My rabbit has an abscess

Question
Hey, I have had my Holland lop since July 2008 and just a month ago I noticed that there was a lump growing on the left side of his jaw. After I saw it I took him to the vet the following day and he has been getting weekly antibiotic injections and they have prescribed for him a 0.13 mL dose of Metacam every 24 hours. I just wanted to make sure everything we're doing right now is correct and what is a proper way of cleaning it? I read on the internet about popping it but I would never do such a thing without expert advise. Thank you so much.

Answer
Hi,

you don't want to pop it.  What you'd need to do is consult with the vet and they'd probably sedate him and do a small incision and clean it out, and possibly pack it with antibiotics.

Rabbit pus is extremely thick, it wouldn't work anyway.  A good rabbit vet needs to do it.  The metacam is for pain relief and to reduce swelling/inflammation.

I would ask the vet about baytril (a good rabbit antibiotic that is able to penetrate abscesses well) as you can be told how to give this to him properly.  They flavor it like the metacam to make it palatable.  

I would also do a check in your area for a good rabbit vet, start here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

for a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.