What is growing on his chin?

[Truffle Risotto]

I'm worried for my baby, he's had this for months now and it's not going away. We took him to the vet a month ago and they gave us imaverol to apply to it, well we were sure it was helping, even felt it get less but today after a month of applying it to his chin area we noticed it has got worse. We don't know what to do now, we'll call the vet but honestly I don't know if they'll be able to help further. We thought maybe it's because he gets wet on his chin area, but I change his water multiple times a day and give it a clean all the time, could it still be because it gets on his chin area? Their vegetables also get spun in a salad spinner before it's served to them so it's not so wet. We don't know the cause but it's getting worse and he's getting more bald there too, but it doesn't spread anywhere else on him, even his bun wife doesn't have any sign of it and she always snuggles under his chin and they share everything. I've attached a photo, this was when is was a bit less, I couldn't get a photo of how it looks now but its exactly like how it is in the photo but more growths.

 

[JBun]

Is there an actual lumpy growth or is it just sore and balding? Does it seem to be pretty consistently wet down there? If so, could it be from drool and has the vet done a dental check? Does he rub his chin on things a lot, or is there a food dish or other object that could be rubbing the area too much? Does he drink from a water dish or from a bottle?

 

[Truffle Risotto]

Is there an actual lumpy growth or is it just sore and balding? Does it seem to be pretty consistently wet down there? If so, could it be from drool and has the vet done a dental check? Does he rub his chin on things a lot, or is there a food dish or other object that could be rubbing the area too much? Does he drink from a water dish or from a bottle?

It is lumpy. He drinks from a bowl and only gets wet on his chin area after he drinks water. He does like to chin things but he's not like constantly chinning objects, and I don't think there could be anything rubbing against his chin too much, he has comfortable surfaces, he does eat dried forage and flowers from a bowl could that be rubbing on his chin?

 

[JBun]

So if there is an actual lump, it's possible he has an abscess. Has the vet ever done a fine needle aspirate to see if there was pus or fluid in the lump? Has your vet done a dental exam at all or head xrays? Dental problems can be a common cause of lumps forming under the chin.

 

[Truffle Risotto]

So if there is an actual lump, it's possible he has an abscess. Has the vet ever done a fine needle aspirate to see if there was pus or fluid in the lump? Has your vet done a dental exam at all or head xrays? Dental problems can be a common cause of lumps forming under the chin.

This is a picture I just took today of it

 

[Alice the Mini Lop]

If this is a large singular lump, there is a good chance this an abscess. These need to be treated as soon as possible, as they can act almost like a cancer to a rabbit, due to the fact that rabbit pus is harder to drain than other types. If the bacteria in an abscess reaches a rabbits jaw, part of the bone will need to be removed, and the chances that the rabbit will live are slim.

Your bunny needs to go to the vet again, preferably a different one (because this one doesn’t seem very knowledgeable if they didn’t even mention this possibility to you), to rule out the possibility of an abscess. They are dangerous and notoriously hard to treat, but sadly pretty common in rabbits.

My rabbit is currently recovering from an abscess, and I have a thread on the beginning of the process on this forum. I will also be updating it relatively soon if you need to see the full process of what can go on with something like this. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, as there is A LOT of information you need to be aware of if this is an abscess.

I hope for your sake it isn’t though, as treating an abscess is a long process, and one many vets don’t want to go through for liability reasons. I know my bunny and I travel out of state for our treatments, because no vets in my entire state would attempt to treat it.

Don’t let this message scare you too much though, as some abscesses clear up really well with minimal work, though this isn’t always the case. My rabbit seems to be going down the easier path though, so despite what some websites say, there is in fact hope for a full recovery.