urgent! 4month old with large lump on underside

Question
QUESTION: Hi Dana

I have a 4month old rabbit that has a very large lump on his underside running more to the left side of his body. He also has a bite on his left side which is healing and the vet says these are not linked. My usual vet is away for two weeks so have had to see another. Vet thinks it is either cancer or an infetion of some desription and has given me injectable antibiotics every other day to see again in 10 days time. At present although he is not himself (hiding away) he is still eating. Please can you give me your thoughts on the matter i have left the vets feeling no more the wiser! Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

kind regards andrea

ANSWER: Dear Andrea,

If bun is hiding, then he's probably in discomfort.  And because it's so very unusual for a bunny this young to have cancer (not impossible, but really, really rare), I would be more suspect that this lump is an abscess, possibly (but not necessarily) related to the bite.  

I'm glad he's on antibiotics (what type?  If it's anything ending in "cillin" and being given orally, STOP GIVING IT IMMEDIATELY), which should help keep things at bay, at least.  But please also ask the vet about pain management, which will make his recovery easier.  Metacam and/or tramadol work well, and if there is severe pain, I'd ask about getting both for him.

I would not wait two weeks to see a rabbit-savvy vet if bun is no better by Monday.  Please use the list linked here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

to find someone who can see him sooner, and find out what this lump actually is.

Hope that helps.

Dana

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

QUESTION: thankyou for your prompt reply. Wally is on a cillin type but injetable form. He is hiding himself away. I have managed to secure an appointment with a bunny specialist tomorrow morning, i just hope he lasts that long. I am taking him to work with me overnight so i an syringe feed him every few hours. I have cat metacam can he have this?

Answer
Dear Andrea,

I'm glad he's on the Penicillin-G Procaine (I hope that's what he's on, since this is really the only penicillin-class drug considered safe for rabbits), since that should prevent systemic infection if the bacteria he has are sensitive to this drug, which is not unlikely.

If you are really concerned that he's very ill, please read this for emergency instructions:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sickbun.html

His body temperature is very important, and if it's normal, then he's likely to be okay until tomorrow.  He may be hiding because of the pain or the stress of getting shots, but do keep a close eye on him, and try the tricks in the article above to just check on how he's doing.  If he'll eat anything, then he's not on death's door.

I hope he will be fine.  But if you can check his temperature (instructions in the article above), then you will have a much better idea of just how sick he is, and whether you can wait until tomorrow.

Metacam is metacam, but I'd need to know the concentration of your suspension and his exact weight to be able to tell you how much he could have safely.  And of course, it's better to do this with a vet's instruction and supervision.  Our vets use metacam at a dose of 0.1 - 0.3mg/kg once per day.

Dana