# Is it Vent Disease? How can I treat it?



## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

Need your opinions again please... So the treatment for what the vet diagnosed as an infected rectum (separate post) and gave me antibiotic/steroid ointment to treat was finished Saturday. I believed it was hutch burn after reading some of the suggestions here because what precipitated it was a peeing match between him and a doe I was trying to breed. 

It's definitely no longer swollen. The rectum area has healed better than the vent area (I guess bucks have a vent area-the area around his penis). His vent area is still crusty. Both areas are still bright red. Now I'm starting to worry that maybe it is vent disease/bunny syphilis. If I check both does again that he was with (one he bred the other he did not) and they show no signs, this does not entirely rule out VD, right? If it is VD, is there anything I can treat it with myself or is this going to require a vet? I only have one buck so I am not really in a position to cull him AND I don't want to either.


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## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

Oh dear, your having a rough time aren't you? VD needs to be treated with Penicillin, injectable, Pen G with Procaine is best. Dosage is half cc per 4 lbs, once every 7 days for 21 days, I think, my memory is foggy. Don't get the regular Pen, you'll have to inject them more. You'll have to treat them all as well. Get larger gauge needles, the Pen is thick, and tent the skin and inject. You can buy it out of the cooler at TSC, and it has to be kept refrigerated.


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## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

Honorine, does it matter what part of the body you tent the skin? Neck, hip, etc?


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## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

I always do neck, seems to be the easiest. Just FYI, VD must be self treated with injectable Pen, some cases may need Baytril, which comes from your vet. Rabbits can have certain antibiotics orally, such as the tetracycline powders used for chickens, but for the most part injectable is better. Tetracyclines will not clear up the VD well. Rabbits live and die by their gut, like horses, they can't throw up and if they have a gut imbalance they die fast. Pen or Amox orally will kill them. If your one doe does have P Multo the Pen may stop what little symptoms she has. Good luck, I hope it clears up and thats the end of your problems.


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## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

Honorine, Thank you again. I will hopefully get all this behind me. I think this is lessons learned by a newbie about buying your breeding stock. I've learned a lot that I would now look at closely and ask more questions about. Hopefully all will be well soon... literally!


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## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

Honorine, I checked his vent area last night and it is worse. Very crusty. I did get the PEN last night and we gave him an injection. I am wondering about your thoughts on also using the topical ointment from the vet that had the antibiotic and steroid in it also? I have some A & D ointment like you use on babies for diaper rash. I put some of that on him this morning. 

He is in a wire cage with resting boards. He only had 1 resting board way over in a corner and I noticed he does his best to stay on that board. Someone said to remove it altogether, but he so obviously tries to stay on it that I'm thinking that feels better than the wire. I added another one yesterday in front of his feed bin. Do you think I should put a thick bed of hay down? He hates this, by the way. He gets agitated when I put hay down on the floor as someone else suggested I do that to make it soft. So, I stopped putting it down. He just scratched it all out as fast as I could put it in. What about adding something in his water to change the ph or something in the water? 

Poor fella. He is a very sweet little buck. He doesn't spray or anything (other than when I tried to get him to breed that one doe). I don't have another buck so this is really messing with my breeding schedule and I have limited months I can breed because of the Florida heat...


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## jolly rabbit (Apr 30, 2012)

th resting board is probably not helping at all, I would take it out till everything heals up.


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## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

Ok. Resting boards removed! But, I maybe should have mentioned they are the type with the slats in them. They are no solid. But, I am glad to take them out if anybody thinks it might help. 

Any opinions about continuing to use the antibiotic ointment while giving the pen injections or about using the A & D ointment?


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## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

Sorry, out all day. Well ointment probably can't hurt, see if it helps, since I don't know what kind of antibiotic is in the ointment I'd say A&D, but most likely neither will hurt him. If it is vent disease why didn't the vet catch it? Did the vet say what it was? Was it a rabbit savvy vet, which by the way is very hard to find. Can you call the vet and inquire? If I were you and your breeding window of opportunity is small I'd be looking for another buck, even if you just use him and butcher him. VD takes time to heal, so does hutch burn, regardless of what he has he's going to be out of commission for awhile.


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## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

Honorine, well, this is my regular vet office that have treated my cats and dogs for years but my regular vet retired. This was my first trip to the vet with a rabbit! There are 2 vets there now and this one is fairly recent out of school and they say part of her emphasis of study included rabbits. What is confusing about her diagnosis is she said infected rectum, which it was infected but no more than his vent area was infected. There is another vet here in town where I've taken one of my ducks because my vet didn't treat ducks. This place considers ducks, rabbits, lizards, parrots, etc "exotics" so they also have an exotic price tag for services! 

Rabbits are so hard to find around here. When I bought my breeders the closest places I could find were 3 hours away in various locations. I'm trying now to find a replacement. I can find baby bunnies with some effort, but then I've got a several month wait until he would be old enough to use. I could save one from my litter and gain about 2 months on the wait time but then I've got a momma and her son breeding. I know they say inbreeding isn't bad with rabbits. 

Contemplating my options... Looking on Craig's List... etc. Much more wary this time of buying from a stranger because of the health issues I "bought" with my breeders.


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## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

Girl I've got rabbits who are their own granpa- All I do is inbreed, motherxson is a good cross- and your only doing meat at this point, so your going to be eating any 'mistakes'. If you keep a buck then at least you know all about him, and your not buying someone esles problems. Inbreeding is how you fix traits, good and bad, always remember that, so you keep the best and eat the rest. Your vet may have missed that its VD, I wouldn't be surprized, but I would hope they would have caught it. So few vets know rabbits, you pays your money and you takes your chance, sharp learning curve. Is there any crusties on his face? VD often spreads to their face because they groom and eat cecal pellets. Let see, shows in Florida- Looks like quite a bit going on in FL, 

https://www.arba.net/showsSearch.php#showsearch


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## SherryB (Oct 10, 2012)

Update! The tissue around his genital area has looked nice and healthy now for about 2 weeks. And he must be back in business completely. I put him with my new little doe I've been raising (she is 6 months and weighs 8 lbs) and he got busy-BAM-BAM-BAM (3 times) and thumped his feet for the first time. I was so happy that I nearly thumped mine too!


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## Bluefirephoenix (Feb 19, 2013)

Bunny porn OMG. We're bad.


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