Swollen cheek

[BrittanyBunny]

My bunny Nibbles has a swollen cheek. I just noticed it fully today but I believe it has been like that for 1-2 days, I remember he looked very fluffy the other day, I figured it was just fluff but I'm assuming now it was the swollen cheek. He doesn't appear to be in any pain or discomfort, I touched it and it was a little hard. He eats (EVERYTHING) , hops, and is as normal as before.

He is not even a year old..

My question is... is this an abscess? if so, how much would it cost to fix? What are my options... I'm just a college student, I don't have a lot of cash ... however I don't want to just let him die... Me and my boyfriend are very distraught about this. Help?!

Heres a picture.

 

[Imbrium]

it looks pretty bad; I doubt there's any way around a vet trip >.< no clue what it would cost, though.

you'll want to be sure to find a GOOD vet, as not all vets willing to see bunnies are truly rabbit-savvy. I've heard a depressing number of stories about someone's bunny having a malocclusion or other tooth problem and the vet saying they needed to be put down! (fortunately, those stories all had happy endings where the owner was caring enough to ask for a second opinion on it and got told to find a vet that didn't suck )

we have a nice listing of rabbit-savvy vets that can be found here: http://rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=9

if you can find more than one in your area, call around and ask them for vague price ranges on dealing with potential tooth/abscess issues. they won't commit to anything over the phone and you might get a pretty big range (such as "around $ if "this" is causing it/but could be as much as $ if "that" is causing it..." but you should at least be able to get a general idea of which vet is most affordable, as prices can vary greatly from one vet to the next.

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

I would say abscess....You need to find a way to vet asap.

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/abcess.shtml

 

[missyscove]

Agreed, definitely something that needs vet attention.

 

[BrittanyBunny]

Thank you everyone, I took Mr. Nibbles to the vet, they cut the abscess and drained it. they also left two holes, tied a string through it to keep the wound open. they sent us with antibiotics and some type of... silicone? liquid stuff, cherry flavored medicine every 12 hours and we have to drain the puss out of the two holes once a day as well as put that silicone or saline stuff in it. (not sure what it is, my boyfriend took him to the vet... I just couldn't watch mr.nibbles go through all that ...). He seems to be doing much better, we should be taking him back tomorrow or the next day to get that string out so it can heal. My only concern is if it will come back... we still drain out a good amount of puss every day (we have to drain for 5 days before taking him back in). Has anyone had an abscess come back?


by the way, for all this, the vet bill came out to $73. Not bad!!

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

So glad he is doing better......

 

[Imbrium]

wow, cheap vet bill! I'm so glad to hear he's on the mend