Bite On Spice's Ear

[MyBabyBunnies]

While I was on vacation, Spice got a bite injury on his ear. Well since then I've been cleaning it up with peroxide. Today I noticed it felt warm to me and almost like a very small lump. I know heat is a sign of infection but heat can also just be from irritation (from something like licking)but the lump is so small that I'm not entirely sure if it's an abscess or just the scab that I'm feeling (hard to tell with the fur on the outside of the ear).

So I pulled out the iodine today and used that to clean it up instead since iodine tends to disinfect a little bit better (I was having a hard time getting enough hydrogen peroxide on his ear to actually get to the bite mark). Now I know iodine is poisonous, but I know a lot of people use it on animals (and I was told to by a vet once upon a time). My question is, since its on his ear where he might be able to lick it if he really tries and since Reese is big on cleaning his ears, should I take a little vet wrap and cover the part to keep the iodine from being ingested?

I'm only going to clean it for a few more days and see what happens when the scab falls off, or if it gets any bigger then I will take him to a vet right away.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

You know, Bo gets sore hocks (common with mini-rex) and when they look sore I will put neosporin on them (not the kind with the pain reliever) lightly. I wonder if you could maybe open the scab and put some on it?

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Right now I'm just trying to keep it clean more than anything, but after I came to the realization that there is no way I could keep vet wrap on his ear, I took some peroxide and washed away majority of the iodine so he got a thoroughly cleaned ear, lol.

I'm going to go to the store tomorrow and get some plainPolysporin as well, we don't have any.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Don't forget to give him a kiss from me!

Keep us posted on how he does! I hate when they get sick/injured.

 

[MsBinky]

I wouldn't risk using iodine if you even doubt that it can be harmful. Plain Neosporin or Polysporin would be a safer bet I think.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I doubt any type of cream will stay on long enough to be of any help. Reese loves to clean his ears, she'd lickit off in no time.

 

[JimD]

MyBabyBunnies wrote:

While I was on vacation, Spice got a bite injury on his ear. Well since then I've been cleaning it up with peroxide.

Somehow I missed this. I'm so sorry about Spice's ear

Peroxide should really only be used for the initial cleaning...after that it could damage tissue.

