Two questions – leaving bunny alone and ear scab

[Paradigm]

Firstly, I’d like your views on leaving bunnies alone for extended periods of time. I’ve just realised that my wife is booked in for a photography shoot at the other end of country on the same weekend I’ve booked off work to go to see my family.

I would leave on Friday morning and my wife on Friday evening and she would get back on Sunday. So, he would be left all day on Saturday. I’m concerned that this would be dangerous for him – if he got ill, etc. I’m not sure whether I’d be able to get someone to drop by to check on him on Saturday (though we would leave him enough food. I’m also worried that he might destroy the place while I’m gone.

Is this too long to leave him?

Secondly, we took Mr Roger to the vets about 6 months ago for his ear and the vet said it was nothing to worry about, just a scab. He’s also twice had check overs with two different vets which didn’t focus on the area behind his ear but the vet did generally look him over (while he had stasis) and said he was in good health. His ear scab has not healed since then and has grown bigger. I’m not sure if it’s just never healed and had just layered up or if it’s something to worry about.

He doesn’t seem to scratch it any more than the other ear and shows no other symptoms.

We’ve been dithering about whether to make a vet trip because of this – we don’t own a car an the journey by bus is always horrible for him so I don’t want to distress him unnecessarily.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[Paradigm]

I think we also have a set number of days of boarding coverage for Mr Roger so I’ll look into that too.

[JackRabbit]

IMO, bunnies should not be left alone that long. Even having someone you trust drop in twice a day to feed, water, and provide hay is better than being left alone since bunny issues can progress so rapidly.

On the ear scab, six months is a long time for a scab not to have healed. I would have a rabbit savvy vet examine your bunny, and stress how long the scab has been there and that it has gotten bigger. JMO, but I would have it looked at sooner rather than later.

[LBJ10]

I agree with JR, do you have someone who could at least come and check on him and give him food, etc. on Saturday? Leaving a bunch off food out wouldn’t work very well. If it were my two, they would eat two days worth of food in one sitting. o_O

Hmm, the scab sounds suspicious to me. Like JR said, 6 months is a long time.

[Paradigm]

It does seem a bit suspicious. I’ll take him along soon. The more rabbit savvy vet is a bit further away but I’ll call up our local one and make sure we’re not booked in with one at random.

It might be nothing, but it feels like one of those times where something might have been overlooked.

Thankfully we’ve found two people willing to do checks on him, so if not ideal he should survive. :/

Interestingly, Mr Roger does seem to save his food sticks and sometimes his pellets. He does have a strong preference for pellets over the sticks so I do sometimes wonder if he’s just hoping for more of the former to appear.

[Paradigm]

Well, we left tons of food out (much more than he needed) in case he decided to scoff the lot and ran out.

He seemed quite happy when we came back.

Unfortunately, his ear scab has become even larger. We took him too the vet this evening and they said they have no idea what’s wrong until they open it up.

First they offered surgical removal but offered to trial 10 days of injected antibiotics (alternating days) but stressed that there’s a good chance it wouldn’t work because it might not be bacterial.

Well, he had an antibiotic injection when he last had stasis and part the rest of the course (he recovered and there was no reason to suggest he had a bacterial problem… so I think it was misprescribed). It didn’t have any effect and I don’t fancy stressing him out with that right before he might need a surgery.

So he’s going in on Tuesday evening for a Wednesday operation (we can’t get to the vets of Wednesday morning) and should be collectable the same day.

I hope he doesn’t have to spend too much time away and am hoping he doesn’t get badly ill from stress.

They said its a low risk surgery but that bunnies get stressed easily so he might get stasis. We’ve managed three (albeit short) stasis episodes before and we’re both on holiday at the moment so we’ll be able to care for him around the clock. Fingers crossed he doesn’t get a case he just can’t bounce back from.

They may send off the lump for biopsy if it looks tumourous.

[Bam]

((((((Mr Roger))))))

Rabbits are prone to abcesses, if that could be what mr Roger has. They need to be opened up and cleaned out because antibiotics alone are ineffective even if the cause is bacterial: The abs simply can’t get to the bottom of the problem since rabbit pus is very thick and pasty, unlike in other animals. Here’s good info on abcesses in bunnies, but the pictures are gross, so beware: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Abscess/skin_abscess.htm

So glad he did well while you were away =)

[Cottontail]

{{{healing vibes}}}

[Paradigm]

Mr Roger had his surgery today. They found more than one but the others we couldn’t see. There was no pus, so they think it they were cancerous tumours that was spreading. The surgery went well, but unfortunately he didn’t wake up from the anaesthetic. They said it was cardiac arrest.

I keep kicking myself for not doing it sooner (although since it was a reaction to the anaesthetic it may have happened anyway), for kennelling him overnight before hand (it was nearest day he could be booked in as the surgery schedule is very busy and it would be months before I could get a reorganised appointment.

We’re very sad. He was such a lovely rabbit.

We’re trying to focus on the fact that he won’t have to endure further treatment. Although he was beginning to get more bothered by the tumours, he was otherwise happy – still playing, cuddling and eating. We don’t have to make the decision to put him down.

The vets waived the excess fee for his treatment.

[Cottontail]

Paradigm, I have tried to find the words and I just don’t know what to say.
Sometimes you just cannot know how deep an issue is until it’s too late. And although I know it’s no consolation, not waking from the anesthesia means that he at least went in his sleep, and with no pain.

I hope and pray that he finds friends at the Rainbow Bridge, and that they love and play and exchange stories of their humans, much like we exchange stories of our furry friends. We are here for you, and Mr Roger will be missed.

Binky Free Mr. Roger! <3

[Bam]

I’m so sorry for your loss. Mr Roger was a very much loved rabbit and had a great life with you. If it was cancer, and that seems very probable, he was spared suffering.
It’s so sad to lose a beloved pet.
Binky Free Mr Roger.

[JackRabbit]

I’m so sorry for your loss

[LBJ10]

Oh no, I wasn’t expecting to see this. =(
So sorry for your loss.

[Samara87]

Oh no, this is so sad Is that a common thing to happen?

[Author]

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