Swollen bumps on 6-8 mon old bunny

Question
My son's pet bunny has two swollen bumps, one on the outer left hind leg and the other about an inch below the back bone on the right side. They are about the size of the small super balls. The fur is all fine except one tiny dot inside each area. That is about the size of a pencil lead at most. It appears to be a small poke about 1/4" deep. There is no drainage or bleeding in the areas. This rabbit is the only one we have, in a hutch w/wire mesh floor and a wooden box house attatched. Show rabbit pellets and fresh water daily. Wisconsin - Any ideas???

Answer
Hi Lori

The only thing that I can think of is fly strike.  This is where a fly lands on the rabbit and lays its eggs.  Sometimes you will see maggots and sometimes you won't.  The thing is that if this is what it is it won't go away on its own.  Any rabbit that lives outdoors and even rabbits indoors (although not as likely) are susceptible to fly strike.  The big clue here is the small poke.  This is where the fly larva would have worked its way under the skin.

It is absolutely imperative that you get this rabbit to a rabbit vet immediately.  These things can grow so fast and when they are left untreated they almost always end up killing the bunny.  

If you need help finding a rabbit savvy vet in your area you can try this site:
http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html


I really hope your bunny is ok.  Please let me know what the vet says.

Good luck

Pam