with tweezers.

I probably would try to pull it out real slow with fingers at the base of its attachment and pray the head comes out with the body.  If the head is left in you need to get it out with the tweezers.  

Once the tick is out them you can deal with disinfecting the bite area.  If you dilute some regular hydrogen peroxide with water (50/50 ratio) and dab a cotton swab or cotton ball with it, and dab onto the bite.