Home Treatment of Absesses

[BunnyMommie]

I have and extra large Flemmy bun who has an absess on his back leg right at the ankle joint. He also has ear mites and maybe fur mites. (the only thing Im not sure he has is the fur mites/fleas) I just married and we don’t have the money to pay for the $60 to see the vet plus whatever he is going to charge for fixing it. Last time I took him it cost over $300. I just dont have the money. I was thinking of steralizing an x-acto knife and slicing open the absess cleaning it out and puting peroxide on it before bandaging it myself. My sister did this with her guinea pigs and it worked fine. He is a very calm if not lazy bun and has let me do minor teatments like this before with no fuss. Could anyone let me know if you have found success treating at home?

(Please, I would rather you don’t tell me to take him to a vet. I already feel bad about not being able to and the vets will not give advice over the phone.)

Also, he is about 21lbs. The kitten dose of revolution I ordered online isnt working on him because of the lb limit. What is the best way to get rid of mites and fleas at home?

[BinkyBunny]

Welcome BunnyMommie – You are not going to like what I have to say. I do understand you care very much about your bunny and that your heart is in the right place, but I am sorry, I absolutely cannot advise you to slice open the abscess yourself. This is painful, and should be done under a vets care with antibiotics and pain meds. Rabbits also have a sensitive digestive system, and they can go into serious stasis if they are in pain. On top of that, rabbit abscesses are different than other animals and can easily get worse and and further infected. They can branch out into string like attachments that do damage to muscle and bone. Note: hydrogen peroxide can actually help further spread the abscess inside – even though you see some of it being pushed out of the wound) Also, you can’t just treat the wound with regular antibiotics. For example what is okay for cats and dogs an other animals can actually kill a rabbit.

I know it can be really tough because vet care can be very expensive – As I always say, you pay for the vet, not the pet…and it can be especially expensive for rabbit care since they are considered “exotics” due to their sensitivities to meds, anesthesia, etc. Talk to your vet and see if they will work with you on a payment plan.

It also might be a good idea to get a credit card reserved for these types of issues.  Saving a dollar a day can also help build up the few hundred bucks.  This most likely won’t be the last thing you will have to deal with in your bunny’s lifetime.

[bunnytowne]

awe poor bun..   bun abcesses are not like cats guinea pigs abcesses. they are real real thick and tricky.   usually a vets office won’t charge til they are done with his appointment.  just go in  and in the end of the visit when they send you to the staff for payment you can work out payment plan at that point.      I may sound sneaky but don’t tell them about the $ problem  until after the visit and you go to the desk to pay.   just in case on the phone they say no must  pay in full   (thats why this may seem sneaky ) and I am sure you can work something out at that point.  they do care about animals and may be happy to work something out     they may require you to pay for the meds b4 you can take them.  which shouldn’t be very expensive.  and you can also ask if there is something at the store you can get that isn’t as costly to you. I need to be saving $ each month in case of emergency on a bun. so I won’t be so strapped  trying to pay for the visit and any work done                  I wish you all the best in this endeavor

[Nicci607]

I can only STRONGLY agree what BinkyBunny is saying!!!!!

PLEASE DO FOLLOW HER ADVISE!!!

…plus, “Revolution” can kill a Rabbit!!!

From my own experience, a [good] rabbit savvy Vet WILL work on payment plans with you too, please keep that in mind!!! There is so many options!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[bunnytowne]

oh hey   also when I watch animal precints on animal planet sometimes the ASPCA can help too. or tell you where to go that won’t be as costly  or your humane society that has rabbits that one may also be able to help you out and not be so costly. just tryign to help here

[rabbitsmba]

Actually, Revolution is safe for rabbits – our rescue uses it all the time.  Frontline is the one to avoid – it will kill a rabbit!

I can’t agree more with BinkyBunny – abscesses are not something you can treat at home.  I understand that money is tight, but only a vet can help with this issue.  And dealing with it now will mean not having a bigger problem – and more expensive problem – to deal with down the road.  Use your credit card, figure out a payment plan, anything, but get your bunn to a vet.

Good luck!

[Beka27]

i have to agree with everyone else…. you must take the bun to a vet.

[Scarlet_Rose]

I too agree, home treatement is not adviseable and not recommended in any case. The rabbit needs treatment by a qualified veterinarian call around, be up front and let them know your financial situation and they should be able to help. If not call your local ASPCA or Humane Society and see if they will help. If not, maybe it is best to consider surrendering the animal to a shelter or rabbit rescue.

[Aina067]

I agree too. bunny needs to be seen by a good rabbit vet!! Use your credit card!! You can pay off over time!!

If you absolutely can not afford to provide the necessary medical treatment, please consider giving him up to a rabbit rescue or shelter!!

***about the Revolution, though, my vet will NOT give it to me for my bunnies. He says, it’s a no no. He gives out “Advantage”, the one for kittens.

So, I’m confused about that now.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Aina that is interesting that your vet said no to Revolution.  I looked around and even Dana Krempels stated that it was safe (for most rabbits): http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/Dry-Skin-Lop-Ears.htm  Maybe there is some new information?

