Injured Tail

[Dasher]

I don’t know what happened to Cookie Dough’s tail but it looks like maybe it got scratched but I don’t know what he could have scratched it on. His tail is less fluffy because there is bare skin and a little blood. I’ll upload some pics. Does it look serious or will it heal on it’s own?

[Rain]

That looks serious to me! I think you should take her to a vet Incase it’s actually really bad. It looks really open and it can get infected easily. Yeah if it’s bleeding take him. That looks pretty bad.

[Dasher]

I don’t know what happened but his tail looks even less fluffy and there was a little more blood today. I have no idea how this happened because his cage is very safe and I watch him when he is in his play pen. Any ideas of what could have happened? Should I clean his tail? If it doesn’t get any better we will be taking him to the vet.

[Rain]

You should take him to the vet ASAP if there has been more blood and hair loss. I’m not quite sure what could have happened. Bunnies are so prone to accidents because if we turn our backs for the smallest amount of time they can get hurt and we would never know because they don’t make a noise. Don’t touch his tail! It could make it worse. The best thing is to take him to a vet. Is he still pooping and eating right?

[Dasher]

He is eating and pooping and acting completely normal but i know rabbits are good at hiding illness.

[Rain]

Yeah that’s exactly why he could be much worse then he is letting on. When are you planning on taking him to the vet?

[Dasher]

I’m not sure. My dad thinks it will heal on its own but if it doesn’t start getting better soon then we will take him in. We also have to see when the vet is available.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Dasher on 11/20/2017 2:38 PM

I’m not sure. My dad thinks it will heal on its own but if it doesn’t start getting better soon then we will take him in. We also have to see when the vet is available.

What makes your Dad qualified to make that assumption? How soon is soon? An infection can occur quickly. This is clearly something that needs looking at by a professional.

[Wick & Fable]

Many parents want to use their intuition in order to save you emotional stress, as well as money, but it’s important to let your father know that you’ve consulted with individuals who are experienced rabbit owners, and based on our communal understanding of rabbits, despite what may seem to make sense, a vet appt is recommended.

Rabbit bodies, while they have similarities to human bodies in some sense, generally speaking they are much more fragile. “Go to the vet” is the main solution for all ailments for a reason, and you may want to speak with your father seriously about 1) in the future, if medical concerns come up, *I* will do research and if I think a vet visit is in order, it needs to be done, and 2) if he has concerns or suspects your decisions, show him to this site, as well as information you found based on your own research. Some times it’s simply taking the chance to educate a parent so they are more understanding about rabbit care.

Also, don’t let what your father says immediately minimize the concern you may have. It’s easy to think “My parent thinks it’ll be fine, so phew, I shouldn’t worry.” Mental health wise, it’s great that this may make you less panicked, but it should not dismiss the potential seriousness of every issue that your rabbit presents or seems to present.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Rain]

That’s very true. Your bunny could get seriously hurt! Please please tell your dad your poor baby needs help! I made the mistake of putting it off too long before! It’s always better to be safe than sorry. From what I see this wound will easily get infected if you don’t go soon enough. If the vet is not available you might have to go to other clinics and see if someone around is qualified to help your bunny.

[Dasher]

If he doesn’t get any better by tomorrow then we will probably take him to the vet. If not then I will ask my mom. My siblings are worried about him too and think he needs to go to the vet so we will probably take him.

[Wick & Fable]

Please lean towards taking him, not probably taking him. A big difference between rabbits and other animals is 24hrs can make a huge difference in their health. There are many tales of rabbits who are fine in the morning, the owner leaves, and they come back to find the rabbit severely I’ll.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Rain]

Yes what Wick said. And I don’t mean to cause panic but in some cases rabbits die over night with wounds open to bacteria and infection. Can you not take him today right now?

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Dasher on 11/20/2017 5:28 PM

If he doesn’t get any better by tomorrow then we will probably take him to the vet. If not then I will ask my mom. My siblings are worried about him too and think he needs to go to the vet so we will probably take him.

