Rabbit genital lump/sorehocks/broken leg/foot.

[MountainViewRabbitry]

Hi everyone, I had a rabbit come into my rescue. She has a few issues. We are hoping to set up a vet appointment soon. She has a lump on her vulva. I’m not sure if it’s a tumor or a cyst him it has a blood supply but it does not have pus in the middle. It is pretty soft and squishy but you can just feel skin. she also has this extreme sore hocks, which we think is because she was kept on wire with no proper matting, it’s also probably because she has a broken foot/leg. It’s an old injury that looks like it’s mostly healed. She doesn’t put a ton of weight on it but she does use it. She’s acting normal eating drinking playing with her bonded sister. What should I bring up to the vet? What treatment options are there? What do you think is going on? Also note that she looks wet because I used an incontinence spray on her to clean her up. It is causing some skin issues. She is peeing all down her leg. she currently has sore hawk boots, and Neosporin. I’m thinking about starting her on an antibiotic. Feel free to ask questions or ask for photos or anything. Thanks!

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

If all these problems start gaining up and she begins having a lot of obvious pain then it would probably be best to just put her down

 

[MountainViewRabbitry]

If all these problems start gaining up and she begins having a lot of obvious pain then it would probably be best to just put her down

Yes, but she’s not in obvious pain yet. So we’re going to do everything we can for her. If I can figure out what’s going on I should be able to help her with help from vets. I think the sore hocks just need treatment. I’m more concerned about the bump. But the leg is mostly healed.

 

[MountainViewRabbitry]

Anyone know if I should splint to leg/foot or not?

 

[MountainViewRabbitry]

Good news I don’t think the foot is broken. I think it’s just a sore hawks or very sore so if we treat the sore hawks, everything should get better on the foot that just leave the lump is our only issue so one thing one step at a time and will get it taken care of.

 

[Preitler]

After a butt bath, does she keep getting urine soaked? Not sure if the swelling or whatever it is can be a result of that.

Good luck.

 

[MountainViewRabbitry]

After a butt bath, does she keep getting urine soaked? Not sure if the swelling or whatever it is can be a result of that.

Good luck.

Yes she does keep getting urine on her after a butt bath

 

[tambayo]

If she can't help but pee on herself due to the lump on her vulva this needs to be fixable quickly, or the damage to the skin that urine scald will/has caused will get worse. I don't know how things are vet knowledge on bunnies wise over there, but here it is fairly limited unless you go to a specialist. For me such an animal would be put down, staying clean is one of the baseline things for quality of life on my list. But i don't run a rescue.

 

[MountainViewRabbitry]

If she can't help but pee on herself due to the lump on her vulva this needs to be fixable quickly, or the damage to the skin that urine scald will/has caused will get worse. I don't know how things are vet knowledge on bunnies wise over there, but here it is fairly limited unless you go to a specialist. For me such an animal would be put down, staying clean is one of the baseline things for quality of life on my list. But i don't run a rescue.

Thanks, we have amazing vets here so hoping for the best.

 

[jaxmarblebuns]

Possible Cause:
My theory in what happens is that she had an injury to her leg first, this then led the favoritisms of one leg and too much pressure on the other causing the sore hock. Sitting crooked could also make he pee stream hit the wrong spot/her leg. She was probably laying down, rubbing and dragging across the wire which may have caused injury and inflammation of the vent (this inflammation would also cause more the pee stream to be more crooked).

What to do Now:
Sanitation, observation, movement limitation. Most important thing to do is to keep her clean. Putting antiseptics in the wounds 1-2 times a day would be best, even just Neosporin would be ok. If she has a broke bone you will need to limit movement as much as possible, I’m not sure exactly how your rescue works, but this is what out humane society does. Broken legs: splint if possible until veterinarian appointment, keep inside of 2’ X 2’ cage NO HOP TIME, take out litter box so the animal does not have to jump, cover floor in towels so the animal has more grip, clean 2-3 times a day to keep sanitary.

Treatment:
I am a fan of home remedies and have personally successfully have only had to take animals to the vet for necessary surgeries (like spays or broke limbs). But IMO there is too much stuff going on here to try and fix without a professionals help, if this were me I’d even send for an emergency vet to get them in ASAP.

 

[hotzcatz]

I'm not a vet and don't even play one on TV, but I'd investigate 'Vent Disease', which is basically rabbit syphilis. Which means penicillin can cure it. If they still sell penicillin for cows, you can get it inexpensively at the feed stores. Along with small needles, those are very inexpensive.

We did a systemic treatment for possible syphilis in 2018. Multiple weeks of twenty bunny shots, but it seems to have eradicated it. Here's the blog post from that: https://hillsidefarmhawaii.com/blog/2018/20180322.html

It wasn't very expensive at all, about $15 for the penicillin and the needles were forty cents each. Needles were washed with rubbing alcohol between shots so we didn't use all that many of them even though it was a total of 105 bunny shots. If she gets treated for syphilis, treat her sister bun as well.

For the sore hocks, keep the neosporin on it until it heals. If it's a broken bone, splint it, but if it's been more than a week or so, it's probably already healed on it's own. It's not likely necessary to rebreak it and reset it if she's able to get around on it.

 

[tambayo]

Needles get dull quick and being poked with a dull needle hurts. Better just replace needles often and do less skin damage along with less protest from the bunny.

 

[ladysown]

which we think is because she was kept on wire with no proper matting,

just so you know, wire doesn't cause sore hocks. Sore hocks is a genetic issue due to poor furring on the feet. Wet conditions can make it worse.

 

[MountainViewRabbitry]

Thanks everyone, we had to put her down.