My rabbit got a rat bite wound. What's the best home treatment?

Hi, and thanks for your question. Even though a picture of the wound itself would help to understand better the underlying cause, this presentation could be due to a trauma or localized spot of skin infection (likely to be caused by bacteria). An immediate check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are needed to solve the problem. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I am so sorry for the delay in answering your question. The best thing you can do for a wound at home is to keep it clean. Clean the cage out completely. Make sure there is soft, clean bedding in the cage at all times, which means you need to replace the bedding material daily while the sore is present. Most pharmacies will have Betadine. Get some water and add a few drops of butadiene so that it looks like tea. Then submerge the affected foot into the liquid. Try to keep it wet for a minute or so if he will tolerate it. Then gently pat it dry with a clean towel. You can take a picture and submit it with a question to the forum, and one of us can try to further advise you. Again the best thing you can do at this point is to be sure to keep it clean. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Oh gosh! I am so sorry to hear this! Rabbits should not be given any over the counter pain medication- it can be fatal to them. Do you have hair or beard clippers? #40 blade is best but a 10 will do the job. Put her in a dim room but enough light for you to see what you are doing. Clip/shave all the hair around the wounds. Use warm water to compress and clean the wounds. If you have the opportunity to have her evaluated by a veterinarian that would be ideal. Sometimes equine veterinarians will help with the rabbits too . Getting the fur off can really help decrease the chance of infection as well as allows you to see what is going on and if it is improving or getting worse. Keep her indoors so flies can’t get to the wound. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Poor Sunny D! Pus and redness are common signs of infection, which may require treatment with oral antibiotics. Dilute chlorhexidine is okay to use on the wound, as well as silver sulfadiazene ointment. I would steer away from triple antibiotic ointments such as Neosporin, as rabbits can ingest these during grooming and result in gastrointestinal upset. From the picture, the wound appears to be closing, which is a good sign. I recommend monitoring the wound for another day or so, and having Sunny D seen by a vet if the discharge continues to get worse. Sunny D may also require some pain medication, that can only be prescribed by a vet. In the meantime, you can also get him a small E-collar or "cone" to prevent him from scratching the area. He may need the cone removed for a few hours while you supervise him closely in case he is not comfortable eating in it. I hope this helps and that Sunny D starts feeling better soon!

Thanks for reaching out about Bun Bun. A wound needs to be kept clean. Gently clipping hair around the wound to prevent hair contamination. Gently clean with mild soap and warm water. Do not apply any topical antibiotics as many can infect the rabbit's gastrointestinal tract if ingested. The rabbits might need to be separated. Altering both rabbits might decrease aggression. If the wound worsens or Bun Bun becomes ill, a veterinary visit is mandatory. Good luck.

I can see what looks like a small wound on Thumper's skin. It appears rather small and superficial, and does not seem to be bleeding. I recommend keeping it clean and applying a small amount of SSD (silver sulfadiazene) ointment to the area. I'm not sure how Thumper may have gotten the wound, but I would recommend evaluating his environment for sharp edges or any contact with bigger animals. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!

A check up, appropriate disinfection and possibly antibiotics (oral, topical or in a shampoo formulation) are usually needed. Disinfection may be started at home with very diluted hibiscrub or betadine or salted water baths. Buster collar may be useful as well to avoid any licking/scratching. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.