HELP FOUND A BUMP ON BUNNY’S BACK

[Gunter]

I was petting gunter earlier and felt a hard bump on his back the size of a carmex lip balm. He seems to be fine since he is eating, drinking, sleeping but I just want to be sure. I plan on taking him to the vet tomorrow if i can get in the same day appointment but i can’t wait. i’m scared anyone have any experience similar to this or know what this could possibly be?

edit: he also seems to run away every time I touch the bump 

[Roberta]

If he runs it could because its painful… That could be a good sign meaning it might be a simple abcess form a seed or hay splinter. There are several possibilities but a day should not make a huge difference even if it is a tumor or growth.
Hang in there and get him to the vet as soon as you can.
Hopefully some of the others may have had experience with this.

[Eucalyptus]

I’ve been watching a lot of videos about them lately so this is the first thing I think of – but is it a botfly? My friend’s bunny got one before … so sad. He was fine, but it’s still really gross.

Otherwise, some type of abcess.

[Sarita]

You should see if you can drop him off at the vet’s if you cannot get an appt. Most vet’s do this and they really do prefer this as well.

[FlemishMom]

Aren’t botflies more likely to make the hair fall out?

FYI-If it is an abscess, there is no harm in taking a soft cloth, soaking it in lukewarm steeped tea and using it as a compress. The bunny will think it feels good and for some reason the tea has some mild antibiotic action through the skin which actually helps abscesses. . . . Or so I have heard.

Love the name Gunter. My most beloved rabbit ever was Guenther Grunt. Take good care of that bun!

[Sarita]

Botflies burrow in the skin and tissues and are deadly. They are nasty nasty things.

[FlemishMom]

Will they show up anywhere on the body, or do they tend to show up near the hind end?

[Sarita]

I think anywhere but I don’t imagine they would be a problem for an indoor rabbit though.

I had a friend who used to let her rabbits outside to play and one contracted (not sure if that is the right word) a botfly and got very sick – luckily the vet was very good and discovered the nasty critter. Molly required extensive treatment after that and needless to say my friend never ever let her rabbits outside again. These things bore through tissue and cause so much pain. This is one reason I would never ever let my rabbits outside.

[FlemishMom]

Wow! I had never known that was a reason for not letting them out! For me, with a bit of a backyard, I do take them out but keep an eye on them because there are some predators around, and then I check them for ticks when I bring them in. I wonder if there are geographies where botflies are more common than other places?

[Bam]

We don’t really have them in Sweden except among the reindeer in the north. It’s associated with cattle (reindeer are kept as semi-wild cattle in the north of Sweden), especially sheep and it’s a huge problem in Australia and New Zealand.

The reason you can use a cold wet teabag on an abcess or any other swelling is that tea is an astringent I think. It won’t cure an abcess though but perhaps offer some relief until it can be seen to properly.

[FlemishMom]

Oh, I meant a warm tea compress, but I did mispeak . . . the proper word is astringent. It seems to help the abscess come along in its weird process, like a zit coming to a head (I apologize for the gross analogy).

Interesting that it is associated with cattle. That would certainly explain quite a presence in Texas as well. . . Weird thing is, a bit ago on FaceBook a friend who is also into horses showed a picture of what botflies do to the innards of a horse. I guess they are a very real problem for horses and the comments on that photo made it sound like the regular deworming they do for horses takes care of it. I wonder what the dewormer is because Ivermectin is a horse dewormer as well as for rabbits (earmites and other parasites), but it certainly doesn’t take care of botfly. . . . Just thinking out loud.

You must be having quite long days in Sweden these days?

[Roberta]

Any updates on Gunter…. Did you manage to get an appointment ?

[Eucalyptus]

My friend’s bunny was indoors but still got one, though botflies can be common in Northern California. I’m pretty sure it was a rare case, but one thing that should be noted is that botflies themselves do not lay the eggs – they get mosquitoes to do the work. And mosquitoes bit common in most areas. I’m sure this is not what Gunter has, I just mentioned it because I had been watching awful videos about them lately. Not sure why … >.<

Whether it actually is a botfly or an abscess or any other bugbite, a trip to the vet is probably a good idea. Hopefully Gunter is getting the help he needs. Even a small abscess could be potentially dangerous. When my cat (who lives with my mom now) was a kitten, she got bitten by our other cat and it became a massive abscess that needed to be drained with a tube. She literally just had this tube through her side draining out blood, pus, and other fluids, for 2 weeks. Sorry for the gross details …! It was very sad, but she’s completely fine and honestly, she didn’t seem too bothered by the tube or having a cone on her head the whole time. Silly kitty.

[Bam]

Flemish Mom, I didn’t mean to correct you, I was just thinking of the (hopefully very slight) risk of s o misunderstanding and thinking you needn’t see a vet about an abscess because it can be cured with tea-bags. I don’t mean that Gunter would misunderstand either, I meant just in general. Sometimes people feel they can’t afford a vet and try all kinds of weird home-made concoctions to try and cure their pets, ending up making things much worse.

The connection between horses, botflies and deworming is this: http://www.uky.edu/Classes/ENT/574/insects/Livestock/grubs/eb55-18.gif
The point of the deworming is to kill the disgusting monsters in the GI-tract so they never become flies. But these flies lay eggs on the hairs of the horses, they don’t insert eggs/larvae into their skin.

There are sprays for use on the fur of horses f ex Ultra Shield to stop various types of flies and ticks and mosquitoes. There is a little permethrin in it which isn’t really recommended for use on rabbits. Johnson has a cage- and hutch-spray with permethrin and there is FlyGuard with ivermectin. http://www.petsathome.com/shop/fly-guard-spray-75ml-by-beaphar-15806

I live in the very south of Sweden, we have long days in mid-summer but we don’t get midnight sun.

[FlemishMom]

 Wow, Bam, thanks for all that information!  You are knowledgeable.  Adn oh so very gentle and polite, too.

[Bam]

Thank you for those very kind words! I’m just a little obsessed right now with bad stuff that can happen to bunnies outdoors because my little Yohio is currently living out-doors until he’s neutered (scheduled for next week) and then a month more before I can start introducing him to my other bun, Bam. Now summer has come (spring was skipped over this year) and I really really don’t want him to be attacked by flies and mosquitoes and ticks and intestinal awful worms so I’ve read up on the risks and what can be done to protect him.

[FlemishMom]

I thoroughly understand. They truly are our children. I can get quite obsessive and neurotic when one of my rabbits is exposed to a risk. . .. Sending good thoughts your way for a safe and healthy neutering and an easy bonding. . . . .

[Author]

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