Rabbits Foot HELP!

Hey Everyone

I'm looking for some advice!

I have a 5 year old French Lop who is a house rabbit when I got up this morning their was blood all over the tiles on the floor, I immediately picked him up and their wasa slight weep from his rear left leg. I phoned the vets and went straight their they cleaned him up but the bleeding got worse and the vet had real trouble stopping it. In the end she placed a gauze on the wound and wrapped his leg in get wrap and said leave this on for a couple of days to let it clot.

He has done this before however it was not as bad and by the time I got to him the bleeding had stopped the vet advised because theirs not a lot of flesh on their feet it's easy broken if pulled at.

She also advised it may have been an artery that he caught because of the amount it was bleeding. Since we brought him home at 2 he hasn't really eaten any pellets only a very small amount if any however he has eaten a carrot and the greens from the top of the carrot could he be just off his food after a stressful day?

Also will his foot clot underneath the bandage in a couple of days? And lastly has anyone else experienced this problem?

I appreciate any responses!

Sorry to hear this.. I didnt want to read and run.. i hope things improve. The eating is vital.. You just need to check he is eating, drinking and pooping...

Someone with more medical experience will help you I am sure

All the best
fee x

Jordanbarr said:

Hey Everyone

I'm looking for some advice!

I have a 5 year old French Lop who is a house rabbit when I got up this morning their was blood all over the tiles on the floor, I immediately picked him up and their wasa slight weep from his rear left leg. I phoned the vets and went straight their they cleaned him up but the bleeding got worse and the vet had real trouble stopping it. In the end she placed a gauze on the wound and wrapped his leg in get wrap and said leave this on for a couple of days to let it clot.

He has done this before however it was not as bad and by the time I got to him the bleeding had stopped the vet advised because theirs not a lot of flesh on their feet it's easy broken if pulled at.

She also advised it may have been an artery that he caught because of the amount it was bleeding. Since we brought him home at 2 he hasn't really eaten any pellets only a very small amount if any however he has eaten a carrot and the greens from the top of the carrot could he be just off his food after a stressful day?

Also will his foot clot underneath the bandage in a couple of days? And lastly has anyone else experienced this problem?

I appreciate any responses!

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I'm so sorry to hear about your rabbit .. What is the surface he walks on? What caused the bleed before?

Rabbit's blood clots quickly, so excess bleeding is worrying and unusual, but it should stop pretty quickly.

I should think if he's eaten some veggies, then he's just a bit thrown by the stress of the situation, and the stress you've probably transferred to him (can't be helped). Keep an eye on his input and output.

Welcome to RU :wave: I'm sorry it's been so traumatic an introduction .. What's his name?

MightyMax said:

I'm so sorry to hear about your rabbit .. What is the surface he walks on? What caused the bleed before?

Rabbit's blood clots quickly, so excess bleeding is worrying and unusual, but it should stop pretty quickly.

I should think if he's eaten some veggies, then he's just a bit thrown by the stress of the situation, and the stress you've probably transferred to him (can't be helped). Keep an eye on his input and output.

Welcome to RU :wave: I'm sorry it's been so traumatic an introduction .. What's his name?

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Thank you for your speedy replies! He walks on the kitchen tiles most of the time however when we are in the house he comes and sits in the living room witch is really soft carpet!

He has been drinking and pooping since we have been home so no issues their.

I'll monitor his food intake over night.

Thanks again.

Jordanbarr said:

Thank you for your speedy replies! He walks on the kitchen tiles most of the time however when we are in the house he comes and sits in the living room witch is really soft carpet!

He has been drinking and pooping since we have been home so no issues their.

I'll monitor his food intake over night.

Thanks again.

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What do you think he is catching his feet on? Does he have *really* sore hocks? Although I am surprised it produced so much blood.

I was thinking you were going to say he had lost a claw/nail, as that *does* produce lots of blood and looks quite awful.

Do you know where exactly the wound is? Is it on the heal (underside) of his foot (if so how does the fur look in the same place on the other foot)? Or somewhere else.

