Bite/Scratch? Looks like a scab to me?

[bobqdevon]

Went out tonight and discovered this on one of the ~7 week old buns.

Looks like a scab to me. Consensus? If not, what is/could this be?

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

is the rabbit with anyone else in the cage.. if so , yes it could be a scab.. if not ,, it can also be ringworm..

 

[Fernie]

She is in with litter-mates and Mama. The spot is hard to the touch. Found it when I was holding her and felt a hard spot. Asked Bob to check it.

 

[Secuono]

Looks like a bot fly larva to me....

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Secuono might be on the right track, although the one case of Bot fly I had the maggot was already so large I thought the doe had a bunny berry stuck to her dewlap. :? It was the maggot's rear end sticking out.

I would apply a hot compress to soften that center area, pick off the "scab", and then squeeze the surrounding tissue to see if you can express anything.

If it is a maggot, you need to carefully remove it by grasping with hemostats or tweezers, and pulling with steady pressure. Try not to rip the beastie in half- it will cause a nasty infection if you don't get it out.

A safer approach might be to coat it with mineral or vegetable oil so it can't breathe and will hopefully squirm out. The maggot in my doe was just too gross for me to take that approach- but it was REALLY hard to get out, and I did rip it a little.

Maggot or no, once you express all you can from the wound tract, irrigate it with a weak Betadine and water solution. I injected honey (which is antibacterial) into the wound after treating my doe, and she healed up just fine.

 

[bobqdevon]

So, I went out and used the small groomer/shaver I keep in the supplies to remove hair from the area. We then brought her inside, and I applied warm compress. After warming the area for a minure, I went to examine it, and it burst open, with all of it's pus-volcano-ness... I drained it, and it appears to be a puncture or tear.

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Gonna go check my trauma bag to see what I have to help with the infection. Any ideas on what would be safe to use? (I know peoples, not bunnehs...) Oh, and with the posting of these pictures, Fernie will no longer be participating in this thread...

 

[squidpop]

Raw honey or manuka honey- I've already posted about the wonders of it. Its antibacterial and aids in the formation of granulation tissue- which is the tissue that forms to heal the wound. It also draws debris and infection out of the wound.

Here is a Medirabbit article where a person uses manuka honey to pack a abscess. http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_disea ... _treat.htm

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I drained it, and it appears to be a puncture or tear.

Nice pics- good job!

Any ideas on what would be safe to use?

Yup. I was proactive and posted treatment options already:

irrigate it with a weak Betadine and water solution. I injected honey (which is antibacterial) into the wound after treating my doe, and she healed up just fine.

If you don't have "Betadine", you may have Povidone Iodine in your own first aid kit, which is the same thing.

Oh, and with the posting of these pictures, Fernie will no longer be participating in this thread...

Ahh! Now her "I am a WIMP!" comment in the chatbox becomes clear...

 

[bobqdevon]

Sorry, I must have missed the "treatment options" We have absolutely no iodine here at all, which is surprising. I used some neosporin, and put her back in with the litter. We'll check it again in the morning. If it reopens for some reason, I can always remove the scab area and put 2 stitches in it to close it up.

Yes, Fernie doesn't do well with injuries, blood, pus, or most anything icky. You should see the fun when she catches sight of a needle...

We're moving the big bucks out of the trailer and to the garage tomorrow anyways, so that will free up 2 cages that I could use to isolate her if necessary. They're getting sorted Friday anyhow...

 

[DogCatMom]

Sorry she can't deal with injuries; taking care of animals often involves cleaning 'em up. When my cats went outdoors, I dealt with it a lot more often, but the dogs like to hide their little "ow-ies" from me until they're really gross.... All of my dogs until the current Mr. Dog have been good about allowing "Mommy" to treat them, but he's wound much too tight for that (phobic/anxiety-ridden in many ways, poor guy). I can put a compress on him, but that's about it; he goes NUTS. (I'm waiting for 9 to 10 inches of bruising on my right hand and forearm to heal due to a head-slam when I tried to examine his right forefoot on the 12th of this month--was it a foxtail? a lick granuloma? WHAM!)

Ahem.

Anyway, taking care of animals has its gross aspects. Indoor-only cats get hairballs even when they're brushed and combed, so there's that to clean up. My two neutered male cats love each other, but they wrestle pretty hard, so I clean them regularly for little spots of blood. (I also trim their nails every week as well as when I feel a "pointy" nail in between times.) We've had quite the flea season here; I've flea-combed and -bathed the cats.

Parsley Graybuns, the Am.Chin rabbit, hasn't had any problems--yet--but he's a solo rabbit. For now.

I wonder if the kits were rolling over one another and a claw caught on this one's back?

You've done the worst (grossest) part. Personally, I'd clipper off a little more hair so that the hair can't get into the wound.

I'm not sure if this works with rabbits, but if you don't have Monuka honey (there are several spellings of that word running around), keep applying warm compresses two or three times a day to keep the wound draining. This little one might appreciate some peace and quiet (and warmth) while recuperating, but I'll let the actual rabbit raisers advise you on that aspect of things.