Pet rabbits can suffer from all sorts of injuries despite owners doing their best to keep them safe. The following information covers some of the most common injuries seen in pet rabbits, both house rabbits and those kept outdoors.

External Injuries

External injuries are often caused by fighting with another rabbit or from mishaps with objects around the house and garden. Bleeding is often the first sign of an external injury, but some wounds can be small and not that obvious. If your rabbit is bleeding, apply pressure on the wound with a clean towel and call your vet immediately to ask for advice.

It’s always a good idea to check your bunny over regularly from head to toe for any signs of injury. Injuries from a sharp object can include puncture wounds, deep scratches, eye injuries, etc.

Another common external injury seen in house rabbits are electrical burn injuries. Rabbits will chew through cables and wires! Try and keep all cables out of their reach, and perhaps invest in some hard case cable management.

External wounds can quickly become infected and may need antibiotics. Take your rabbit to see your vet as soon as possible for appropriate treatment. They may also need anti-inflammatory medications and pain relief.

Internal Injuries

Internal damage injuries are usually due to crushing or penetrating wounds. Accidents happen, a door might get slammed, your rabbit might get startled and collide with something that might harm them. These accidents can cause broken bones or even damage to internal organs, but damage to internal organs is rare. 

If you think your bunny has suffered an internal injury, monitor your rabbit closely. If you notice any bleeding, you need to try and stop the bleeding with gentle pressure and take them to see your vet right away. Other signs of injury may include difficulty breathing, limping, reduced toileting and if your rabbit is limp. If you have a concern and think your rabbit is suffering from any of these problems, take them to a vet for an examination.

External and internal injuries are very preventable, but sometimes accident do happen. Try and rabbit-proof your home as much as possible, and also make sure their outdoor space is secure so they have plenty of space to roam free! 

Leg and Foot Injuries

These are relatively common injuries in rabbits. They have small delicate bones which can easily break. Leg fractures, broken toes and torn toenails are all injuries that could affect your bunny. Trauma, inappropriate handling and dropping are the most common causes of leg fractures.

Symptoms of any of these injuries may include limping or obvious bleeding and bone breaks with open fractures. If you think your rabbit has fractured a bone, take them to your vet immediately so they can get the treatment they need as soon as possible.

Another common foot injury is sore hocks; this is where the heel of the foot becomes sore and inflamed. Sore hocks can be a tricky condition to get rid of. To help prevent this condition give your rabbit a nice thick, soft layer of bedding on the floor of their enclosure. And check your rabbit’s feet regularly for any early signs like redness or crusting.

Torn toenails are another injury that you need to keep an eye out for! This can happen when playing, fighting with other rabbits or even accidentally when clipping your rabbit’s claws. The ‘quick’ of your rabbit’s toenail is the blood supply that runs down the centre of the nail. If this gets torn or is cut it will bleed a lot.

If this happens, hold a cold, wet piece of cotton wool, styptic powder/pencil or cotton bud dipped in silver nitrate on the nail for a couple of minutes. If it is still bleeding after 10 minutes or pumping with force, call your vet for advice.

Rabbit Spinal Injury

Spinal injury is a common cause of injury in pet rabbits. It’s usually due to struggling and kicking when being picked up, improper handling or being dropped. It’s very important that anyone handling a rabbit knows how to pick them up and handle them properly and safely.

The prognosis of spinal injury isn’t generally good and ongoing care can be significant and extremely expensive. Related medical issues are also common which could prevent your rabbit from having a good quality of life.

If your rabbit is thought to have a spinal injury your vet will need to take some radiographs and possibly a whole-body scan using an MRI or CT scanner. Depending on the results of these, your vet will discuss any possible treatment options. But sometimes, euthanasia may be the only option.

Injuries from a Lack of Mobility

Lack of mobility due to injury can cause other problems like urine scalding, obesity and anorexia, amongst others.

Urine scalding involves damage to the skin around the rabbit’s bottom when the skin is constantly wet and becomes sore and inflamed. There are various causes of urine scalding, including obesity, urinary tract disease, lack of mobility and environmental problems.

Often there is more than one cause for urine scalding which means your rabbit may need more than one type of treatment. It's more common in overweight rabbits, so if your bunny is overweight, they’ll need to go on a diet and their exercise will need to be increased.

If the rabbit can’t move very well due to discomfort from osteoarthritis or spinal pain, then pain relief may be given. This should make going to the toilet easier. If the rabbit’s living environment isn’t suitable then changes will need to be made to this too, including ensuring their area is clean and dry.

Lack of mobility can also mean that a rabbit is unable to groom themselves properly and flies can be attracted to dirty, smelly fur and skin. This means there’s an increased risk of fly strike – a life-threatening condition.

Spotting Signs and Symptoms

Rabbits are experts at hiding signs of injury. One sign in particular that all’s not well, is when they stop eating. Rabbits have to have a constant supply of food to keep their digestive system working properly. If your bunny stops eating it can be life-threatening and should be treated as an emergency.

There are lots of reasons why your rabbit may stop eating including stress, pain from dental or tummy pain, loss of a companion, poor diet/change of diet, etc. It’s very important to take your rabbit to the vet straight away if you think your rabbit is eating less or has stopped completely. 

Pet rabbits can be affected by various injuries throughout their lives. Rabbit-proofing your home and garden is essential and keeping a close eye on their behaviour and general health will help prevent any potential dangers and problems.

Everypaw Rabbit Insurance

Here at Everypaw, we want to help you keep your bunny healthy and in tip top shape. So, when it comes to your young rabbit’s care, Everypaw’s Rabbit Insurance could be just the cover to look after your little thumper.

Get a quote

 

Content provided from Vetstream's Vetlexicon Lapis – www.vetlexicon.com/treat/lapis

Vetlexicon is the world’s largest peer-reviewed online clinical reference source. All our content is written and peer-reviewed by over 1,000 of the world’s leading veterinarians, ensuring relevance, accuracy and quality.