I'd keep offering him different foods just to make sure he eats as much as possible. Stress can trigger stasis (where the gut slows down) but if you can keep it ticking over then it's less likely to develop into that. It's also a good idea to refresh his litter tray so you can monitor and make sure he's pooping too

If he still seems off tomorrow, or gets any worse (stops eating/pooping completely) then I'd go back to the vet as he might need extra treatment.

Tamsin said:

Do you know where exactly the wound is? Is it on the heal (underside) of his foot (if so how does the fur look in the same place on the other foot)? Or somewhere else.

I'd keep offering him different foods just to make sure he eats as much as possible. Stress can trigger stasis (where the gut slows down) but if you can keep it ticking over then it's less likely to develop into that. It's also a good idea to refresh his litter tray so you can monitor and make sure he's pooping too

If he still seems off tomorrow, or gets any worse (stops eating/pooping completely) then I'd go back to the vet as he might need extra treatment.

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Thank you for your response.

It's only one foot and the same foot in the past it's like two little holes on the bottom of his foot one at the top and one at the bottom, he defiantly isn't catching it on anything I'm 90% sure it's because he bites the bottom of the foot!

The other foot looms fine with a covering of fur!

I forgot he's also eaten a full carrot tonight and a few chocklate drops!

Aww, it sounds like sore hocks, but unusual that he's only got it on one foot.

There are quite a few topics on it is you search the forum, it's sort of a cross between a pressure sore and general wear. So he's probably not catching it as such. There are things you can do to help it. For example keeping his nails cut short (obviously not OTT but really keep on top of clipping) as longer nails can mean they rock their foot back and put more weight on the heal. Also flooring with slight give so the pressure is distributed better. However, often people find carpet makes it worse as it's quite a rough surface.

He might need his foot wrapped up longer than a couple of days, just to stop the scab that forms being worn/knocked off.

Jane's good with sore hock advice - hopefully she'll see this and give you some tips

Tamsin said:

Aww, it sounds like sore hocks, but unusual that he's only got it on one foot.

There are quite a few topics on it is you search the forum, it's sort of a cross between a pressure sore and general wear. So he's probably not catching it as such. There are things you can do to help it. For example keeping his nails cut short (obviously not OTT but really keep on top of clipping) as longer nails can mean they rock their foot back and put more weight on the heal. Also flooring with slight give so the pressure is distributed better. However, often people find carpet makes it worse as it's quite a rough surface.

He might need his foot wrapped up longer than a couple of days, just to stop the scab that forms being worn/knocked off.

Jane's good with sore hock advice - hopefully she'll see this and give you some tips

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Thank you again!

I'm going to try to keep it on as long as possible ive put a baby sock on top of the bandage because he was trying to bite it off so the sock is stopping that at present.

He is walking quite awkwardly with his leg bandaged he kind of drags it behind him rather than uses it to walk?? Not sure if it's because it feels strange to him and the bandage goes nearly to the top of the leg.

Yes I hope Jane sees this I would appreciate any advice.

Regards!

Jordanbarr said:

Thank you again!

I'm going to try to keep it on as long as possible ive put a baby sock on top of the bandage because he was trying to bite it off so the sock is stopping that at present.

He is walking quite awkwardly with his leg bandaged he kind of drags it behind him rather than uses it to walk?? Not sure if it's because it feels strange to him and the bandage goes nearly to the top of the leg.

Yes I hope Jane sees this I would appreciate any advice.

Regards!

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Sore hocks can be notoriously difficult to control, but not impossible with careful treatment in consultation with your vet. Some topical creams can be helpful, including Sudocrem and F10 ointment.

I found one of the most useful things in helping sore hocks to heal was using a little sock, and when outdoors, something waterproof on top of the cotton sock. Over time, sore hocks can heal themselves completely in some cases. Some however, don't seem to completely 'hair' over and need managing to avoid them getting worse.

