Urine Burn

[livin4me2]

Hello All,

I recently adopted 2 rabbits from my local animal shelter. They both have urine burn and one of them has already lost 80% of the fur on his hind paws. While I have some experience with rabbits I've never had to deal with this before. Is there anything I can do to help them? Will the fur grow back?

 

[livin4me2]

Oh I should mention that when I adopted them I was informed the urine burn was a result of them living in their own filth and not because of an issue.

 

[bunnylovingwoman]

My vet indicated that I should put baby butt cream on mine to prevent urine burn. But since you have already had it happen, it may be that just keeping them clean and dry would be enough to help. If it hasn't been a long time since you have gotten them, I would probably keep them clean and not put anything on them yet. Just my opinion.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

It depends how bad the urine burn in. I'm a little surprised the shelter would adopt them out without finishing treatment or at least offering suggestions.

My recommendation would be to apply bag balm to the area twice daily. This helps keep it moisturized and heals the area. Preparation H can help in more serious cases.

 

[JBun]

Technically, if they really do not have a medical issue causing the urine scalding, then if the area has been cleaned up and there isn't urine on it anymore, then you shouldn't have to do anything as the fur should just start growing back. However, if the area is continuing to get wet and scalded, then there is an ONGOING medical problem that should have been resolved before the rabbits were adopted out, or if untreatable, then it's something you should have been made aware of. A healthy rabbit in a clean environment, will not have urine dribbling onto it's fur and skin. If this appears to be happening, you need to contact the shelter and inform them that there is an ongoing medical issue causing this to continue to occur, such as a UTI or bladder sludge/stones, and the rabbits need to be seen by their vet.

Treatment and something applied to protect the skin, is only necessary for a continuing urinary health problem. In which case, the shelter should be responsible for the treatment. But here is some info on it in the meantime.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/urinary.html
http://www.disabledrabbits.com/urine-scald.html