pastuerella? I should know the answer to this, but i don’t

[bradforde]

i run a rescue for rabbits here in AR, and i have had rabbits for years, but i still don’t know what to make of my current situation:

i took the newest bunny (which i got this last weekend) to the vet today to be neutered. he had a lump on his back, which the vet also removed. my normal vet wasn’t there, and the other vet told me it was probably a pastuerella infected-abcess. i asked them to send the lump to the lab for testing, which they did. and i am waiting to hear back.
 
my question is this: what does it mean for this bunny? if he does have pastuerella (which i’m not even sure the test will conclude one way or another), then does he need to stay away from all other bunnies for the rest of his life? he is unsymptomatic other than the lump. possibly by coincidence, the placement of it matched up with an injury to his ear, so i think he may have been attacked by an animal or something, which caused the abcess in the first place (he was a dumped bunny, out on his own for probably a week or so).
 
let me know your thoughts. i am quite concerned for him, as he is simply a delightful guy. thinking about anything bad happening to him just brings tears to my eyes : (

thanks for any and all advice,

erin

[MooBunnay]

Hello Bradforde – welcome to Binkybunny!

First of all, welcome to Binkybunny, and thank you for the work that you do in rabbit rescue

There was one bunny that had pasteurella at one of the rescues that I worked for, and he was a very happy and healthy bunny.  From what I understand, as long as the pasteurella is managed with antibiotics, it is very easy for a bunny to live a happy life.  One of the resuces I worked with would also bond the pasteurella bunnies, with the assumption that if the other bunny did happen to exhibit symptoms of the pasteurella, then it would be managed with antibiotics (I’m not sure what other’s opinions of this is, but the reasoning for it was that they did not want pastuerella bunnies to be totally isolated).

I do think it is important to wash your hands after petting this bunny so that you don’t pass the pasteurella to other bunnies, but I don’t think you have to totally isolate this bunny from the others (as in, he could probably be in the same area, just not in the same pen where he could be in contact with the other bunnies.

I don’t know how helpful that was, but I do think your little guy will be doing much better now that his abcess has been addressed, and now that he is safe with you instead of on the streets.

[Beka27]

welcome here! i don’t have personal experience with this but i agree with MooBunnay that i’d hate to see a bun isolated b/c he had this. hopefully you can figure out for sure if this is the culprit and get it taken care of…

[bradforde]

thank you both for your kind wishest for mr. oscar. i did some research online and it sounds like it is usually an opportunistic bacteria that can cause problems when a bunny has a compromised immune system. hopefully when he is all healed up, i can place him in a foster or home as long as his symptoms don’t reappear. i will be keeping a close eye on him this next week!

thanks for the pick me up!

erin

[Sarita]

I’ve had a few rabbits with pasturella and it’s really not dire as it sounds as long as they live a stress-free life and have a clean area to live in which he will now.

If they have symptoms then you would want to use an antibiotic that is recommended which usually will be listed in the culture and sensitivity test that the vet is doing. Most rabbits have pasturella but it likely remains dormant unless they get stressed or live in unhealthy conditions….as long as that happens they live a long healthy life like any other rabbit.

I would even think that a pasturella infected abscess does not necessarily make him symptomatic and I would discuss it with the vet when you hear back with him on the results. I think most rabbit knowledgeable vets nowadays don’t find pasturella to be unmanageable or as dire as they did in the past.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’ve been doing research online and am not a vet or anyting but basically Pasturella can clear up on its own, or it can be serious and cause abscesses.

Typical treatment is broad spectrum antibiotics to attack the Pasturella, supportive nutrition as needed (critical care), tear duct flushing when needed and abscess removal.

Hope this helps and {{Vibes}} for your shelter bunny

[bradforde]

happy update – it wasn’t pastuerella afterall, just strep. whew!

what a relief! of course, now his little ear is slowly dying from the damage it sustained during the same injury, but i can handle it. AND he got a call about someone adopting him soon. fingers crossed and thanks everyone!

[Sarita]

That’s great news! I’m glad you have a potential adopter for him as well.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh great news!!!

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