Sick Bunny, scabs, swollen genitals? Don't know what's wrong :( Help please

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So this is my update on our vet trip today:

The vet said that while although her scabs were better, it is not the improvement he had wanted to see while on her antibiotic therapy. He said he was going to go ahead and treat for Syphilis! Yay for a rabbit savvy vet. Since right now it seems to be a mild case, (although her eye has worsened with white pooling up sometimes with her discharge. Her eye is still red too) he wants to do 3 penicilin injections. He mixed 2 penicillins together. We did one today, and I am going to bring her back for 2 more. Hopefully this works, and if not, we might have to do more frequent or adjust the dose.

It was 24.00 for one injection and also will be for the following ones. Does this seem a bit high? I believe they said they would figure out a different price if we had to do it more frequently.

They also mixed her up a different kind of eye solution- Mucomysty/Art tears/ and Gentocin Ophth. That's what it says on the bottle.

He said to still continue and finish the Baytril, still give the meloxicam and the cream, and the Benebac.

Will bunnies eat the Benebac off of some kind of food? We have been using a syringe to wipe it in her mouth and she seems to think it's quite tasty.

The vet just mentioned it's possible that she could get stasis to watch out for her pooping output. I hope this does not happen though.
 
That's a bit expensive, since you can get the drug from a farm store for probably that price for a huge bottle. The buffer solution they dilute it with is also pretty cheap. However, making sure the injection is done right is probably what you're paying for.

The eye thing sounds good.

Tony will eat Benebac by itself--he thinks it's a treat and will chew at the tube to try to get more. Muffin and the others don't agree. I usually give it to them as a blob on top of some treat food.

Glad that the vet's treating for syphilis! I'm not sure what the dosing protocol is exactly for that disease, but I bet someone on here knows. You should see improvement with those doses, though, if it's an upper respiratory, I would think.
 
Snowballbun wrote:
So this is my update on our vet trip today:

The vet said that while although her scabs were better, it is not the improvement he had wanted to see while on her antibiotic therapy. He said he was going to go ahead and treat for Syphilis! Yay for a rabbit savvy vet. Since right now it seems to be a mild case, (although her eye has worsened with white pooling up sometimes with her discharge. Her eye is still red too) he wants to do 3 penicilin injections. He mixed 2 penicillins together. We did one today, and I am going to bring her back for 2 more. Hopefully this works, and if not, we might have to do more frequent or adjust the dose.

It was 24.00 for one injection and also will be for the following ones. Does this seem a bit high? I believe they said they would figure out a different price if we had to do it more frequently.

They also mixed her up a different kind of eye solution- Mucomysty/Art tears/ and Gentocin Ophth. That's what it says on the bottle.

He said to still continue and finish the Baytril, still give the meloxicam and the cream, and the Benebac.

Will bunnies eat the Benebac off of some kind of food? We have been using a syringe to wipe it in her mouth and she seems to think it's quite tasty.

The vet just mentioned it's possible that she could get stasis to watch out for her pooping output. I hope this does not happen though.
Click to expand...
i read your first post,,and am including your last post here..//.wow//.does your dvm know she was in pine shavings.??scented-be it cedar or pine is taboo for rabbits health,,aspen is -ok--,but i use timothy/orchard grasses,,in the grass bins and the poop boxes.//.do we have any cultures identifing the bacteria.??-or are we just trying to get lucky with antibiotics.??.benebac usually is in a tube,,just squeeze a portion/dose/into the mouth,,..critical care also has viable microorganisms,,and the water will help keep snowball hydrated--,,i hope this has been useful,,please pm me ,,sincerely james waller:wave::rose::biggrin2::bunnydance::p
 
From everything I just read.. that's rabbit syphilis, and as a matter of fact, I have pics of a rabbit of mine that I took in with it.. let me see if I can locate them for comparison.

Here is her eye..it's not real obvious here, but her eye had a heavy discharge and was cloudy at the time.


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Here is her vent. again, heavy discharge just as you described.

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We immediately started her on a course of injectable Pen G.. with some Bene Bac.. and she was good to go.. no issues, and I still have her to this day..
 
Thank you for reassuring me, and I'm glad that you posted pics as well! It's good to hear someone who has had experience with that and it's also a good idea to post pics! I never took any pics which might have been helpful. I just got home from work and it seems like her eye doesn't look as red and her fur is not that wet like before. So possibly the first dose worked? I don't want to jinx it too soon. But the vet said usually you see the most results after the 2nd injection. I'm happy to see that your rabbit also fully recovered from this. Her eye basically looked just like that and her fur was all matted around it which made her look even more sick. It's kind of weird that there is an eye issue along with the syphilis.

