Fur in rabbits mouth & throat

Question
I have a 10 month old lion head rabbit who has had the sniffles pretty much since i've had her-i never thought anything of it till almost a week ago when the sneezes turned into fits with lots of snot coming outta her nose which I only noticed when her head remained tipped to one side & i picked her up for a check over.
Anyways the vet said its pasturella or rabbit flu & gave me amoxicillan for her for 10 days & gave her a shot.
The next day she got a big absess on her face which is bleeding a bit now & also one side of her bottom lip has turned hard & black.
SO then i took her back to the vet 2 c what the hell &  if i should switch the meds cause i read on the internet that amoxicillan is deadly for rabbits so maybe she is reacting.

He didnt seem too agree but said she is doing better & her temp is down a lot so looks good but then he looked in her mouth & down her throat & they are both covered in hair-which he has never seen b4 & thought it was f-ed up so then said i recommend putting her down-5 mins earlier he said she is doing better-im confused.

Now i'm not sure what to do with her cause im not sure if she will ever get better or if she is suffering & maybe i should just put her down.

She is pretty sick & hasnt eatten pellets for a week; however she stared to eat apple & rice krispies a bit last night.
I mix pellets with wATER & VITAMINS & FEED HER WITH A SYRINGE & SHE DRINKS WATER ON HER OWN.

SO IF U CAN OFFER ADVICE PLEASE DO-IM GOING ON VACATION SOON & NEED TO MAKE A DECISION.

I hate to see animals suffer but at the same time i would hate to take her life if she will get through this

Answer
Followup:

Dear Angela,

As it states in the instructions for when you ask me a question, if you have a true veterinary emergency, the internet is not the place to seek help.  If you have an emergency, you need to get your bunny to a good rabbit vet.  The referral list for finding one is *also* in my instructions you received before you posted your question:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope you'll keep this handy, in case you need it again.  I truly hope your bunny will be fine now.  Please never hesitate to write to me if you have questions about your bunny.  I am very happy to help you.  But I'm not always online, waiting for questions, and sometimes I do have things that delay me from answering.  If that happens, I would hate for your bunny to suffer, so be sure you have a good vet ready to go, should you ever need one.  Please use the list to find one.

I hope your new vet is treating the amoxycillin problem.  Be sure the new vet knows about it, and is taking appropriate action.  I'm sending healing thoughts to your bunny!

Take care,
Dana


Dear Angela,

That vet should NOT be practicing on rabbits, and should be ashamed of himself.  Amoxycillin *is* deadly to rabbits and may well be why your rabbit is so sick.  Amoxycillin kills the beneficial bacteria in the rabbit intestine, allowing very dangerous ones (e.g., Clostridium) that produce deadly toxins to proliferate out of control.  This will damage the liver, cause enteritis (inflammation of the intestine) and, ultimately, death, if the condition is not treated.

Please get your bunny to a vet who is experienced with rabbits NOW. You can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Consider this an extreme emergency.  The rabbit does NOT have to be euthanized if you act now--but she is in great danger from the irresponsible actions of that other vet.  (It's incredible to me that some vets still haven't gotten the message about amoxycillin and rabbits.  This suggests that this vet is lazy and not up to date on other aspects of medicine, too--and I would NEVER go to him and steer others clear, too!)

Please read this article:

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

Your bunny may not be suffering from ileus yet, but the treatments for amoxycillin "poisoning" are the same, especially:

1. cholestyramine resin to absorb bacterial toxins
2. pediatric simethicone to help pass gas and stop pain
3. analgesia to stop general pain (Banamine is great for this)
4. gentle abdominal massage to keep intestines moving

Please waste no time in getting the bunny to a good rabbit vet.  It is a matter of life and death.

Dana