How do I treat a scab?

[Blue eyes]

I just discovered this on Mocha today. I feel so bad I didn't notice it earlier. This must have been from one week ago when he and his brother were fighting. Since then, Mocha has been moved to his new area with his girl Sapphire.

Since it's been a week, what should I do? Is it too late now and should I just let it be? Sorry the photo is so large. I wanted the wound to be visible. Now looking at it, it looks moist in the photo but it is not. It is dry and hard like a scab.

edit: I just saw I should include other info...
Mocha is neutered (and his girl is spayed). They've spent this past week in Sapphire's former territory. That is why I haven't handled him. I was letting them adjust to their new space.
They had bonded upstairs in neutral area for a month prior. I was bonding 3 -- these 2 and Mocha's brother. All went reasonably well until that last day when the 2 brothers just went at it. Sapphire & Mocha have never fought or tussled.

Both bunnies are under 2 yrs of age. Both came from rescues.

 

[Imbrium]

aww, poor little guy!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We use plain neosporin. Serena does this to herself all the time. Just make sure it's not something more serious like ringworm.

 

[dungeonbunnies]

similar to Neosporin, I use A&D ointment on all cuts, scrapes, chapped skin, and boo-boos. My son is a klutz, and I always have a tube on hand, it never occurs to me to even bother with anything different LOL

 

[JBun]

Just make sure it's the ointment and not the cream that has something for pain added to it.

 

[MiniLopHop]

:yeahthat: Rabbit skin is so thin it rips easily. It looks like this is healing well though. I tend to use the plain neosporin on general boo boos and the A&D ointment on sore hocks, but I think they are pretty interchangable.

 

[Blue eyes]

Thanks everyone. I'll have to take a look at which type of neosporin I have. (with or without pain relief)

 

[missyscove]

At this point it looks like it's healing just fine. I would just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't end up getting infected. I think it's too late for a topical antibiotic (neosporin) to be useful.

 

[Blue eyes]

Oh, ok. Maybe I'll just let it be then.

I was wondering if a bonded bun would lick neosporin off of its mate. Is that ever an issue?

 

[missyscove]

It could be. Buns will also lick it off themselves. A small amount of the regular neosporin should be okay if they eat it, but that's why it's not recommended to use the kind with added pain relief.

 

[luvthempigs]

Just wanted to add the A&D is very hard to clean off. We used to use it on our horses lower legs when they spent a lot of time in a wet pasture. It worked great as a protective barrier from the wetness. Sounds like a good choice for bunnies with sore hocks but I wouldn't use it on the body.

 

[Geoff]

First of all, you don't' always have to treat a scab... scabs are nature's bandages, are often VERY effective, and may simply be a sign of a healing wound. Unless the surrounding tissues are hot, swollen or look otherwise unhealthy, or the scab is moist and/or smells bad, I would leave a scab alone... I would treat it if the scab comes off prematurely though.

Best topical ointment for rabbits is Sulfur silvadiazine (often called Silvidine). But before I put any ointments on an area like that, I would first carefully clip away as much hair from around the wound as possible (clippers are WAY better than scissors... I have seen far too many holes cut in bunnies with scissors by well-intentioned owners. Ointment and hair are a bad combination. Then I would gently clean the wound with a diluted antiseptic (not alcohol and probably not even peroxide... diluted chlorhexidine is excellent). Or even water is OK. Then the thinnest amount of ointment applied as possible (yes bunnies will usually lick this stuff off, so less ingested the better... distract bunny a few minutes and most ointments will absorb into the wound a bit, so not all will be licked off).

Just a warning, rabbit skin is very sensitive, and topical medications should ONLY be applied if really needed, as some rabbits get worse no matter what you put on their skin (this is even more true for more sensitive creatures like Chinchillas).

 

[Blue eyes]

Thanks, Geoff. That rather confirmed what I was thinking. As I said, it is dry and doesn't have any signs of irritation around it. I just didn't want to be neglectful if there was something further I should do.

I lost my second rabbit (15 yrs ago) from a scratch wound we think was from a rose bush. In hindsight, I think the vet was not rabbit savvy and gave him amoxycillin. I didn't know better at the time and still feel guilty.

So with this rabbit, I didn't want to risk failing him in any way.

If the scab does come off too soon, would you recommend avoiding neosporin? And is Silvidine something I can get OTC?

 

[Geoff]

I think Neosporin, applied very sparingly and carefully to avoid including surrounding hair into the wound, is fine. Neosporin also tastes bad (or at least seems to... I have not tasted it myself) and that can keep rabbits from licking their own wounds too much (which can delay their healing). But I have found that Silvidine is more effective in stimulated a good healing bed of tissue, and it has a much broader range of antibacterial and antifungal effects. It too needs to be used sparingly and not mixed with fur, though.

I think Silvidine is prescription only, but I have clients that seem to have no problems getting it on their own, so perhaps it is sold at feed stores or online without a prescription (so many things are now available on line these days!)

 

[Missyface]

Hi,
I'm new online here. I just noticed my bunny has almost the same exact scab on her side as the one in the picture. Did the Neosporin help? Was that all you needed to do??
This is an indoor bunny in a large cage by herself. She gets taken out of her cage daily and given lots of love.
Thanks for any help you can offer!!
.........Missy

 

[Missyface]

Here's a photo of the scab..........thank you!!

 

[Blue eyes]

This thread is two years old.... if I recall, I never did need to put anything on the wound. It healed up on its own.

 

[Missyface]

Thanks for your response. I know it was a long time ago.

To our amazement our bunny seemed to have pulled most of it off and there was healed skin underneath so now it's the size of an eraser head! We're relieved!

This is a great bunny community! :happyrabbit:

Have a good day...........Missy

 

[Binkis Mum]

I know this is a really old thread, but long does it normally take scaabs to heal. My bun has one form "bonding" and it seems to be taking forever to heal. NO other signs of problems around it.

 

[Popsicles]

Depends on many factors; how big the wound was, how deep it was, where on the body, the immune system of the rabbit, etc. Usually a couple of weeks, but if you are worried get it looked at by a vet.