Saying you’ll “probably take him” isn’t good enough. People here have advised you to take him and I don’t understand why you’re disregarding it as though your bun isn’t in need of serious help. He is.

[Dee]

It’s hard to tell in the pics, but if it is looking worse, is he maybe chewing on his tail? Animals will chew and scratch at body parts that are hurting or bothering them. If that’s the case, it will just get worse and worse even if it doesn’t get infected.

As far as convincing your dad, you could tell him that the longer he waits to let you take your bunny to the vet, the more money it will cost him! It’s true- a rabbit that could need a little topical ointment and antibiotics today could end up needing IV meds, a vet stay, even surgery the next day. Not trying to scare you, I know you’re already scared, but we need to get your dad more concerned at this point so he will get this bunny to the vet. You could even show him this thread, with all of us telling you that your bunny needs a vet.

Good luck- I really hope your bunny gets the care he needs.

[Deleted User]

Dee that’s exactly what I was going to suggest, that perhaps he is nibbling on the area himself and pulling out the fur as a sign of irritation and pain. In which case this bunny is probably in some discomfort.

[Dasher]

It would be weird if he was biting his tail but that seems like the only thing that could make sense and that would explain the fur loss too. There must be something really wrong if he is biting his tail to the point where he bleeds. I will tell my dad that he really needs to go to the vet.

[Rain]

Cool beans! Keep us updated on how the little guy is doing! I hope he gets better!

[Dasher]

So we didn’t end up taking him to the vet because of his tail but he was acting strange this morning and not eating so my dad took him to the vet. They said his tail is fine but he has gi statis and is bloated The vet said it is pretty bad but thinks he can recover since he is only 4 and is still young. He will be staying at the vet for a few days until he gets better.

[Wick & Fable]

Dasher, you should use this opportunity to let your dad know how this can be better prevented in the future. The fact that it was “pretty bad” says a lot, considering GI stasis a typically preventable condition if a rabbit’s diet is proper and the rabbit itself has no other medical difficulties.

Maybe as an educational piece, sit down with him and say “Ok, so I’m going to review what my rabbit’s day to day routine and eating habits should be.” That way, you’re both on the same page.

Remember hay is the #1 most consumed and most important component of a rabbit’s diet.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Dasher]

Yes I’ve been telling my dad things I’ve learned about rabbits and what they need to eat and signs of illness to watch out for. My siblings and I feed the rabbits and I always check to make sure the rabbits are fed right. They eat mostly hay and some veggies and some pellets. I’m pretty sure they have the correct diet. What could have gone wrong? I have another rabbit and I don’t want her to get sick too.

[Fluffykins]

Maybe the stress and / or pain from the tail injury might have caused the stasis?

[Wick & Fable]

Making sure food consumption is stable and unvaried beyond what you know your rabbit can eat (i.e. not suddenly introducing new foods which may cause gassiness), letting your rabbit move around and roam (stimulates digestion), high hay consumption, and normal water intake are all needed to keep stasis at bay. Now any medical issues may come up which prevent some of these things from happening, or a completely foreign object (accidental consumption of something) can cause a blockage, making bad bacteria and gas build up, making it extremely painful. Some rabbits are more prone to stasis than others, so it’s important to monitor your rabbit and determine his/her “baseline” eating and pooping behaviors, so if you see deviations, you can determine whether it may be a health issue, early signs of stasis, or something else.

Keep us updated.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Dasher]

Thanks for the information. I haven’t introduced new foods and his diet has been the same. I let my bunnies out of their cages to play but Cookie Dough usually isn’t very active. Should I be encouraging him to be more active and run around more? Sunday night he was so excited for his cilantro and he was eating plenty of hay like normal and then monday he was sick. I’m not sure what caused this and this is the first time either of my bunnies has ever gotten sick. I really don’t want this to happen again so I’ll ask the vet about it. The vet called and said he is pooping a bit and is less bloated but still not doing so well. He perked up a bit and is moving his ears more.

