swollen cheek

Question
i have a 2 year old male dwarf bunny, 2 days ago, the whole side of his right
cheek has become larger than his left one. his not bothered by me touching
it. His eating and drinking fine and seems his normal self, what could it be is
it something to be worried about, he had a sore paw when he was a baby
could i give him the medicine from then to help?

Answer
Dear Shannon,

Don't use the medicine he had when he was a baby.  Not only might it be ineffective, but it is probably expired.  Some medicines break down into harmful compounds as they age, so it's best to throw it away if it's been two years since you got it.

Dwarf rabbits are very susceptible to molar root abscesses because of their short faces that often don't have enough space for proper tooth alignment.  Please see:

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

and

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

You will need the help of a good, experienced rabbit vet for this problem, and you should be able to find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Note that a jaw abscess can take some time to resolve with the proper antibiotics:

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

but the sooner treatment is begun, the better the chance for complete and speedy recovery.  The condition is painful, even if he's not showing it (rabbits are stoic prey items with an instinctive behavior to hide illness so predators won't be attracted to them).  So be sure to ask the vet about pain management while this problem is being treated.

Hope this helps.

Dana