My bunnies nail got caught....... Bleeding....

[xcslx84]

Male - 1 and 1/2 years old

I have an extra large dog crate that is considered my bunnies 'room'. I have a playpen attached to it fortheir playyard... One of my bunnies peed outside their litterbox today. I was crouched in the playyard and leaning into the room to clean it up, Hugh tried jumping past me to get out and his front paw must have grazed the crate at its entrance. I finished cleaning and when I looked, he was licking his paw and there were a couple drops of blood on the ground.

Its bleeding at the base of one of his nails (the 'thumb' nail, the one on the back of his paw if that makes any sense). Its been ten minutes and he is still licking it, looks like its still red... No more drops on the ground though.

Should I take him to the vet? I never had a bunny bleed, so Im not sure if its something he'll take care of, or something that requires immediate medical attn.

Im sure he must be in great pain, I dont know if its my imagination, but he appears to be breathing a bit harder...

 

[aurora369]

Many rabbits have ripped a nail out, and most have no side effects and the nail may or may not grow back.

If it is still bleeding, you can use a bit of cornstarch or flour to help stop the bleeding. Dab a bit onto the nail until it stops bleeding.

You will want to give it a bit of a clean to prevent infection. Some betadine is awesome stuff (can be bought at a people pharmacy, sometimes behind the counter but no prescription required), or some neosporin/polysporin with no pain medication, just the plain stuff.

Keep an eye on it, and if it does get infected, then you for sure need to take him in to the vet.

Give him a bit of time to calm down, and it he does seem to be in a pain still, then perhaps you could go to the vet and get some pain medication.

-Dawn

 

[tonyshuman]

For the bleeding, apply pressure and one of the following: flour, styptic powder, or corn starch. This should stop the bleeding. Bunnies frequently break their nails, leading to bleeding. It is possible that his nail broke below the nail bed. Usually when that happens, the nail comes completely out. I don't really know what to do if it breaks below the nail bed but the nail doesn't come out completely. If the nail looks ragged at all (ie you can see breaks), trim it.

Our expert Pam Nock likes to say "no bunny has ever died of a bleeding nail," although that can happen in cats, from what I've heard.

That nail is called the dewclaw.

 

[xcslx84]

Thank you guys!

The bleeding seems to have stopped, he's just resting now..... I gave him some timothy hay since itll get his mind off the pain for a bit. Ill let him finish, then check on his nail again.

Ill go get some betadine.

Thank you guys sooooo much! And yes, I was worried because I have heard cats bleed out if their claws get hurt and might die - just wanted to check if bunnies were the same...

My poor baby must be so hurt... Its all my fault, I was supposed to take my boys in for a nail trim almost a month ago and couldnt due to starting a new job. Thats what I get for neglecting them.

 

[missyscove]

He'll be fine. My Fiona lost almost a year ago now. It bled a lot but grew back.

Have you tried nail trimming yourself? We have some threads on it here somewhere... you can get yourself a good pair of clippers much cheaper than paying someone else to do it for you!

 

[xcslx84]

I bought nail clippers and Ive attempted a few times when they were younger... but they hate it so much that I have probably only trimmed 1 nail. lol. Im too scared that I may hurt them, so I hate to spend the extra money having someone else do it - but I just cant bear to, so no choice! =P