Ripped skin on back of baby rabbit

Question
I have a 2 or 3 month old brown rabbit, that we saved from the wild when he was stranded in a rain storm.
I was lifting him by the scruff of his neck, carefully, I though, when we decided to fight and squirm. He twisted so hard that a large section of skin came off the back of his neck. I feel terrible. Their skin is so soft, and I just didn't have enough time to scoop up his body with more support before he twisted off of his skin.

Now, what can I do to help the little guy?

The area of skin is largely hidden when he tucks into is usual position. But, when he stretches out, it is at least 3cm by 5cm.

I don't want him to die. Neither do my children : (

Thanks for your help,
Janet

Answer
Dear Janet,

The wound may need to be sutured by a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

but if you absolutely cannot get him there right away, then clean the wound with dilute povidone iodine solution (about 1 part iodine to four parts clean, lukewarm water) and make sure there is *no* dirt or hair in the wound.

Pat dry gently.

Believe it or not, you can carefully tack the wound closed with gel-style super glue, which was first invented as surgical glue, and only later sold in hardware stores.

Squeeze a little bit of gel out onto a very clean bit of aluminum foil.  Use a very clean tootpick to dab a *tiny* bit of glue *only on the edges of the tear* and then carefully tack the *skin* together so that no glue gets on the underlying tissues.  

This will keep the wound closed until you can get him to the vet, who might have to reopen it under anesthesia so it can be cleaned properly and sutured.

If you can get him to a good vet within a few hours, don't use the glue.  That's only for overnight emergency, to prevent a huge, open wound from becoming infected or dried out so badly that the skin might not be salvageable.

Once he's well, please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/wildbabies.pdf

Hope this helps.

Dana