Eastern Cottontail Rabbit With Wound

de-fur wound on rabbit
Compare photo from Day 3 (above) to photo from Day 22 before release.

This story was shared by licensed wildlife rehabilitator Deanna Epps of Waxhaw, North Carolina.

This bunny arrived on July 19, 2018, as a victim of a dog attack. The area of the wound was very large, covering most of his back and both sides. His weight was 196 grams (0.4 pounds). The wound was cleansed with Vetericyn and covered with SSD, a topical antibiotic for animals. The treatment plan was to administer meloxicam and enrofloxacin per recommended dosages, continue wound cleansing and SSD, feed EmerAid Herbivore, and give fluids. His weight dipped a little by Day 3, down to 194 grams, but by Day 10 he was at 270 grams (0.6 pounds).

On Day 10, the wound started drying and cracking, so saline soaks were started twice daily. Dead tissue was debrided and a thin layer of SSD applied. On August 2, it was Day 14. The bunny weighed in at 328 grams (0.7 pounds). Saline soaks were still being done, dead tissue debrided, cleansing was done with Betadine swab stick and rinsing with SSD applied afterward. The wound was now considerably smaller and looked better.

wound on rabbitThe same treatment continued, and the bunny continued to gain weight while the wound continued to shrink until the day of his release, August 11. Treatment lasted 22 days. The bunny’s release weight was 420 grams (0.9 pounds), and the wound had shrunk to 0.35 millimeters.