Bunny Scratched During Bonding and Bleeding

[RalphieDog]

I have two bonded bunnies that are 2.5 years old, as well as a new baby bunny that was found under a car in our neighborhood.  Nobody claimed her, so I happily took her in.  I have had her for a week, and she has been to the vet already and is a baby English spot/Lop mix.  I told my husband we are not to introduce her to the other bunnies until she is spayed and bigger because she is just a baby right now, but he held her in his lap and introduced her to my two bonded buns when I was not home.  My girl bunny suddenly lunged and scratched her on her forehead, just above the eye.  It was bleeding and has since stopped.  I have washed it gently with a wash cloth, but I am wondering if there is anything I can get to put on it to prevent infection.  Most of the resources I have read say Neosporin, but the resources I can find are few and far between.  I also considered HCL, but I couldn’t find a lot of information about that.  Any guidance here would be appreciated!  

Thank you so much!  

[tobyluv]

You can use Neosporin on rabbits. It should be the plain kind, not the kind with pain relievers added. I don’t think you should get that in her eye, though. Hopefully you could put a small amount on the cut and she wouldn’t rub it into her eye. If you are worried about it getting in her eye, maybe you should wait and call the vet in the morning and get his/her advice.

It really is not safe to put the new bunny with your other two. Hopefully your husband won’t do that again. Even more serious injuries could occur. You will need to keep the new bunny separate, until she has had surgery, recuperated, and you can start the bonding process. Make sure that your two rabbits are not able to bite her nose or ears or any part of her through cage bars. If they are in the same room with her, you may need to double up on pens, to have a buffer between her and your two.

Thank you for taking in the bunny that was likely thrown out by someone.

[RalphieDog]

Thank you, I appreciate your feedback!

I know, everything I have read says introducing the bunnies should wait until they’re all altered. (The baby is the only one unaltered. She’s the sweetest, most affectionate bunny I’ve ever met!) I think he thought that they would just sniff around if he held her in his lap, but our other girl bunny evidently did not like it. They won’t be introduced until she gets altered and larger and when they have time to just sniff each other through separate barriers; that’s how our first bunnies bonded, and they are inseparable now!

The good news is that this little one has been eating and drinking since the incident. She is still very affectionate and wants to give me and my husband kisses when we hold her. (SO unusual for a bun!) We did get some plain NEO, and her scratch already seems to be getting better. Thank you so much again!

[Author]

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