Saline to flush the wound would be a good choice...followed up with an anti-biotic salve.

~~~

Bo B Bunny wrote:

You know, Bo gets sore hocks (common with mini-rex) and when they look sore I will put neosporin on them (not the kind with the pain reliever) lightly. I wonder if you could maybe open the scab and put some on it?

MyBabyBunnies wrote:

I doubt any type of cream will stay on long enough to be of any help. Reese loves to clean his ears, she'd lickit off in no time.

Use it anyway. Even if it only stays on for a little bit it will help kill germs.

I use it for Chippy's sore hocks too,and she licks it off in short time. But, it seems to help heal the wound quicker and with less complications.



~Jim

 

[lemonaxis]

Hello

The following is NOT a professional opinion, rather just some possible suggestions as I have nursed my bun BK back to health after a terrible cat attack.

Firstly if bun has a bite on his ear, its a good idea to peel the scab off (I know sounds gross) to to see what kind of damage is underneath, if the scab is left on, the wound will heal from the outside in and not the inside out, which is what you want.
By healing this way, bun will have much less chance of developing an absess.

Satellite absesses form very easily on bun's ears, so if this is a build up of bacteria under his skin, there is chance it may spread.
So peel off scab, get syringe of weak saline solution, place syringe end INTO wound and flush. Then squeeze the area to see if you can clear it of all the saline water PLUS any bacteria build up.

A bite is very unclean. One way to possibly find out if your bun has an infection is to take bun's temperature, the lovely bottom experience that our buns love so much.
At a higher temperature, bun is fighting infection BETTER than if temp is normal, so a higher temp is actually not the worst thing unless its very high. Buns need a temp of around 38.7 upwards to be considered high as their temp goes up quickly due to stress or pain .
AGAIN, this is only from experience with my bun BK, best person to help you is ra5571.

Burrito wrap bun and fully inspect ear, even shave off the fur to keep area accessible and clean. And so you can see what really is going on.

Keep us posted.
Hopefully bite is not very serious and bun is already healing well.

Best wishes

...lemon

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Okay well I really should emphasize that the bite is maybe 3 mm long by 1 mm wide at the most. It's not deep either, less than maybe 1/2 a milimeter deep. It's a really tiny bite so I can't get in the bite so to speak, it's way too small. I have been working with the scab to get it off,I just wasn't about to pull it off and create more irritation and bleeding and therefore more chance for infection. I've been using a minimal amount of Vaseline to loosen it to get it off gently and then cleaned the ear to get rid of any excess. I can get at most of the damage from the inside of the ear where the scab has been off for a while, the only part thatwas still on is a little bit that is caught in the hair on the outside of his ear.

Anyways, I pulled him out first thing this morning and took a look at it, I think I was irritating it yesterday and making it worse than it really is. Today his ear was cool (normal for the cool temperatures we are getting in the early mornings) and it felt even through out both ears. I have a feeling the bump I'm feeling is some scar tissue in his ear. This happened 3 weeks ago so it is definitely possible. I compared the feeling to Reese's ear (she has a chunk missing from an old injury) and the feeling is comparable. Seeing as how it is on his ear, even the slightest bit of scar tissue can make it feel like a bump.

JimD, I really would like to avoid using creams, if you read the label on them they all make it clear not to ingest and I really do not want to use something dangerous.

(Oh and as a side note, theiodone bottle is not even marked as being poisonous, but I was almost positive that iodine is poisonous.)

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

lemonaxis wrote:

At a higher temperature, bun is fighting infection BETTER than if temp is normal, so a higher temp is actually not the worst thing unless its very high.

But a LOCALIZED area of heat is not a good thing. If you feel around and only the skinrightaroundthe injury is warm/hot, it is not a good sign but generally if the injury has a consistant temperature around it as elsewhere, it is agood sign, it often indicates a less serious or non-existant complication such as infection. That is only assuming the temperature is normal, if it's all consistantly warm then it indicates a bigger problem that has potentially spread.

 

[lemonaxis]

Hi there

Yeah does seem like scar tissue doesn't it?
I think you are right when you say that infection could set in if you irritate it.
Besides I have no medical grounds to back myself up on, was just trying to help out:biggrin2:
It sounds like you know exactly what to do and Spice will be just fine....

Could you post up a pic for us, then we can see the bite?
Thats one lucky bun to have such a good Mum.

 

[MsBinky]

"JimD, I really would like to avoid using creams, if you read the label on them they all make it clear not to ingest and I really do not want to use something dangerous.

(Oh and as a side note, theiodone bottle is not even marked as being poisonous, but I was almost positive that iodine is poisonous.)"



Hmmm I'm confused... You were almost certain that it was poisonous and were using it... However you don't want to use something that most of us are using that have not caused our buns any problems?

Since it is a small cut, I would suggest you keep an eye on it but abstain yourself from touching it too much. I think bacteria from our hands can be more harmful... You should keep cleaning it and putting cream on it if you are interested in using some.

Wiggles suffereda bite on her ear. She had been out and went to see my other bun that I had at the time and she was bitten through the cage.Her bit went through the ear, so it looks like she has a tear. I cleaned it out and used the neosporin and it healed very nicely.

So don't worry too much about it, just keep an eye on it but try not to play with it too much

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

One, if it's not labelled as poisonous, I made the assumption that is is very dilute and they do not have to label it as such (I'm not 100% on regulations on this sort of stuff so I'm not sure if a certain percentage is allowed without a proper label or else it would be illegal to sell here without the warning) or I am mistaked and iodine is not poisonous. Two, I used it only to disinfect and removed all possible traces I could.

Three, the tubes of creams are all labelled with clear warnings giving me the impression that it is more hazardous then the small amount of iodine I was using.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Oh and I forgot one thing. I always check the bottle before using it and since it wasn't labelled with a warning I never thought anything of it, it wasn't until AFTER I used it that it hit me that iodine was poisonous. Had I made that connection before putting it on, I would never have used it in the first place.

Afterwards I rationed with myself on what to do about the potential problem, which is when I posted on here asking what to do about it.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

It's impossible to get a good pictures of so this is the best I could do as far as picture.

 

[lemonaxis]

Yep, Spice's ear looks so clean, looks like it might just heal on its own, here's Bk's bite, is still in the final stages of healing...1cm wide and right through the ear!
poor baby

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Update: Spice's ear is fine, thankfully! I managed to get a better picture of it today with him in the run so I could get closer to take it.

 

[JadeIcing]

Looks ok. I hate seeing them hurt. Doesn't it kill you?