HELP! Bun is in pain…

[MagpieBunnies]

Hey everyone,

Ok so I think the worst that could have happened in having a bun for under a week just did.  I came home from class today and let Hemi out to play as he’s become accustomed too already. He was hoppin around as usual and just got really excited for some reason and his toe-nail got caught on the carpet! I had a huge test today and wasn’t able to take him up to the vet school, was planning on doing it tomorrow since I don’t have class. His nail broke completely off and was bleeding pretty profusely. He wouldn’t let me near him at all at first and then I guess he either was in a lot of pain or was scared and just came over and crawled into my lap. Bad situation, but the cutest thing ever. Meanwhile, I’m trying to call every vet office in town and every vet student I know. None of the vets offices are open, not even the vet school. One of my friends whose going into vet school came over as soon as she could and she help me clip the rest of his nails and then assess the damage. And as I said he broke it clean off almost down to the base. We cleaned it up to prevent infection. She said that there’s not much else I can do other than keep it clean and put neosporin on it everyday. He’s drinking his water still and eating. My main worry is that he’s still grinding his teeth a bit, not loudly like I know rabbits do when their in extreme pain but just off and on. No thumping, growling when we touch the paw… Just jerks away and lets out a little squeak/chirp. 

Should I still take him to the vet tomorrow, even though they said there’s not much else I can do? It’s pretty much stopped bleeding now unless he aggrevates it again. Not really sure what to do…  

~Meagan

[FluffyBunny]

My bunnies have broken claws many times. Just keep it clean and keep an eye on it. There’s no need to take him to the vet unless he doesn’t stop limping in 2-3 days and/or you suspect it’s infected. If it starts bleeding again, you can stop the bleeding with some cornstarch or styptic powder.

[MagpieBunnies]

Well that makes feel better. I tend to be a worry-wart when it comes to my animals. He’s comfortably resting in his grass den right now. We got to the wound pretty quickly and cleaned his cage so he was less prone to getting infected. Now to just play the waiting game.

[Michelle&Lolli]

He should be fine. I think it happens to all of us who have carpet. Both of mine have ripped theirs on the carpet. They didn’t bleed though but when I’d go to clip their nails, would find one or two that were obviously ripped off.

Lolli got her nail caught on the carpet and broke her toe. So it’s crooked. I NEVER knew until I picked her up to do my check up on her – clip nails, check ears, etc. Too bad rabbits can’t be like cats and shed their nails. lol

[Kate Monster]

I had a similar (but more my fault) type experience right after I brought Kate and Spence home. It didn’t occur to me that she’d jump on top the box for my boyfriends sound system, and it has little holes for ventilation and Kate got her toenail caught in one. And of course, my trying to help just scared the poop out of her and she broke a toenail off. I felt so incredibly bad! Obviously it’s blocked off now. But she was fine ultimately. She just needed to train her human in better bunny proofing!

[RabbitPam]

It was excellent that you had a vet in training who could help you deal with the wound immediately.
Do you have an established vet you will be taking your new bunny to otherwise? If you haven’t done a baseline exam with a vet you plan to use regularly, i would take her in to have this checked and also have her receive her initial wellness exam, so there are records of her health and of this just in case anything further attention is needed. Otherwise, you might call your vet and say where you are in your treatment, in case you need to call her back in a few days to bring her in if the toe starts swelling or turning red. It’s Friday here, so if you do need your vet, find out when she’ll be in the office in case you are stuck over the weekend.

[MagpieBunnies]

I know of a vet in town that has experience with exotic pets. I’ve already called him this morning and he also said from the sound of it there’s not much neither he nor I can do other than keep an eye on him. He also said that I am welcome to bring him in today or tomorrow but since he was put under so much stress last night that I should probably wait until tomorrow or monday for a wellness check-up. Pretty nice too that (granted if emergencies would only happen during business hours) I live right down the street from the Vet school, so a small jaunt down there and I have full access to a bunch of students that would just LOVE to get more experience treating animals.
Hemi seems to be doing well this morning though. He’s eating and drinking just fine. He’s a little lathargic but I think that’s just from all the comotion.
Thanks for the help everyone!

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