Help!! - slight bleeding between the scutes

[gg888]

What?! He escapes & worries you and he gets a treat ?! Lol
But that may be it , the squeezing under.
Hes like "im your baby", he just doesnt understand hes a BIG baby.

What can I say, he's a mummy's boy that gets spoiled rotten! I still see him as tiny though, with an 8lb sulcata (who's on a serious growth spurt a the minute) in the household!

 

[Carol S]

You need to bury small pavers or wire under the inside perimeter of his enclosure wall, around 12 to 18 inches deep. This will keep him from digging down and coming up on the outside of the enclosure. Is your enclosure walls made or wood or block?

 

[gg888]

You need to bury small pavers or wire under the inside perimeter of his enclosure wall, around 12 to 18 inches deep. This will keep him from digging down and coming up on the outside of the enclosure. Is your enclosure walls made or wood or block?

It is a metal wire rabbit run which i buried into the lawn about 6 inches deep. I originally used it to introduce my youngest rabbit to my older ones so its been there that long that it has sort of grown into the lawn. He's never attempted to dig out before, but I have officially learnt my lesson! I'm going to purchase some breeze block type things and dig them deep into the ground from now on, I'll use them as the perimeter and sort out a wire mesh lid to protect from birds. If anybody has any better ideas I'd be grateful to hear them!

 

[Lyn W]

If he can see through the walls of the rabbit run try adding some sight barriers around the base so he can't see the big wide world beyond.
Make sure he is healed properly before adding coconut oil - to reduce the risk of trapping bacteria and causing infection. Wonder if a rat could have tried to nibble him - apparently we are never more than a metre away from them - they get everywhere and like places with rabbit food.
Hope he is better soon.

 

[gg888]

If he can see through the walls of the rabbit run try adding some sight barriers around the base so he can't see the big wide world beyond.
Make sure he is healed properly before adding coconut oil - to reduce the risk of trapping bacteria and causing infection. Wonder if a rat could have tried to nibble him - apparently we are never more than a metre away from them - they get everywhere and like places with rabbit food.
Hope he is better soon.

I'll try that, might discourage him from escaping! Thanks for your advice I guess I'll never know for sure what happened, I'll just have to keep a very close eye on him from now on!

 

[gg888]

Just a quick update.. Bertie has been eating and behaving normally today. I've given him another bath, and I have increased the amount of calcium I am providing. I have increased the distance between him and his lamp slightly, just in case it is anything to do with that (I imagine heat on his poorly shell can't feel too great). I have been bathing his shell with a very week saline solution I made myself (all natural sea salt) and it has cleaned the blood away quite well. I don't have any neosporin yet (I'm waiting for it to be delivered) so in the mean time I have dabbed a small amount of sudocrem on.
I've also added a picture of his shell today, you can see the damage more clearly now that most of the blood has been cleaned up. Also, he looked so cute sleeping in his plant pot

So all in all, apart from his shell, he seems to be in high spirits and good health! Again, thank you all for your advice

 

[Yvonne G]

Since it seems to be worse on one side than the other, it's now looking like the tender new tissue was injured during the escape.

 

[gg888]

Since it seems to be worse on one side than the other, it's now looking like the tender new tissue was injured during the escape.

That's the idea I'm thinking is most likely. Bertie is most definitely grounded inside while he heals. And while I get a secure outdoor enclosure sorted!