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Bunny prob

Katheryn

Young Bun
My girl bunny is still a nightmare, I took her to the vets who said she was all ok other than a big sore on her foot where she wasnt cleaned out regularly by her previous owner, wasnt given anything for it and its still there, the only reason why im concerned is because she bends her leg really awkwardly to walk and drags it along, also she is evil i can stroke her through the wire in her hutch but if i try and open the door she just goes mad, i can pick her up if i cover her in a towel so she cant see but she stills scrams which makes me not want to touch her at all. She eats and drinks fine shes just not nice! Iv tried to put my lovely boy bunny with her but she doesnt like him either. Anyone suggest anyway of getting her used to being handled without having to pick her up!? lol like iv said she lets me stroke her head and she was good at the vets but as soon as shes in her hutch she just doesnt want to be touched. Shes about 2 years old and she wasnt handled at all by her previous owner.
 
Don't think so don't know though. Would that be why she is mean if she hasnt been spayed?

Yes. If you don't have a spayed bunny she will be far more territorial. You are invading her space by being near her hutch and she will try to protect it. If you get her spayed then you can get her a husbun too which will make her happy. Rescues rehome neutered buns so you wouldn't have the cost of getting him done too. :wave:
 
She also needs pain relief for the sore on her foot. I expect pain is making her grouchy as well being unneutered. Vet needs to assess this sore - it could be affecting the tendons/bones in her foot, she could have an infection in the foot and may need some antibiotics alongside probiotics - but definitely a course of NSAID for the pain and inflammation.
 
She also needs pain relief for the sore on her foot. I expect pain is making her grouchy as well being unneutered. Vet needs to assess this sore - it could be affecting the tendons/bones in her foot, she could have an infection in the foot and may need some antibiotics alongside probiotics - but definitely a course of NSAID for the pain and inflammation.

Agree with this too. Are you managing to keep her sore clean? Sometimes it's a good idea to bed bunnies with sores on their feet on towels chainging them regularly so not to harbour bacteria and make it all worse.
 
Well i wasnt that impressed with the vet my family use cus she always has a runny nose (yellow stuff coming out) and sneezes and i told the vet this and she said its probably just the sawdust? And with the sore its a nasty sore so thought i would of been given cream or something but the vet couldnt look properly but its red raw and doesnt look good to me!

Yeah think i will get her spayed as i already got my boy bunny who is getting desperate to see her but dont want to get him done as i feel too mean.

Think i may need to look for another vet perhaps

Theres no way i can pick her up to put cream on she bit me earlier when i put my finger in her cage to stroke her head, the last time i tried to pick her up i dropped her cus she was scratching me to pieces even wrapped in a towel im just finding it really difficult to want to help her (know that sounds horrible) but iv tried pretty much everything
 
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Do you have access to another vet - I'd def get a second opinion as sounds like she needs pain meds.

but dont want to get him done as i feel too mean.

If you want to bond them you'd be best to get him done too otherwise it will be a total nightmare as he'll harrass her.
 
Yeah but i thought the older they are the least its recommended?

Wouldnt trust my vet to put either one to sleep to do it anyway so think i need to look about cus i dont think they deal with rabbits very often as the one vet was very unhelpful. I know its my responsiblity to find out whats wrong but im still learning as my boy bunny hasnt had any problems in the 2years iv had him but my new bunny seems to have a few problems

Well i dont know anyone else with rabbits by me so i guess il just have to try another vet and see whether they are any better
 
Theres no way i can pick her up to put cream on she bit me earlier when i put my finger in her cage to stroke her head, the last time i tried to pick her up i dropped her cus she was scratching me to pieces even wrapped in a towel im just finding it really difficult to want to help her (know that sounds horrible) but iv tried pretty much everything

If the sore is on the pad of her foot then putting cream on is not necessarily the best thing in all cases - particularly a fearful rabbit like this as the stress may be too much for her - aside from this putting cream on areas of pressure - feet pads that they weight bear on - can sometimes make the problem worse, not always, but it can squash the surrounding fur that is acting as a cushion against friction and can also make the wound softer and more likely to split when bunny weight bears on it, making the wound more at risk of infection.
I would recommend soft bedding - so piles of towels with a vet bed on top to cushion the foot, or if it is easier - deep soft litter with a THICK layer of soft hay on top and change it daily. Sitting in urine will make this sore worse. You will also need to get the vet to trim her nails short - long nails will also make the sore worse as more pressure goes on to the back of the foot when nails are long. A course of NSAID like metacam is a must for this sore if it is making her unable to walk properly. She may also need a prophylatic course of antibiotics as well (with probiotics). I really think you need to find a better more rabbit-savy vet asap.
 
