Buggs has a lump under his chin

When I adopted him about 12 days ago, I noticed what looked like a scratch and didn't think much of it. Who knows what could happen in a shelter, after all. I've gotten a much better look at it since then because he is super loveable and was all up in my face. It is a lump. It doesn't seem to bother him. Should I be worried? I'm kinda thinking maybe his teeth overgrew at some point and caused damage, but I'm not really sure. He won't let me thoroughly examine it, as he doesn't like to be still for too long. I'm hoping it is nothing. Should I get him checked out? Theoretically, he was checked out by a vet at the shelter.

I would get it checked out. If it's a tooth abscess or something related, it's causing him a lot of pain (they are very good at hiding pain, unfortunately). Otherwise, it it WAS actually a scratch a few days ago, it could now be an abscess (rabbits have hard lumps when they get infected, not like dogs and cats which are softer) and it will need to be drained surgically (again, not like dogs and cats where it is easier to drain) and you will need antibiotics. If its actually on the jaw, it could even be cancer (but a vet would have to tell you). Most shelters will pay for medical expenses that close to being adopted out- you may want to contact the shelter first. But if it were my bun, I'd take him to the vet.

Keep us updated!!!

I called the shelter. He did have an abscess drained before I adopted him. The lady is going to talk to the vet tech when she is in tomorrow and call me in the afternoon when I'm off work. We'll see what happens from there. I'm glad I called them. I love this bun so much already!

OMG. I'm worrying. How dangerous is an abscess? I just read that they do often come back in rabbits. What can I do for him?

How dangerous they are depends mostly on location. They are just the site of an infection with a special kind of immune system cell that rabbits and reptiles and birds have called a heterophil (my favorite immune cell). They don't go away on their own, but as long as he's eating and drinking and being a bunny AND you are bringing him in for treatment (which it sounds like you are), he should be fine so long as you guys get it under control (complications are rare in my experience).

That's good. It's under his chin and has been treated at least once. Possibly a dental infection? He's eating great. Little monster ways to eat everything that smells like food. He'll lick my face if I ate something he wants, hoping to get just a taste. He's ornery and loving and precious.

I'm taking him to the vet in two hours. The doctor who treated him initially is on medical leave. He'll be seeing someone else at the practice. I hope they can fix him up properly this time.
I'll be sad if they have to keep him overnight. I'm not exactly sure when I can pick him up tomorrow, as I have my own doctor appointment after work. I'll miss him.

So, the vet said the abscess is harmless. He can remove it. It will cost $103 for sedation and antibiotics. He wouldn't charge for the operation. However, he also said that isn't necessary right now, only if it gets a lot worse. As anesthesia can be really rough for a bunny, I'm going to hold off and just keep an eye on it, per vet instructions. I'll set aside funds for if/when it does need removed. In the meantime, Groucho is all over Buggs, cleaning him. He has never liked his buddies to smell like people.

In my experience, jaw abscesses have ALWAYS caused an issue and they are extremely hard to get rid of. We've had rabbits on antibiotics for years to keep them under control, and one rabbit where it was eating away at the jaw bone and leaking pus in to his mouth when the abscess kept returning. (We did eventually have to have him put to sleep but for a brain tumor). One of our fosters developed one that migrated and wound up pushing behind her eye, and eventually got to the point where we had to have her put to sleep as well.

Our most recent case is our foster who was brought to us with abscesses in the throat area, they were rapidly spreading inside him, in places the vet could not feel on exam but saw when she went in to remove them, and they had attached themselves to the jugular vein so not only would that have cause infection to spread more rapidly through the blood stream but if he had moved or twisted the wrong way, it would have caused internal bleeding and he could have bled out in minutes. Luckily, quite a bit of money later, he is doing a lot better now but is still on penicillin injections to make sure his abscesses do not come back.

Sorry, it wasn't clear, is the rabbit on antibiotics at all right now? I would just be surprised that the vet wasn't pushing for any kind of immediate treatment and saying it wasn't a big deal, if the abscess is recurring then there is a problem with persistent infection and it really should be addressed. The last thing you want is the abscess spreading, which is something they tend to do depending on the cause.

Can an abscess break and drain itself? I just felt his chin and that seems to have happened. There is an icky hardened spot on his fur and that's it. He's happy and feisty as ever.

Yes they can. If so then contact your vet as you will need to regularly flush and clean out any reoccurring pus in the abscess, as well as getting your bun on antibiotics if your bun isn't already.

You can take a look at these links on how jaw abscesses are usually cared for and managed in rabbits. There is cleaning info as well.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Treatment/Facial/abs_dental.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Absc_treat/abscess_treat.htm

Thank you. I'll give them a call soon.