Infections? And penicillin, please help.

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belleshadow

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Hi, I just found that my rabbit seems to have a bunch of tiny infections or punctures or something of the like all over his testicles. He also had a cut on his lip, which I didn't really clean out (because I didn't want to drown him or cause him to swallow too much medicine or anything) and now it seems that he has an infection on his lip as well. So I had a rabbit once with an infection on his foot. We tried to remedy the infection with penicillin, but it did not help. I read somewhere that penicillin does not work for rabbits because they have a certain, or they are lacking a certain enzyme in their pus. But someone then told me that that was not entirely true. So I have two questions: first does anyone know why or how he might have gotten all those punctures/ infections/ bumps on his testicles? (ask if you need any pictures). And secondly how can I treat it? (well actually three questions) And thirdly can I use penicillin to cure the infections or how can I cure the infections? It has been a bit wet and rainy for the past couple of days, so maybe that contributed to the testicle thing? He is young and healthy, and he is certainly still eating. His feces I believe are fine, I'll go and check them in a minute. But any advice would be appreciated,
thank you.
 
Thank you blue eyes, but do you or anyone else know whether my rabbit's infections would be bacterial or otherwise? The one on his lip he got from fighting with another male rabbit. The ones on his testacles I have no idea.
 
I would ASSUME bacterial, but you can't tell without a vet and a culture. The most common cause of an infected cut is bacterial, particularly if there is pus (it indicates heterophils, the rabbit version of neutrophils, which are found in high concentrations with bacterial infections). The testes might be due simply to the fact that testes in all mammals (as far as I know) are full of sebaceous sweat glands (the kind in our armpits and pubic hairs) and those get infected if they aren't kept clean by the animal, or the hutch isn't clean. Or it's super damp. Just like us!

Blueeyes is correct about the penicillin 100%.
 
Alright, thank you. I think you are right about the testes, it looks like he has acne on them, so that sounds accurate. As for the penicillin, I have used it before and we injected it, I never fed it to any rabbit though I would have preferred to have fed it to him because I do not like needles. But thank you again, for the testes would you then suggest I take him inside for a while? It has not been raining that much, but maybe I will deep clean his cage and temporarily keep him in the house.
 
Honestly, I would suggest taking him to the vet if you can. Majorv is right, antibiotics only work against some bacteria- you need the right one to work. I'd be most worried about the cut on his mouth, but some antibiotics can work against acne/ sebaceous problems as well (depending on the antibiotic).
 
The 'acne' or pustules that you are describing on your rabbits testicles can be indicative of a staph infection, which can present as a pustular dermatitis and subcutaneous infections. So it's likely the infected wound on his lip can also be due to a staph infection . If this is what your rabbit has, this can potentially be quite serious and can progress to fatal septicemia if not treated promptly and correctly.

Injectable penicillin may be effective, but there is no way to know for sure without having a culture and sensitivity done(which testing may not have conclusive results), or trying the injectable penicillin to see if there are positive results with the infections. Penicillin should never be administered to rabbits orally or fatal enterotoxemia may result. Even when given by injection there is some risk of it causing dangerous gastric upset in rabbits, though generally when given correctly by injection it is considered relatively safe. If pen g is used, always ensure any leakage from the injection site is thoroughly cleaned off so no oral ingestion occurs. It is also good to feed plenty of good quality grass hay(horse quality, not moldy or spoiled in any way) and not feed sugary or high starch foods or treats. This can help aid in preventing the overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the gut, and the hay will aid in good gut motility which also helps aid in good gut microflora. Probiotics(Bene Bac) may also prove helpful in maintaining a healthy gut balance while the rabbit is on antibiotics. This is what I would do when ever treating a rabbit with antibiotics, particularly when using penicillin.

The best thing to do is to take your rabbit to a good rabbit vet and get the appropriate diagnostics and treatment done, which may include pen g injections or a different antibiotic(s) may be prescribed. Here is some information on this type of infection in rabbits, as well as the use of pen g procaine/benzathine to treat abscesses/infections in rabbits.
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Bacterial/Staphylococcosis.htm
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Chem/ChComplex/Penicillin.htm
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/jawabscess.html
http://people.umass.edu/~jwmoore/bicillin/bicillin.htm

http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

The rabbits environment will also need to be properly disinfected, as well as continue to keep it very clean to aid in the infection clearing up. A dirty environment can contribute to the contraction and spread of the staph bacteria. Also use good hygiene before and after handling this rabbit, especially if there are other rabbits around.
 
Thank you everybody, this has been extremely helpful. If you don't mind though, I have a few more questions. My dog just recently had a staff infection and we gave her some staff infection medicine. It was human staff infection medicine and it was the kind that you put on the infection, we were told that it was safe to put on our dog and it was ok if she swallowed a little bit of it. So if my rabbit (Willie) has a staff infection could I give him the same medicine I gave my dog? Or would that not be safe for rabbits? The medicine was a cream that we picked up at the drug store that is just normal human staff infection cream.

Also you were talking about cleaning his cage. I did clean his cage yesterday as throughly as I could with vinegar (which can be used instead of bleach and is safer for rabbits), but his cage is outside and on the ground, it also does not have a bottom, so he is subject to rain and dew. He has shelter and in his cage there is a platform that is in the sheltered area so that he can get up off the ground. I just cleaned that platform yesterday so is it ok for him to be in his outside cage, or would you suggest I bring him in? Also I live in the south and it is very humid here and there is almost always dew in the mornings and it has been raining a bit lately.

Thank you again for your advise. I will look into a vet visit for him, I just lately have been saving up my money since I am going on a trip to Ireland soon, and I did not really want to pay for a vet visit, but you have to do what you have to do.
 
With the cream, he may not have a Staph infection, or it could be a resistant strain of the Staph infection. You can always bring the cream with you to the vet and ask if it would work and is safe for rabbits, but many medications safe for dogs and people are not safe. Depending on what is causing the infection, the cage might be safe or might not- every bacteria has a different 'lifespan' so to speak in the environment.

Keep us updated on how he's doing!
 
So, I researched staff infections and such of the like and I don't think he has a staff infection. The bumps look more like blackheads and not so much like what I saw the staff infections look like. I also read that a rabbit with a staff infection would itch it and would not be energetic but he is still very energetic and happy as he has always been. So I think because of the humidity he has had these problems and it is probably just some sort of fungus or something.
 
Alright, so Willie will be fine. He just has a sort of fungal infection on his testes, which was caused by the wetness of the ground. So I sterilized his cage and propped it up off the ground with cinder-blocks (there is wire on the bottom of his cage). I will also be giving him little shallow baths in the evening in epsom salt water to help draw out the infection. As for his lip, it is fine, it is a little big but that is only because of scar tissue, so it was not infected.
Thank you everyone for your advise and help, it has been very helpful and educational.
 
:yeahthat: If your rabbit is on wire all the time, chances are he will develop pododermatitis which is hard to get rid off and is extremely painful for the rabbit. Also, if your rabbit is outside in a hot - humid environment, be very wary of flee strikes and examine him thoroughly really often - it kills a lot of rabbits every year in the summer.
 
Thank you everyone. He does have a platform that he can get off of the wire on, and as for pododermatitis yeah he already got it I think. But dang, see the thing is that I need him to be in a clean environment at as much as possible, that's why I put him on a wire bottom, so that all the feces and urine fell through the wire. I mean I could put down some bedding and just clean it out like two times a day. Would that be better?
 

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