HRS has some articles that state it is also O.K. (for most rabbits):

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/warren-wise/fleas.html

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

[KatnipCrzy]

I have to disagree about not being honest about not being able to pay for vet visit!!!!  Would you take your cart to the grocery store- fill it up- and after the cashier rings up your total- tell them you don’t have any money???  No, you would not!!  To agree to services that you can NOT pay for is STEALING.  Chances are you won’t be able to take any of the meds until you can pay for the visit, wound treatment, etc…..you don’t get to take your meds home usually until you pay for services you ALREADY bought.  Plus add in the fact that you have now ticked off the rabbit saavy vet in your area- and they will either not schedule an appt to see you again or they will require PREPAYMENT before the Doctor will even walk into the exam room to see your pet.  If you have a vet with a long relationship- then that is a different case- be honest and try to work something out.  Lying about payment can only get you in trouble and possibly incur extras fees.  If you ever want to ensure not being welcome at a vet clinic- don’t lie about your ability to pay.  Depending on what the state laws are- you might get yourself into ALOT of trouble.

And in regards to treating the rabbit at home- I know you don’t want to hear this- but think about treatment in relation to yourself.  Your rabbit is probably at least 5 times smaller than yourself.  Imagine taking an exacto knife to a abcess 5 times larger than your bunnies on yourself.   The abcess is filled with bacteria- so while sterlizing the blade will help not to introduce new bacteria- it is essentially useless.   Peroxide actually damages tissue.  That is why a vet clinic does not use it to flush wounds.  It will not appropriately clean the wound.  And I am not sure how much luck you would have treating an abcess without oral or inj meds- the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and endanger/kill your bunny.  Even if your bunny is mellow- that is no reason to intentionally hurt him.  There are no over-the-counter pain meds that are safe for rabbits.

If you love your bunny- if you can not make any arrangements for treatment- you should consider contacting your local Humane Society.

[lygray]

Well, like everyone else, I agree that you must see a vet. I am going through this also with my bun but it is in her upper jaw. you can read my thread  called abscess to disaster and there is a lot of info there.

I understand the no money vet situation. I am a student holding three jobs just to pay all the doctors and vet and stuff off…Yuck! Speak to your vet and let him/her know you situation and they can possibly put you on a payment plan. Im so fortunate to have a vet like i do. He is so interested in learning and helping Lola, he is only charging me for anesthesia and half the price of the meds…three surgeries and ten shots not including the check-ups and I have only reached the 200 dollar mark. I recommend getting a vet/doctor only credit card for emergencies like this one for example.

I also want to ask if you bun has had abscesses in the past. The reason is, I have insurance on my buns…its not to common but They will pay back 90% of the doctors bills after the first fifty dollars you spend. So if you pay like 200, they will refund you 90% of 150 dollars. Thats like 135 or so, that they will pay you back. I thought it was great and It helps so much in these situations. the problem is after you pay, then you file the claim and the check comes in the mail but hey, you get it back right.

Another thing I wanted to say is I am doing this protocol treatment http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~jwmoore/bicillin/bicillin.htm. I dont know how your vet will feel about it but I am telling you as an option to discuss. I discussed this with my vet and we are following this plan. He went in, removed the teeth and the abscess, including the infected tissue, and washed out the area with saline and a specific antibiotic. Then, for two months, I administer penicillin G (specific antibiotic named on website) every other day. In the third month, I will need to do this every third day. According to the website, this process worked really well on most or all of the rabbits that underwent this process. It may be cheaper only because your bun may only need one or two surgeries then, after your vet shows you how to administer the medicine, you dont need to go to the vet so much for checkups and post surgical care. My bun has healed very well over the last two weeks but I still have a long road to go. This process helped me tho because getting the treatments mostly used previously by my vets would have been very expensive. You do it yourself and check in with your vet when you see something wrong.

I wish you both healing vibes and maybe this information will come in handy.

[BinkyBunny]

Regarding Revolution – My rabbit savvy vet has recommended it for mites, otherwise if there are just fleas, Advantage is used. Important note though, you have to follow your vets dosage recommendation, NOT what is on the box. The box has dosage instructions for cats and dogs, and and even if your rabbit is the same weight as a small cat or kitten, that does not matter. So, I wouldn’t recommend going to a pet store and buying Advantage and just following the directions unless you have already been advised by a vet as to which one to buy and how much to use.

[Lisa_43]

BunnyMummy please keep us updated on how your rabbit is. People here are trying to give you the best advice they have, everyone here is concerned about your rabbit.

I would look at it this way, think of how it would feel if you had a bad abscess on your arm, someone got a knife and cut it open and pored peroxide on it and you were awake for it, I could imagine how painful that would be, I would be screaming.

The others gave great advise, there is always a way to work these things out.

[Aina067]

Scarlet Rose:

Binkybunny:

thank you so much for the Info about Revolution!!! Next time I see my vet, I make sure I bring this to his attention. He should know about that. Now I’m a bit worried about him and being rabbit savvy? Maybe he’s extra careful or something? I never had a mite problem. Just minor fleas, and they came into the house from the dog!! The Advantage worked great!!

I am really thankful for having found this Forum!!! You are very helpful, and nice!!! 

Happy Mother’s Day!!! 

[Scarlet_Rose]

You are welcome Aina! Maybe since your problem is flea-related that is why the vet said no. Like BB said, it is used most often for mites.

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