Thanks for everyone's input, and I would still like to hear any experience or advice you may have. Comments, anything. I am so grateful to everyone for helping me through this.
 
You all are most welcome.. something I wanted to add.. also not really seen in the pics, she has scabs on her vent as well..but im sure it's pretty obvious her vent is inflamed
 
Pipp wrote:
GoinBackToCali wrote:
Feel free to save those pics and use them in the library..
Click to expand...
I was just about to ask!!


:thanks: :big kiss:
Click to expand...
pipp,,the eye picture,,doesn,t look like the tell/tell clinical signs of syphilis.??-take a look at medi rabbit-website-,,lots of progressive pictures(graphic-too),--pm me,,what you think...sincerely james waller:wave::rose:
 
James, I will hafta message you too like you said. On my rabbit, the eye thing started clearing up almost right away after the penicillin shot. (Whereas the baytril didn't do anything) The red and swollenness went down and her eye stopped running. The vet said the eye thing could also be the syphilis. Her genitals look a lot less inflamed and they are also a much lighter pink now and less swollen.

She goes in for her next shot on Monday and the vet said after the second shot you will probably notice the biggest difference, and I have already noticed a marked improvement which I am so happy about.

When looking at other pictures of syphilis online, I was horrified at how bad it looked. However, in the case of my rabbit, I think we caught it at an early stage.
 
I've dealt with two bunnies with syphilis myself. The penicillin made a big difference quickly. It was kind of odd telling friends and family my bunnies had an std... Lol. Hope your bunner feels better soon!
 
Just for information....the dosing protocol we use with Pen G is one injection per day for three days and then every other day. The reason this is done is to keep the Procaine level up until the Benzathine gets to working levels. Procaine is fast in/fast out and Benzathine takes a few days to get to working levels but stays in the body at effective levels much longer.

Randy
 
Does it depend on how advanced the disease is? Snowball is getting 3 shots each a week apart. The vet said he did combine two kinds of penicillin but I believe they are the Pen G. Hopefully it will be the correct dosing. I think he decided to do this instead of more frequent for right now since it is a mild case. I just don't want it to come back!

I went to the pet store today to tell them about the rabbit and they had never heard of syphilis. He is going to talk to the breeder, but the pet store guy said they haven't had any other issues with bunnies. I do trust the guy, we've known him for a long time so I know he wouldn't sell a sick rabbit on purpose. But.....hopefully they will get to the bottom of where it came from?

Also, Nela, thanks for your pics. And thanks, I hope she feels better too :) So your bunnies were cured then after the injections? I know it is funny saying about the syphilis. People get a weird look on their face and I'm like it's not the same kind! LOL. But I've been still getting teased by my family.
 
Let me clarify something..

That was after 2 shots of Pen G...a week had passed.

I am also married to a Vet.. and his advice at that time was for injectable Pen G..

When she first arrived, it was matted and red and inflamed and swollen, very angry looking as were her vent.

Those also are after I had cleaned her up quite a bit ..

But whatever you all feel is best as for the pics.


 
Hey everyone, so Snowball is due for her last penicillin shot on Sunday, and she seems to be coping well. She definitely is eating and pooping...alot! Since the vet mentioned stasis was a possibility.

But in the last couple weeks I have noticed a change in her litter habits. She was very good with the litter box since I first got her around 5 weeks--it took about a week for her to pick a corner.

But now her habits are horrendous! She poops all over her pen. (Still in the general corner of the litter box, but not IN the box.) She still goes pee in her box and poops a little in there. Then in her cage she has been pooping all over and peeing all over her towel. I'm wondering if I should just take her towel out.

Why do you think there is this change? She's about 5 months old so maybe it's hormones? Rebellion? She's mad from being medicated and/or being taken to the vet? I know she gets shaky and nervous going to the vet. Just hope her changed habits doesn't mean she has another sickness. Her genitals look very light pink now, are not swollen, and her fur is finally growing back under her nose where the scabs were. Her eye still looks great! Hoping this last dose of medicine will get rid of it and it won't come back. Do you also think there's a chance that the 3 doses won't get rid of it?
 
I would guess hormones.

I'm glad she's doing much better, and I hope that this last dose does the trick. I would think 3 doses should handle it.
 
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