Dewclaw Drama

[MiniLopMad]

Hey everyone!

Today while I was checking over my buns, I noticed blood on the dewlap of my REW doe.

I checked her legs and paws and I discovered an injury on one of her front paws around the dewclaw.

I stopped the bleeding and cleaned her up before taking a better look.

Even after cleaning her, it was really hard to determine what exactly she has done to her dewclaw.

I'm not sure if she's ripped it out, pulled it or somehow gotten it off, but it looked to me as if the claw was no longer there. Just a small little stump thing

She was grunting a little and didn't want me to touch it so I'm pretty sure she is in some pain.

I put her back in her cage and gave her a soft piece of fabric to sit on if it started hurting. The rest of the cage has shavings.

She was acting fine when she was back in the cage, she even decided to dig a little in the shavings. However, I know that rabbits can hide pain and sickness very well and it wasn't hard to notice the occasional flick of her paw and the way she lifted her paw a little tiny bit when hopping.

I am tossing up whether to take her to the vet or not. I know of a few rabbit savvy vets but the ones I prefer are not close by.

Should I wait a day and see how she goes or take her straight away and get pain meds? If I should take her to get pain relief, what ones do you recommend I should speak to my vet about?

Below is a photo of her wound. I'm sorry that its so hard to see. I was trying to stop her from squirming and take the photo at the same time.
View attachment ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1434010272.344090.jpg

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[majorv]

Pain meds probably aren't needed if it's the nail. I'd put some antibiotic cream on it and watch it

 

[MiniLopMad]

Ok, Thankyou I'll put the cream on and see how she goes.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Same here-- just watch it for signs of trouble. Most of ours didn't require a Vet visit.

 

[MiniLopMad]

Is this cream safe to use? Sorry, I'm being paranoid View attachment ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1434054969.722229.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1434055003.388270.jpg

 

[JBun]

No. Use a plain neosporin or triple antibiotic ointment that has no added pain reliever or other additives. The one you posted is for burns and insect bites, not an antibiotic wound ointment.

 

[MiniLopMad]

Ok thanks I don't have any around the house so I'll go and buy some today. Thanks for the help

 

[missyscove]

At this point I just wouldn't put anything on it. If the bleeding has stopped and she's eating and drinking fine she should be fine. Keep an eye on it over time and if more swelling or an abscess develops at the area (I wouldn't expect it to) then definitely take her into your vet). The nail may or may not grow back and if it does it may or may not look normal.

 

[MiniLopMad]

Ok, thanks