So, since always, Tybalt has been a little pig who barely cleans himself and never washes his paws correctly (I've even caught Aki scrunching her face at him and licking under his paws to clean them).
I've been keeping things as clean as possible to avoid problems, but what I was dreading finally happened. A petsitter took care of my bunnies during all of Christmas holidays as I couldn't take them with me and when I came back, I noticed Tybalt was a bit odd even though nothing seemed wrong with him. It took me about a week to understand that he was bothered by his feet. It was pododermatitis under his back paws, which I've been kinda expecting from day one considering that he regularly finds himself with poo stuck in hair that I have to cut and such. I've washed his paws with a special shampoo, dried them and started immediately applying a cream after talking with my vet. It wasn't very serious (no blood, no pus) and the scabs are mainly gone. As far as I can tell (not easy with all the remaining fur!) it's just kinda redish skin now. I plan to continue the treatment for about a week to make sure but then...
I'm trying to find ways to prevent the problem in the future. I read a lot of good things about Dermoscent (cream used under dogs paws by musher and such to avoid problems). Reliable sources indicated that helps a lot to prevent recurrence. It's not toxic either. So I'm thinking about using that until the hair grow back (or from time to time if the hair doesn't, because that happens). But, the main thing is that Tybalt is STILL a nasty little pig. He doesn't even try to lick his paws after I apply the cream. So I'm wondering what I could use to clean those paws regularly without having to use water and shampoo. It's really cold these days and, even though my rabbits live inside, I felt awful getting him all wet 4 days ago (the plan was wetting only the paws, but a leg kick right at the wrong moment and there was water everywhere). Especially since I had to dry him with towels - he's not used to the hairdryer and things like vaccuum cleaner already terrify him. So...
Is there anything I could use to clean those without water? Would organic baby wipes work? If someone has a suggestion, that would be tremendously helpful. Thanks!
I've been keeping things as clean as possible to avoid problems, but what I was dreading finally happened. A petsitter took care of my bunnies during all of Christmas holidays as I couldn't take them with me and when I came back, I noticed Tybalt was a bit odd even though nothing seemed wrong with him. It took me about a week to understand that he was bothered by his feet. It was pododermatitis under his back paws, which I've been kinda expecting from day one considering that he regularly finds himself with poo stuck in hair that I have to cut and such. I've washed his paws with a special shampoo, dried them and started immediately applying a cream after talking with my vet. It wasn't very serious (no blood, no pus) and the scabs are mainly gone. As far as I can tell (not easy with all the remaining fur!) it's just kinda redish skin now. I plan to continue the treatment for about a week to make sure but then...
I'm trying to find ways to prevent the problem in the future. I read a lot of good things about Dermoscent (cream used under dogs paws by musher and such to avoid problems). Reliable sources indicated that helps a lot to prevent recurrence. It's not toxic either. So I'm thinking about using that until the hair grow back (or from time to time if the hair doesn't, because that happens). But, the main thing is that Tybalt is STILL a nasty little pig. He doesn't even try to lick his paws after I apply the cream. So I'm wondering what I could use to clean those paws regularly without having to use water and shampoo. It's really cold these days and, even though my rabbits live inside, I felt awful getting him all wet 4 days ago (the plan was wetting only the paws, but a leg kick right at the wrong moment and there was water everywhere). Especially since I had to dry him with towels - he's not used to the hairdryer and things like vaccuum cleaner already terrify him. So...
Is there anything I could use to clean those without water? Would organic baby wipes work? If someone has a suggestion, that would be tremendously helpful. Thanks!