Another alternative, when the sore has completely healed up on your rabbit's foot, is to ask your vet to surgically glue the fur from elsewhere on the foot over the bare part. A glued down 'comb-over' if you will If there's enough hair to do this, it can be remarkably effective.

Good luck, and I hope he keeps on eating

Your rabbit dragging his leg is concerning. If the bandage is too high up on his leg, that could be impeding his use of it. It’s also possible the bandage is too tight affecting the blood flow in his foot. If this is the case, this needs to be corrected right away as prolonged loss of blood flow to the foot can cause serious damage. So it would be good to check and make sure the bandage itself isn't too tight and causing the issue.

The lack of appetite could be due to pain. Did you receive any pain medication to give to your bun? If the amount of blood loss was significant, I would also be concerned about hypovolemia. Did the vet administer any fluids to help compensate for the blood loss?

Waiting a few days for the bleeding to stop is too long. Depending on the severity of the bleeding, for it to continue for more than a few hours or even minutes if severe, is not good unless it is just a very tiny amount, as continued blood loss is dangerous and needs to be stopped right away. Hopefully he is eating well at this point and the bleeding has all stopped.

The sore hock issue is something that will also need to be corrected or it could further worsen. I'm not sure if I understood your description correctly, but if he is chewing at the top of his foot, this could be from the bottom of his foot hurting due to the sore hock. You can check this link for further information concerning it.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Mechanical/Pod/Podo.htm

Hopefully Jane will be along to give a better idea of what is needed as she has a lot of experience in health matters.

If it is sore hocks then this may be indicative of another underlying problem, especially if only one hock is effected. This could mean that he is taking more weight on one leg due to pain in the other leg/hip. So I would definitely try to establish if this is an issue. Treating the sore hock is obviously important, but so is treating any under-lying condition that may be the actual cause of the sore hock in the first place.

Has the Vet prescribed a non steroidal anti-inflammatory such as Metacam ?

MightyMax said:

Sore hocks can be notoriously difficult to control, but not impossible with careful treatment in consultation with your vet. Some topical creams can be helpful, including Sudocrem and F10 ointment.

I found one of the most useful things in helping sore hocks to heal was using a little sock, and when outdoors, something waterproof on top of the cotton sock. Over time, sore hocks can heal themselves completely in some cases. Some however, don't seem to completely 'hair' over and need managing to avoid them getting worse.

Another alternative, when the sore has completely healed up on your rabbit's foot, is to ask your vet to surgically glue the fur from elsewhere on the foot over the bare part. A glued down 'comb-over' if you will If there's enough hair to do this, it can be remarkably effective.

Good luck, and I hope he keeps on eating

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Thank you for the advice

He seems to be eating little amounts of pellets and he's also eating carrots grapes and greens so at least he's getting an intake, he's just not got the huge appetite he had prior to the visit to the vets, however I'm sure it will come back.

Could anyone advise me when I should take his bandages off they were applied by the vs on Saturday at 1pm?

Regards

Jack's-Jane said:

If it is sore hocks then this may be indicative of another underlying problem, especially if only one hock is effected. This could mean that he is taking more weight on one leg due to pain in the other leg/hip. So I would definitely try to establish if this is an issue. Treating the sore hock is obviously important, but so is treating any under-lying condition that may be the actual cause of the sore hock in the first place.

Has the Vet prescribed a non steroidal anti-inflammatory such as Metacam ?

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Thank you for your response!

The vet did prescribe Metacam which I am currently giving him.

He has started eating a bit better now I wouldn't say as much as before but he is going to his pellet bowl and eating an amount on his own. He has also had a couple of carrots and greens.

I am going back to the vet on Tuesday evening his normal vet because we're I took him on Saturday was a different practise because they were the only one open.

I'm going to leave his bandage on until tomorow night then it will of been about 54 hours. Do you think this is long enough or should I leave it on untill I visit the vets on Tuesday evening?

Any advice is much appreciated?

No advice to add but is he eating hay and or grass at all? Mine often like herbs or bramble or willow when they have been/are being unwell.