# Injured Bunny Tail - HELP!!!



## BriceBunnies (Dec 12, 2011)

I have a 10 month old female Flemish Giant. She lives indoors but occasionally i have to put her outdoors in a completely enclosed child's playhouse (which has 1/2 ft window pane openings at the upper door) but no animals i can imagine could fit thru them. I have the little house right near my glass patio door so i see her within view. She had been in there for a fewdays because she destroyed her indoor quarters and ihad to rebuild everything with stronger materials . I finally got it done last night so i brought her in and i noticed something was terribly wrong with her tail. There was very little fur and a wound . Honestly i never even knew Bunnies had much more then fur in their tails let alone 16 bones come to find out. So it looks like the bones may be exposed? She has fur left on the tip and the fur on the bottom end of the fur is pretty gunked up which i believe from the smell is feces. I would snip that part off but scared of her fighting me and potentially hurting her tail more. She is in good spirits, eating a ton , popping/peeing fine, hopping around fine. I noticed she is shedding right now so is it that a possible connection that she pulled out too much fur on her tail and there was friction on the tail flesh? Im just at a loss how this could happen. I honestly do not have the money to bring her to the vet and it's breaking my heart. Ive been drizzling Hydrogen Peroxide on her tail every few hours and keeping her litter box extra clean to prevent infection. Im praying the skin on the tail will heal and the fur will start growing again but right now im just trying my hardest to prevent infection. Do you have any suggestions or insight on this? Im attaching a photo so you can get a clear idea whats going . It does look better then it did last night after a few cleanings.Should i put ointment on it? Im pretty sure gauze would be useless because it would upset her& cause her to go on arampage trying to rip it off. And what happen ifthe bones in thetail are broken?


----------



## Pipp (Dec 12, 2011)

If you can wash it with Betadine and get a better idea of what's skin and what's poop, that might help. Easy on the peroxide, it can damage tissue (although the jury's still out on that). I'm not sure it can or will heal on its own if a lot of bone is exposed, but it can if it's not too much. I think you're doing all you can.

Big question is whether she's chewing it herself or if she got it caught on something. Keep her de-stressed and watch her to see when and hopefully why. She may need a collar of some kind.

I'll see if I can dig up more info. 


sas :clover:


----------



## Pipp (Dec 12, 2011)

PS: I'm not seeing a photo.


----------



## tamsin (Dec 12, 2011)

I can't see a pic?

I would try to trim the fur carefully - do it like a hair dresser, pinch a tuft between your pictures and cut the far side so your fingers are between the scissors and the skin. 

That will help you keep it clean and see what's going on.


----------



## MandyK (Dec 12, 2011)

My advice would be to get her to a vet ASAP.
I know you asked for a "home made" solution, but unfortunately, there are some things that simply can't be solved without a vet's expertise and resources. It's like asking how to do open heart surgery on a person at home - you just can't do it without a doctor.
A vet consultation is probably only about $50, and I'm sure any medication or supplies they would give you wouldn't be more than another $50. It sounds like she could be in a lot of pain (even if she isn't showing it). Ask your family or friends to borrow money, or talk to your vet about a payment plan. With exposed bones and potentially broken bones, I think a vet visit is VERY important right now. I can't even begin to imagine the pain she is in with an exposed bone.
Good luck.


----------



## BriceBunnies (Dec 12, 2011)

DOES IT SHOW NOW???


----------



## Pipp (Dec 12, 2011)

I'm not sure a vet can do much more than clean and maybe wrap it. They'd probably prescribe systemic antibiotics like Baytril or something to be safe. The exposed bone is an infection issue so the main thing is checking for infection. Watch for it to turn color, get hot, leak pus, etc.. Might require amputation if that happens. But keeping it clean and dry (with an antiseptic) might be pretty much all you can do at this point. 


sas :clover:


----------



## BriceBunnies (Dec 12, 2011)

Mandy, i dont appreciate acting like im neglecting her medical care. Vets here in NY are waaaay more expensive and they want the money before treatment. You dont know my personal life but when i saidI DONT have it ,I DONT have it and have no way to get it. Im doing everything in my power to help her but i know from personal experience how the vets over here work. I contacted a local rabbit rescue to ask for help but havent heard back from them yet.


----------



## BriceBunnies (Dec 12, 2011)

Thanks for your insight Pipp!


----------



## Pipp (Dec 12, 2011)

*BriceBunnies wrote: *


> Mandy, i dont appreciate acting like im neglecting her medical care. Vets here in NY are waaaay more expensive and they want the money before treatment. You dont know my personal life but when i saidI DONT have it ,I DONT have it and have no way to get it. Im doing everything in my power to help her but i know from personal experience how the vets over here work. I contacted a local rabbit rescue to ask for help but havent heard back from them yet.


This is going to be a common theme with the economy, and honestly as much as we would all love to be able to pay for vet care, sometimes it's just not possible. We have to work with what we have. 

Contacting a rescue is a great choice in terms of advice and possibly sharing meds. Hopefully you can volunteer some time or services down the road to help them in turn. I don't think this is serious enough to consider surrendering the bunny. And I don't think its one of the more painful injuries. 


sas :clover:


----------



## Pipp (Dec 12, 2011)

PS: It's going to be really important to keep her from doing more damage if you think this was self-mutilation and not a contact injury.


----------



## Nancy McClelland (Dec 12, 2011)

ray:


----------



## Ashley72 (Dec 12, 2011)

Hope everything works out. I definitely know what you're talking about with vet fees! I had a rabbit 7 or so years ago go into GI Stasis and $300-$500 later she was helped but only temporarily. I think the advice you recieved here is great! Good luck!


----------



## MandyK (Dec 13, 2011)

BriceBunnies wrote:


> Mandy, i dont appreciate acting like im neglecting her medical care. Vets here in NY are waaaay more expensive and they want the money before treatment. You dont know my personal life but when i saidÂ I DONT have it ,Â I DONT have it and have no way to get it. Im doing everything in my power to help her but i know from personal experience how the vets over here work. I contacted a local rabbit rescue to ask for help but havent heard back from them yet.



I wasn't acting like you are neglecting her - I apologize if my post came off that way. Sometimes it is difficult to determine someone's tone via text.
I'm sorry you don't have the funds, but my advice remains the same. I'm not trying to be rude, and I'm not implying I know your personal situation. I'm just saying that an exposed bone is a very serious condition and I don't think any amount of home care can amount to what a vet can do or the medicine/resources a vet can give. I know how much vet bills can be and I know how tricky it can be to find the money to pay them (my rabbit with almost paralysed hind legs has cost over $1000 in the last month, and I'm currently in school!) I hope everything works out okay.


----------



## BriceBunnies (Dec 13, 2011)

I heard back from a volunteer from the bunny rescue. He told me he thinks she has urine burn. That basicly Flemish Giants have a hard time reaching to clean themselves or that maybe her tail got soaked in the litterbox to cause this. He said the best thing to clean it with is Saline solution. They are going to call and or email me back tomorrow when they hear back from some specialists they are consulting about with this. 

It kinda makes sense, if urine burned her tail (And Flemish Giants pee & poop in larger quanitys) the skin contains the fur so obviously it would fall off but Im still concern if that is indeed her bones showing? However Im grateful it seems this groupsis going to try to help me.


----------



## MiniLopHop (Dec 13, 2011)

If it is a urine issue, which from the picture I think it quite possibly is, then after you get it clean you can put A&D ointment on it to prevent future scalding. It is in the baby area or a pharmacy or Wal-mart type store. It will help keep the skin protected from moisture.

Best of luck. Please keep us updated on how the bun is doing.


----------

