Bunny chewing leg

[Emmica]

Hi all!  I’m new to this site.  I’ve often looked up things on here and read forums but didn’t officially join until now.

I’m seeking advice regarding my bunny, Bunny HopHop.  She just turned a year old (on 5/5/17).

Here’s a little background on her situation:

Bunny HopHop was spayed at the end of March.  She did really well with the surgery and didn’t chew at her stitches at all.  HOWEVER, they had to put the IV catheter in for the anesthesia in her leg, and that seemed to bother her.  She came home with her back right leg shaved from the catheter.  For the first few days she seemed okay.  After like a week though I noticed that her leg looked really yucky (I tried not to touch her too much for the first week while she recovered).  I took her to the vet who said that basically it was probably itching/bothering her so she started chewing at it/overgrooming it.  They gave me some antibiotics and told me to give them to her twice a day for 14 days.  

After about a week of antibiotics her leg was still not getting better. I took her to the vet about 10 days after the previous appointment. They basically said the same thing: she’s irritated by it so she’s essentially self-mutilating by biting/licking.  They said to just try to watch her and to distract her if I see her biting or licking that leg. They recommended getting her more toys and then gave me more antibiotics (for another 10 days) AND pain medication (for a few days to help her not be irritated by it so she could leave it alone and it would heal).  

It’s been 5 days since her last appointment, and she’s due to go back on Saturday (the 13th).  Her leg does not seem to be getting better.  I can’t really tell if it’s getting worse or staying the same.  She does not seem to be in pain when I touch it or apply pressure; I think it might just be itchy.  The vet said that she’s not in pain so that’s good and assured me that she will be fine and will heal, but that it might take longer if she keeps bothering it.

SO FINALLY TO THE POINT: Do y’all have any suggestions as to how I could keep her from licking/biting her leg?  Obviously I cannot watch her 24/7.  I’ve been home for most of the day for the past several days, and I’ve let her roam around my room while watching her. I got her some more toys, and I’ve noticed that as long as she is moving around, playing with toys, or is distracted she doesn’t seem to lick/bite her leg as much.  But I’m imagining that most of this might be happening when she’s in her cage (at night when I am asleep of when I am out, which hasn’t been often recently).  I’ve also tried those bitter bandages, but she just rips them right off and then licks her leg even more because the bandage annoyed her. I’ve heard that the cones, even the soft ones, are bad for rabbits so I haven’t even asked about that.  

Does anyone know of a way to get a bunny to stop licking/biting her leg if she has a wound on it?  

Also, she was super good about taking her medication at first, but lately she’s been more difficult about it.  She seems to do better with the pain medication so I don’t know if maybe she just doesn’t like the antibiotic one as much so she’s difficult about it.  It’s been a struggle trying to give her medication, and I have to do it twice a day for at least another week.  Does anyone have any ideas on how to give it to her?  If she won’t take the syringe easily is there a way to soak it into something she can eat or something like that?  It’s become very stressful for both of us when I have to give her medication.  It takes about 30 minutes, and she’s not happy after.  I don’t want to stress her out. I’ve tried the bunny burrito thing, but it’s been unsuccessful. Any suggestions would be lovely and greatly appreciated.

Any ideas at all regarding either her leg chewing or her medication drinking would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance!

[Luna]

Hi! Happy belated birthday to your bun . Do you have any pics of her leg? Did your vet mention anything about possible necrosis? A BB member’s bun had some necrosis at the site of his IV on his ear, but with treatment he was ok and is doing well now.

[Muchelle]

Someone summoned me? XD

I’m the one with the IV necrosis case bun

If possible, a pic would be awesome to be able to understand what’s going on. Is she using the leg? is the skin of a normal pink color? Is the skin normally soft?

As for the itching, do ask your vet about lenitive ointments (I either use Hypermix, a neem oil based product, or olive oil) to help soothe the skin and the itching. If the bun lets you, massage the product until mostly absorbed, so that she won’t lick it off and the tissue can benefit from it. If there are vascular problems, the massaging will help keep the tissues alive.

About medication, bunny burrito might be scary for some buns, mine sure doesn’t like it. I usually sit with my legs resting on another chair (forming a ‘table’ with my legs, basically) and place the bun on them, let him calm down a sec, then keep him with his back against my chest, block his jaw and syringe feed him the medicines. It can help to water down the medicine or to smear some banana on the syringe’s nozzle.

Let us know how it’s going!

[Luna]

Posted By Muchelle on 5/09/2017 4:41 PM

Someone summoned me? XD

I’m the one with the IV necrosis case bun

If possible, a pic would be awesome to be able to understand what’s going on. Is she using the leg? is the skin of a normal pink color? Is the skin normally soft?

As for the itching, do ask your vet about lenitive ointments (I either use Hypermix, a neem oil based product, or olive oil) to help soothe the skin and the itching. If the bun lets you, massage the product until mostly absorbed, so that she won’t lick it off and the tissue can benefit from it. If there are vascular problems, the massaging will help keep the tissues alive.

About medication, bunny burrito might be scary for some buns, mine sure doesn’t like it. I usually sit with my legs resting on another chair (forming a ‘table’ with my legs, basically) and place the bun on them, let him calm down a sec, then keep him with his back against my chest, block his jaw and syringe feed him the medicines. It can help to water down the medicine or to smear some banana on the syringe’s nozzle.

Let us know how it’s going!

Ring ring, Lord of Darkness!

[Author]

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