Broken nail? Need advice.

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Ana_The_Dreamer

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Nessa was goofing around and running bunny 500s, when suddenly I noticed she was starting to act strange and limping. I picked her up and saw a little puddle of blood under her front paw. After my initial "paranoid-bunny-mom" freak out, I noticed her toenail had broken off at the base. Her nails aren't long (I trimmed them last week) so I'm not sure what the cause is. Anyway, she bled for a good 30 minutes. I was applying pressure and apologizing profusely during that time (not sure how it's my fault, but I feel guilty regardless!). I can't see the damage very well but it looks like the nail was caught on something (?) and is now a jagged, broken base next to her toe.
I'm not sure what to do for her, being that this hasn't happened before. Any advice? I don't want to put any balms or anything on it until I asked. Should I wrap her little foot up so she doesn't chew on it?
Frankly seeing all that blood come out of my fur babies foot sent me into a panic! :panic:
 
Okay it's been nearly an hour now and she still is bleeding. I ended up cleaning her wound with hydrogen peroxide and put some Neosporin on it. She (of course) didn't like that and freaked out, jumping away from me and causing it to bleed more. I put some soft fleece down in her cage and put her in there. I read somewhere that flour can help stop the bleeding? I know I'm sounding panicky over this; but I can't help it. :p
 
If she is still bleeding and it is quite a bit, you should take her to the vet. If it is just a tiny bit of bleeding, you may be able to get it to stop with cornstarch. If the bleeding stops and the toe itself seems ok, then usually you would just keep an eye on it for several days, to make sure it doesn't get infected and is healing fine.

If you have any concerns and/or it still seems to be bugging her after a few days, you should give your vet a call to see if she needs to be brought in.
 
Thanks, Jenny! I tried the cornstarch trick and it seemed to stop the little bleeding that remained. What are signs of an infected toe? Anything I should watch for in specific?
 
Same as it would be for us. Redness, inflammation, heat, a lump in the area, painful to walk on. Just check the toe every day for a week. A very small dab of plain(no pain relief or other added ingredients) neosporin on the tip of the broken nail for the first few days can help ward off any infection starting. Provided your bun doesn't immediately lick it off. Helps to distract them right after putting it on, by feeding them some of their veggies.
 

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