EC bun with urine scald

[Bam]

Posting this for Sara: 

Last week Tuesday my bunny could not use his back legs anymore. I saw the vet who prescribed me baytril and panacur as he thought he has e cuniculi. Two days later he started hopping around again and he is mobile again. However my bunny is also incontinent now and is suffering from urine scald. I have been washing his bum, tail and legs on a daily basis with water and sometimes with a bunny shampoo. His hair is matted on certain places and it is impossible for me to remove this myself. On Friday (two days ago), I saw the vet again as I noticed that my bunny was in pain when I tried to wash him gently and I noticed that he lost a lot of hair on both of his legs and his skin looks very irritated, red and a bit flaky. I tried to dry him very gently as best as I could but I just could see that he was in pain, me touching it. Also when I dried him, his fur was falling off. The vet prescribed metacam which he is using since Friday. He told me that I have to continue using this, together with the baytril and panacur for 28 days. He also tried to remove some matted hair by trying to shave it off, but he only could remove a tiny bit, as it was very matted and he did not want to distress my bunny even more. He told me to use vaseline cream (lips) on his legs where he does not have any hair anymore. This will work as a barrier against moist and will help sooth his skin. I have been using this since yesterday. 

This morning I did not wash him, but I used kitchen towel to soak up the wetness and I put some vaseline again on his legs. Is there anything else what I can do to help my bunny to prevent the scalding from getting worse and to improve the condition on his legs? Also how often should I wash him and with what? 

I would like to mention that I keep his cage as clean and dry as possible on a daily basis. However what the vet said is that he is not aware that he is peeing. Since he is incontinent I don’t see him anymore lifting up his tail when he is peeing and I think this is part of the issue. As he is in different position when he pees, the urine goes over his legs. Also I would like to know if his incontinence is caused by e cuniculi and if this is treatable. Any advice is very much appreciated. Thank you.

[Bam]

Vaselin is good and will help the skin’s defense against excess moisture. The treatment your bun has recieved is standard protocol for e cuniculi. E cuniculi primarily affect the nervous system and the kidneys. The incontinence is most likely due to the e cuniculi, but whether its a kidney-problem or a problem with the nerves innervating the bladder is not clear. In your case it seems to be a neuro problem, because he doesn’t seeem aware that he is peeing. If the panacur treatment works, the incontinence is curable. Panacur is a slow-acting drug that needs long time to take effect, so its very hopeful that your bun already can use his hind legs again.

You can use puppy pee pads in his cage to wick up as much moisture as possible.

The web site Disabled Rabbits has tips for owners of temporarily or permanently disabled rabbits:
http://www.disabledrabbits.com/

[Sara]

Thank you Bam. I am using puppy pads at the moment and also megazorb.

[Asriel and Bombur]

My Bombur has kidney issues related to EC. We’ve been on several rounds of Oxibendazole and have been told he will likely need to be on it every few months for the rest of his life to keep up with his incontinence. He is still very much incontinent. You can lift up his litter box at any given time and odds are you’ll find a massive puddle underneath while we were at work. To prevent scalding I always use vaseline and when scalding does start I apply silvadene to the area. I also keep a towel under his box at all times.

[Sara]

This evening I had a look at my bunny again. His bum and tail were wet so I had to wash him. I was a gentle as possible with him but he was in pain. If your bunny is wet of urine, will you always wash him or will you try to dry it with a kitchen towel or something? Should I always wash him when he has urine on him to prevent that it will stick in his fur and burns his skin? I am a bit at a loss here what is best to do as I do not want to see him in pain. Tonight I saw that he lost more fur and that his skin looked very sensitive, reddish and flaky. I have put some vaseline on his skin and I do hope that his condition will improve soon. Also will you still need to wash his legs that does not have any fur on it? It is very sensitive to touch.

[Author]

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