# Bleeding/bent nail?



## aozora (Oct 17, 2013)

Help!

My bunny Mocha jumped off from my bed just now and when I went to pick him up, I noticed a dot of blood on my t-shirt where his front paws usually rest. I scooped him up on his back so I could take a closer look and noticed that the thumb nail on his right paw was bent with some fresh blood around the base. I gave it a gentle nudge to see if it would go back but of course it did not and he freaked out (understandably so, I'm sure it was hurting a lot)!

Does this mean it's broken? What should I do to treat it for now? How much would it cost to take him to the vet for this sort of thing? Right now he's just licking it a lot but I'm worried of course about infection. Should I rinse it with water and wrap it up in some bandages for now? What if he tries to chew through that?


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## JBun (Oct 17, 2013)

Did his dewclaw break off at the nailbed or is the nail just broken partway? Has the bleeding stopped?


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## aozora (Oct 17, 2013)

I turned him over just now to check up on him, and it was barely hanging on because I think he's been both licking and chewing at it to get it off? He struggled and hopped off my lap before I could get a closer look so I had to snag him back and turn him over again, but by then it completely fell off (I found it on the ground just now). The area's still a bit light red but no signs of active bleeding. What should I do now? Would this still warrant a trip to the vet or should I wait and see?


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## JBun (Oct 17, 2013)

If he seems ok and is hopping around alright, it might be fine. I wouldn't wash it or bandage it. You could put a tiny dab of Neosporin ointment(not the kind with added pain relief) right on the end, just to ward off any infection, but don't put a lot, as it will just get messy, plus your bun will end up licking some of it off. You may want to wait to put the Neosporin on when your bun has forgotten about the nail and isn't still trying to mess with it. Then just keep an eye on it and check it for a few days to make sure it doesn't get infected.

If it is broken off below the surface of the end of the toe, then you may need to see a vet about it.


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## aozora (Oct 17, 2013)

Oh darn, the kind I have on hand is polysporin with pain relief so I guess I'll be going to the pharmacy tomorrow. Is regular neosporin (for human use) also okay for rabbits or should I go to the pet store instead?

Hmm... I'm not sure how far it's broken off because it's hard to see with all the fur and he's a real squirmer, so I may have to get my friend to help me take a look while I hold onto him. He's currently hiding from me now after all my rough handling to check on the nail, but he was hopping around a bit earlier and seemed none the worse for the wear apart from licking at his paw a lot so hopefully he'll be okay.

Thank you so very much for your quick responses! I'm feeling way less panicked now about the whole thing


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## JBun (Oct 17, 2013)

Just the plain Neosporin ointment for people. You just don't want any pain reliever or other additives. If you have a bit of betadine, you can use it to disinfect the tip of the broken nail before putting the Neosporin on. You can probably put off looking at it again, to give him a bit of a break so he doesn't feel so stressed. I would think that if he isn't limping around at all, then there may not be any other damage besides the nail itself. And that should be ok as long as it doesn't get infected. Just make sure to check it each day for a few days, and feel the area to check for swelling and heat, that would indicate an infection. Also if he starts limping at all or favoring the leg, get him to the vet.


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## aozora (Oct 17, 2013)

Thank you for the tips! I only have some Dettol antiseptic on hand (which is labeled with a handy skull to show it's poisonous if swallowed) so I'm going to also get some betadine tomorrow when I go and buy some neosporin.

He went into hiding for a while after but he emerged to eat and poop and generally hasn't been limping at all, though I think he did try to favour his right paw once or twice when sitting up so it's likely still tender if not painful... but he just sprawled on the floor as I'm typing this so I'm inclined to think it's not hurting him _too _badly? 

Either way, first on my list of errands to run tomorrow is definitely a trip to the local pharmacy. Thank you for all your help!


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## aozora (Oct 18, 2013)

JBun said:


> Just the plain Neosporin ointment for people. You just don't want any pain reliever or other additives. If you have a bit of betadine, you can use it to disinfect the tip of the broken nail before putting the Neosporin on. You can probably put off looking at it again, to give him a bit of a break so he doesn't feel so stressed. I would think that if he isn't limping around at all, then there may not be any other damage besides the nail itself. And that should be ok as long as it doesn't get infected. Just make sure to check it each day for a few days, and feel the area to check for swelling and heat, that would indicate an infection. Also if he starts limping at all or favoring the leg, get him to the vet.



Hi there!

I bought the correct kind of Polysporin today (they didn't carry neosporin, and I was told that they're basically the same thing except Polysporin has two kinds of antibiotics instead of three) along with some non-toxic antiseptic to disinfect since they didn't have betadine either. Mocha struggled a LOT when we tried to put it on the wound and he started licking it almost immediately even despite multiple attempts to get him to stop. Would it still be effective when he's licking it off so quickly?  Should I stop him from licking it for a certain amount of time?


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## JBun (Oct 18, 2013)

I wouldn't see much point in putting it on there unless you can somehow distract him from licking it off right away. Otherwise it's really not going to be on there long enough to do any good. You could try doing it right before feeding time, then distract him with his food and treats. If he just won't leave it alone, then you may be fine not putting it on there. This is more of just a preventive measure anyways.


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## Bryan Murillo (Jul 18, 2018)

My bunny glamour seems to have broken a nail should I be worried


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## lilnaugrim (Jul 18, 2018)

Bryan Murillo said:


> My bunny glamour seems to have broken a nail should I be worried



Hi this thread is old, you should make a new post of your own about this.

But, is it's nail bleeding? If not, I wouldn't worry about it.


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## Bryan Murillo (Jul 18, 2018)

It was but now she is running and it is not bleeding


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## Bryan Murillo (Jul 18, 2018)

She hitting her feet on the Cage should I worry


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## lilnaugrim (Jul 18, 2018)

Bryan Murillo said:


> She hitting her feet on the Cage should I worry



Sounds like she's thumping. Rabbits do that to warn other rabbits of a potential danger near by. So if something spooks her, she will thump. Is she new to you?
If her claw continues to bleed, press some flour or cornstarch on it to help clot the blood and stop the bleeding. Small animals can bleed out from an injury like this. If you can get it, invest in some Quik-stop for the future, better than flour or cornstarch to stop bleeding immediately.


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## mizunodaddy (Jul 18, 2018)

aozora said:


> Help!
> My bunny Mocha jumped off from my bed just now and when I went to pick him up, I noticed a dot of blood on my t-shirt where his front paws usually rest. I scooped him up on his back so I could take a closer look and noticed that the thumb nail on his right paw was bent with some fresh blood around the base. I gave it a gentle nudge to see if it would go back but of course it did not and he freaked out (understandably so, I'm sure it was hurting a lot)!
> 
> Does this mean it's broken? What should I do to treat it for now? How much would it cost to take him to the vet for this sort of thing? Right now he's just licking it a lot but I'm worried of course about infection. Should I rinse it with water and wrap it up in some bandages for now? What if he tries to chew through that?


Only now i noticed it was an old thread
DOn't know how to delete my answer though


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## Sophia (Jul 18, 2018)

Try putting flour on her nail of she ever starts bleeding again


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## Bryan Murillo (Jul 18, 2018)

Ok she is much better now thanks for the advice


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## Sophia (Jul 18, 2018)

That's good


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