Lulu badly bitten -- graphic pic ---

[squidpop]

I hope this looks worse than it really is
Yesterday I put Lulu in the pen run next to Tulip (an American Tan rabbit) and Tulip bit Lulu's lip. Took her to the emergency vet (expensive) and he stapled her lip up. There is still a corner of her lip that doesn't look connected- I hope its going to heel ok. it was really swollen so it was hard to get the flesh to close together to put in a third staple. Before the staples it was just hanging down. Doctor also gave her a shot of Convenia (new antibiotic- shot lasts 7 days so you don't have to give pills).

I wanted to retire 4 of my jersey wooly does together in a big outdoor pen (not the American Tan)- but now I'm afraid of injuries. The rabbits love it when you put them in the outdoor runs and look so happy - but it seems like the more you give them freedom and joy the more you endanger them.<br /><br />__________ Wed Oct 16, 2013 6:26 pm __________<br /><br />

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Ouch!

It doesn't look too bad when she isn't pushing against the bars. I think she should be fine- lips, and mucous membranes in general, heal pretty quickly.

Jersey Woolys have a reputation for being very easy going with one another, and I know lots of people keep them together. I have never personally known a Tan, but I do know that they are more high strung.

I think you would probably be safe having the Woolys together. I would just make sure they have plenty of hiding places, and start them in their colony when you have a couple of days to watch them so you can remove any troublemakers.

 

[luvabunny]

Someone made you PAY for that staple job? It looks like it was done by an amateur. I would be highly concerned that she would catch a back nail in them scratching, or even a front nail just washing her face.
Personally, I would take her back to that very expensive vet and demand sutures-free of charge. Leaving those loose staples is just going to cause more problems.

I don't do any sort of colony situation so can't advise you there, but it has been my experience that leaving adult animals together is an accident waiting to happen. I would expect more such scenarios if you decide to do it.

 

[squidpop]

I am going back to the vet tomorrow - didn't realize that was a bad job. If they do sutures do they have to put her under?- because she has 19 day old babies.

 

[hotzcatz]

Those staples look worse than the wound, although we didn't see it before. Next time, you can save a vet trip and just use super glue to glue the edges of the skin back together. Wash out the wound with some antiseptic and then use just a tiny bit of superglue to glue several places of the edge of the skin back together. Don't get super glue inside the wound and leave a little area for liquids to seep out of the wound if necessary. Super glue was actually invented to be a skin glue. I am not a vet, though, so this is merely my opinion and not certified medical knowledge.

 

[squidpop]

I thought about super glue but don't think I could have gotten the edges close enough together to hold it. The wound goes about 1/4 of an inch past the staples so the bottom of the whisker pad was hanging down- so the staples are actually holding a large portion of the wound together. Maybe I didn't think it looked so bad because I saw how bad it looked before the staples.

 

[skysthelimit]

I've done super glue on dogs and rabbits before. I also have stapled dogs after a dog fight.

As far as putting them together--it's a toss up. My Jerseys live together but they are either very young or related, the max I have now is 4 in one cage.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Those staples look worse than the wound, although we didn't see it before. Next time, you can save a vet trip and just use super glue to glue the edges of the skin back together. Wash out the wound with some antiseptic and then use just a tiny bit of superglue to glue several places of the edge of the skin back together. Don't get super glue inside the wound and leave a little area for liquids to seep out of the wound if necessary. Super glue was actually invented to be a skin glue. I am not a vet, though, so this is merely my opinion and not certified medical knowledge.

Yep, they did a crappy job with those staples....and I love the disclaimer! LOL

 

[squidpop]

Well I took Lulu back this morning and the vet said, about his own staple job, "That's not good enough we can do much better than that- its not closed enough and needs to be stitched" so Lulu has to get the anesthetic and get stitched. Wish he would have stitched it in the first place, but at least it will get fixed.

With putting my rabbits together- I was planning on putting 3 jersey wooly females and maybe a neutered (really laid back) cashmere lop in a enclosure that is really big- about 21 x 21 square feet. Its outside and I've tried to make it dig-out-proof by putting down chicken wire around the fences. But I was also going to divide up the area to 4 sections, have their hutches in 1 section 6ft x 20ft and the other 3 sections would be rotating grazing paddocks.

 

[dayna]

Hopefully he didn't charge you...

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Hopefully he didn't charge you...

:yeahthat:

 

[Miss M]

I get that it looked much worse before the staples, but yeah, no way can you staple a rabbit like that and have a happy ending!

I'm glad he sutured it. Definitely should have done that the first time around. And yeah, I hope he didn't charge you for the staple job and the suture job.

I'd have given you your money back on the staples, and not charged for the sutures. That's how horrified and apologetic I would have been.

 

[squidpop]

Well, he didn't charge me for the staples but I should have told him to refund me the "$30 walked in the door" fee for the second visit I should not have had to do to get staples taken out and the stitches put in- sometimes I just don't feel up to confronting people. Here's a update photo of Before and After- at least it looks better.

 

[AmysMacdog]

That does look so much better and it has to feel better! Poor Lulu and poor you for all you've had to do! Maybe if you called the office they would at least give you 30.00 bucks off your next visit. You shouldn't have been charged twice. At least it wouldn't hurt to ask.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

The suture job looks much cleaner and neater! Yay! You mentioned how swollen the tissue was when the vet stapled her- I wonder if that accounts for how they were raised up from the surface of her lip? :?

 

[Miss M]

WAY better!

You mentioned how swollen the tissue was when the vet stapled her- I wonder if that accounts for how they were raised up from the surface of her lip? :?

I thought about that, but still... surely he could have done SOMETHING better than what he did. :angry:

 

[squidpop]

I think the swelling might have had a lot to do with the staples not working. I think the vet was having a hard time even getting the edges close enough to meet. After he did the staples he scheduled the second appointment to check two days later so I think he knew he was going to need to do the sutures.