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Pasteurella in rabbits

22 10:27:08

Question
I have a 4 year old rabbit who has battles pasteurella her entire life.  In the past she would continually get large abscesses in various parts of her body that the vet would lance, drain, and treat with oral antibiotics.  Today I noticed one up near her ear about the size of a golf ball.  How I missed this is astonishing to me but it's buried right under her ear and lots of fuzzy hair.  What I'm not understanding is this is the first abscess I've seen in 2 years.  Why all of a sudden is it coming back?  And I've recently moved and need to find another good vet for rabbits.  Luckily the vet I took her to perviously was knowledgeable with rabbits as well so I lucked out.  What kinds of questions do I need to ask the vet to know they're reputable?

Answer
Dear Karyn,

It's not hard to miss an abscess growing in the ear, since it can remain cryptic until it's pretty big.  But once it's there and conspicuous, you know it's causing discomfort and needs to be treated.

I'd strongly recommend you ask the vet about doing a culture and sensitivity test (1) to be sure this is still Pasteurella and (2) to be sure the antibiotics you're using will be effective against the particular strain you have.  Please see:

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

You should be able to find a rabbit-savvy vet with the list linked here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

But if not, write back (privately) with your general location, and I'll see if I can get a referral for you.  You can also "cultivate" your own vet with a list of questions found here:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html

I hope you can find someone who will get this infection under control and make your rabbit comfortable again.

Good luck,

Dana