Ok thank you. I dont know how long the sore has been there but she puts no weight on it at all thats why i took her to the vet because i thought her leg was dislocated because the bone on the top sticks out real bad cant really describe what part of the foot shes walking on but not the right bit so i was getting worried that she'll end up damaging her leg as she wont put it back to how it should be which obviously suggests it must be painful but yeah ok thanks il try different bedding whilst looking up a new vet :)
 
Ok thank you. I dont know how long the sore has been there but she puts no weight on it at all thats why i took her to the vet because i thought her leg was dislocated because the bone on the top sticks out real bad cant really describe what part of the foot shes walking on but not the right bit so i was getting worried that she'll end up damaging her leg as she wont put it back to how it should be which obviously suggests it must be painful but yeah ok thanks il try different bedding whilst looking up a new vet :)

She could already have damaged her leg from this sore if it has been there a long time it can affect the tendons and bones in the foot. Hopefully it is not this bad. I have fostered a bun who had these sores on all four of his feet and couldn't walk properly either - he made a great recovery with anti-inflammatory pain relief, antibiotics and soft bedding. It might be useful to bandage the leg but if she won't let you get near her this could be too stressful so I would go with the pain relief/NSAID and soft bedding first.
I see you are in Gloucester? Can you get to Bristol??? Specialist rabbit vets there - or is it too far? Also Swindon?
 
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You said she is on sawdust. That isn't great for bunnies anyway. You would be better off litter training her and changing the litter tray twice a day and that way she won't be sitting in urine (if that does happen, not saying it does). Also, neutering can be done at any age as long as there are no other health problems. I would definitely get the runny nose sorted first and find another vet as there is no way I would allow a vet to spay an animal of mine if I had any doubts about their competence.
 
Ok soft bedding like j-cloth sort of material? Yeah bristol isnt too far to go do you know the name of the place?
 
Ok soft bedding like j-cloth sort of material? Yeah bristol isnt too far to go do you know the name of the place?

No, a layer of towels will surfice with maybe vet bed. You can bung it all in the washing machime and re-use it then.
 
No i change where she goes to toilet twice a day because she likes lying in her poo and she doesnt do nice poo its always diarroeah (dont know why only give her fresh carrots and dried food). i think she doesnt get on with any sort of bedding because shes never had it, yep new vet new bedding which will hopefully lead to a happier healthier bunny :D i can hope lol
 
No i change where she goes to toilet twice a day because she likes lying in her poo and she doesnt do nice poo its always diarroeah (dont know why only give her fresh carrots and dried food). i think she doesnt get on with any sort of bedding because shes never had it, yep new vet new bedding which will hopefully lead to a happier healthier bunny :D i can hope lol

Ah ha! May have found the culprit. HOw much hay does she eat? How much pellets do you feed and which type?
 
No i change where she goes to toilet twice a day because she likes lying in her poo and she doesnt do nice poo its always diarroeah (dont know why only give her fresh carrots and dried food). i think she doesnt get on with any sort of bedding because shes never had it, yep new vet new bedding which will hopefully lead to a happier healthier bunny :D i can hope lol

Carrots are very high in starch/carbohydrate and will cause caecal dysbiosis - meaning she will produce too many caecotrophs (food poos that should be directly eaten from her bottom) and therefore they will be discarded and stick to her fur. Dried food is also very high in starch/carbohydrates.
Rabbits are designed to eat hay/grass so her diet should be around 90% hay with only an egg cup full of pellets per day. I would avoid any veg for now until her tummy settles down, this can take a few days - week. If you do feed veg I would avoid carrots and stick to green veggies like brocoli, celery tops, carrot tops, fresh herbs like coriander, mint, basil, maybe some cabbage, etc but introduce it slowly - just one new veg every other day and see how she responds. Eventually her diet should ideally be heaps of fresh hay daily to eat, just a small spoonful of dried food - a high fibre pellet is best, and a bowl of mixed veggies. I think you will need to start weaning her off so much dried food slowly and increase her hay intake. Buns are designed to eat high fibre food like hay/grass as it keeps their teeth trim and stops them getting upset tummies and messy bottoms.
I expect she is urinating where she is sat as her foot is too sore to move around anywhere else. I really think she needs to see a rabbit-savy vet today if possible, if not first thing tomorrow morning.
There are some brilliant vets in Bristol and Swindon if you can not find anything closer to home?

The pain from her foot could also be contributing to her upset tummy. But it is more likely that her diet is not high enough in fibre and she is in caecal dysbiosis.
 
she eats all the hay even the stuff i put in her bed area which she uses as a toilet. I usually just get her rabbit pellets from pet shop got tesco stuff yesterday though, but my other rabbit eats the same and does perfect poo but he doesnt eat hay
 
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