Vent Infection/Disease or something else?

[Happi Bun]

About a week ago I noticed Penny, my new foster rabbit, has something very wrong with her vulva. I stumbled across it while doing her scent glands. It's incredibly hard to describe so I just got photo's. She was pregnant when first picked up by the rescue, so I'm not sure if it's rabbit syphilis. She was seen by a rabbit savvy vet and given an injection of Pen G, but there hasn't been much change and it's been about a week. The vet didn't say a diagnosis.


IMMEDIATE INFORMATION:


Location: Auburn, California

Description: Angora, Black w/ White, 3.58 lbs

Age: Vet estimaited 1 year

Sex: Female

Concise Summary of the Rabbit's Condition: "Tubes" sticking out of her vulva with a white pastey discharge that can be squeezed out in tiny amounts. Overall just looks nothing like a normal female rabbit genital.



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / CHECK LIST:

Fecal and Urinary Output

- are the bunny's poops and pees normal? Yes
- when did they last use their litterbox? Recently
- any unusual behavior? straining to pee? unusual litter habits? Not using litter box, which is unusal for her

Medical History

- spayed/neutered? Spayed
- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before? Yes and Yes
- is s/he on any medications? Was given shot of Pen G

Diet

- what specifically does your bunny eat? Purina Rabbit Chow, 1/8 of a cup at night, Timothy Hay available all the time, Veggies
- when and what did s/he eat last? Recently
- any changes in the way s/he eats? None


Other

- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally? Yes
- is the rabbit molting? No
- any weight loss? No
- any sign of drooling? wet face? No
- runny eyes? No
- wet nose? coughing? sneezing? No
- is s/he breathing normally? Yes

Additional

- any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach? No
- has the rabbit been outdoors? No
- any other pets? Yes if so, have they been ill? No


[align=center] Here are two pictures;

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[Maureen Las]

Here is a pic of syphllis on the face

I definitely think that your bun has a bad case of syphilis (which is totally treatable.)

The treatment is usually 3 injections of pencillin 1 week apart.
I think possibly that you are seeing a vet who doesn't know rabbits very well as it is fairly common and easy to treat.

here is more info from the library

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15018&forum_id=10

here is a list of vets in Ca supplied by our members ; I really don't know what part of the state that you are in

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11590&forum_id=9

 

[Happi Bun]

Thank you for the response. The weird thing is she is reputable and rabbit savvy. She is recommended by the HRS, used by rescues, and done all my bunnies neuters. I asked if she thought it was rabbit syphilis when I was there about a week ago and she didn't really say yes or no. I will call and tell her there is no improvement.

 

[Maureen Las]

Maybe she never actually saw it before.

 

[tonyshuman]

Another Pen G injection would be wise for sure. It is also possible that she got bit down there by another bunny at some time, and her genitals look different because of that, and there may be infection from the bite wounds. If the 3 week Pen G course doesn't clear it up, try it for every other day for 2 weeks, and if that doesn't do it, a different antibiotic may be needed as it may be a Pen G resistant bacterial abscess.

 

[pamnock]

I would also advise another pen shot - I'm thinking that the vet is correct in the assumption that the rabbit has vent disease. It would be a good idea for the vet to culture the pus for active syphilis bacteria, however, in some cases, thosepustules never go away.

Pam