[Wick & Fable]

Encouraging more activity is nice. Also keep in mind that during the daytime, rabbits typically aren’t active because they’re asleep, but if all throughout the day it seems he doesn’t move around much, getting him to do so would be great. Wick is a lone rabbit, so if I don’t interact with him, he’ll just lounge and do nothing. I get on all fours, crawl around with him, we run around and I make crazy contraptions out of boxes so he’ll sniff and climb.

A treat/pellet ball can encourage movement as well: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/163761/Default.aspx

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Dasher]

My bunny doesn’t do much. He sometimes jumps on his box and he will jump on me if I have food but other than that he doesn’t do much. I’m bonding him with Dasher soon so maybe they will play together. I made that treat ball but my bunnies are too lazy to use it. I tried making it easier for them but they still thought it was too much work. They ended up stepping on it so it eventually broke and they got the pellets. I let my bunnies outside sometimes in a place which is safe for them and they seem to like it. Dasher likes to run in the grass but Cookie Dough not so much. What other ways can encourage him to be more active. He’s a bit of a loner and likes to be by himself while Dasher demands constant attention. Will he be more active if he has a bunny friend?

[Wick & Fable]

Having a bunny friend can encourage activity. I can’t speak from experience since Wick is a single man, but I imagine so based on what I’ve seen and heard.

In terms of stomping the ball to make it fall apart, that’s still technically a correct way to do it. Wick used to ineffectively just push it, then would just push it and come up to me to say “hey, you must have the pellets because they’re not coming out of that thing.” Eventually he adopted tossing it around. In addition to potentially making them active, the ball at the minimum helps stimulate them to problem solve, so if it’s something you want to keep doing, no harm.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Dasher]

Ok thanks for your replies I will try the treat ball again.

[Dasher]

He didn’t make it.

[Fluffykins]

Posted By Dasher on 11/28/2017 7:21 PM
He didn’t make it.

Oh God. Are you ok? What happened?

[Dasher]

Well he started to do better this morning but when my dad called the vet they said he was doing worse and would have to be put down if he wasn’t better in the morning. We went to the vet to visit Cookie Dough because we knew it may be the last time we see him. On the way there my dad recieved the call that he stopped breathing. We still went just to say good bye to his dead body. He was very bloated and vets tried all kinds of medication but it was just too much for him. He was a healthy rabbit. Idk how he got so sick. He was my first bunny and only 4. I was expecting him to be with us for so much longer and I’m sad he didn’t get to meet Dasher yet. I was going to introduce them soon and I had big plans for them. I’m just heartbroken right now. I miss him so much. He was a cute little innocent creature that didn’t deserve to suffer like that. I was just sure he would make a recovery. I wasn’t expecting to feel the pain of his death so early.

[Fluffykins]

*Hugs*

I hope you can find some sort of comfort in Dasher… I guess it was just cookie dough’s time to go

At times like this we can only take some solace from knowing we filled our little buns lives with joy and happiness, I’m sure he knew how much you loved him.

[Wick & Fable]

You clearly cared a lot about him and there are instances where a rabbit ends up one way due to uncontrollable circumstances.

Binky free cookie and I wish the best to you and Dasher! Hugs!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Dasher]

Thank you.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m so very sorry.

((((Binky Free))))))

[Rain]

(Tons of Hugs) I’m so sorry. You did your part and gave him four happy good years of life and you can find comfort in that. You can now do the same for Dasher. From what you said above about how Dasher is also kind of lazy I have a couple tips on how to maybe get him to excercise more. Let your bunny out and let him run around the whole house. You can have a treat and let him chase you. Don’t feed him while he’s out. This way he’ll be hungry and eat all his hay when he gets back in his cage and consumes enough of it. Maybe Cookie didn’t eat enough of hay. I hope for the best and that you two have a long happy road.

[Author]

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