Help! Wound!

[LittlePuffyTail]

My boys had a scuffle the other day and a few big chunks of Stormy’s fur was pulled off. I checked him over but didn’t see any wounds. Today, while petting him I found one about the size of my thumb nail on his side. I feel so horrible that I didn’t find it the other day, he’s so plushy it’s hard to find. It’s half closed up with a crust on it, the other half is still bloody and raw looking. I’ve never dealt with wounds before. What can I clean it with? Is there a risk of infection/absess? Please help, Momma is upset!

[Sarita]

Oh no! Well, there is always the possibility of an infection and abscess from a bite wound so I would not rule this possibility out.

I think since you have a close relationship with your vet you should call her and ask if she would recommend antibiotics. In the meantime, I would just clean it thoroughly.

[LittlePuffyTail]

What do I clean it with?

[Sarita]

I would just use soap and water. Or if you have some rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide too would help clean and disinfect the site.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I just called my vet. My rabbit vet is not in today but they are going to leave her a message. The vet tech said to use chlorihexadine (not sure if that’s the correct spelling) to clean it. I happen to have some so I did that. Does anyone know what the percentage of water to mix with the stuff? I did a mixture of 7 parts water.

How often should I clean it? And if there is infection, would it be localized or could it be more severe?

I feel so horrible I didn’t notice this earlier.

[Sarita]

I have no idea on what the percentage is. I think once a day should be fine to clean it.

I would imagine that it would start out centralized if it becomes infected.

Don’t feel bad! At least you noticed and that’s the important thing.

[Stickerbunny]

The vet tech should know how to mix it if you call back. Poor baby – hopefully it heals up without issue, but keep an eye out for abscess – my cat got one from being bitten and we didn’t notice until it was pretty big because it mostly went under skin rather than swelling up and out like I was used to, so only way we could tell was to feel the bump under the bite, which was in a weird place to begin with, so went undetected for a few days. If there is infection it should be from the wound – you’ll notice it hot to the touch (more so than the normal rabbit heat), redness and then pus under the scab, infected wounds also begin to smell as the infection takes hold (a sweet, noxious smell).

[RabbitPam]

I was going to suggest soap and water followed by Neosporin which is safe for bunnies, but it’s better to use exactly what the vet tech said.
Call her back for detailed instructions, be sure to ask how often and ask what to look for that wasn’t mentioned here, or confirms the advice.

[Cassi&Charlie]

I have nothing to add in advice, but you shouldn’t blame yourself LPT for missing the wound. All that fur definitely hinders the search!

[Author]

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