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Three legged bunny can any one help?

M

Maizey

Wise Old Thumper
Barlie my conti had her front leg amputated in Febuary(I wrote a post entitled staphylococcus aureus which explains why)She weighs just under 7kg and is a free range bunny.Her remaining front paw is down to skin as she has lost all the fur and the patch of skin is getting bigger.Has any one else had this problem with a three legged bun and is there anything I can do?



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Both my tripod Buns are lightweights and so far there has not been a problem.

I am thinking that some sort of dressing that takes the pressure off the red area might be possible :? Rather like a cornplaster. Obviously the dressing would need daily attention and she may not tolerate having it on. But it could be worth a try.

I wonder if a bit of Flamazine might help for a few days. You dont really want to be using anything steroidal like Fuciderm or anything that will soften the skin too much

:?
 
Yep, I'd discuss it will your vet but some sort of padded dressing sounds like an option to explore. The other thing is what flooring is she living on. Something where he feet can sink in a bit to spread the pressure may help.
 
Thank you Jane.I did apply Flamazine but it didn't make much difference.Barlie would tolerate a dressing but I'm in two minds about putting anything on her paw.1,would the skin get soft and if it did and she got a cut on her paw would she get an infection in it?She has two patches of scabby bits already one is visible in the pic.2,she is in the garden all day and if i put a dressing on her paw and it got wet or rubbed and she got a cut that way it would be just the right environment,wet and warm, for a bacteria to get in and start doing its nasty stuff.
Its such a hard one I know the only answer is to take the pressure of her paw but I'm frightened to intervene in case the same thing happens again.Do you think her skin could eventually harden up?
 
Tamsin said:
Yep, I'd discuss it will your vet but some sort of padded dressing sounds like an option to explore. The other thing is what flooring is she living on. Something where he feet can sink in a bit to spread the pressure may help.
Click to expand...

Hi Tamsin she is on the grass most of the time sometimes she will come and sit under the bush which is on a patio.
 
Last edited:
Maizey said:
Thank you Jane.I did apply Flamazine but it didn't make much difference.Barlie would tolerate a dressing but I'm in two minds about putting anything on her paw.1,would the skin get soft and if it did and she got a cut on her paw would she get an infection in it?She has two patches of scabby bits already one is visible in the pic.2,she is in the garden all day and if i put a dressing on her paw and it got wet or rubbed and she got a cut that way it would be just the right environment,wet and warm, for a bacteria to get in and start doing its nasty stuff.
Its such a hard one I know the only answer is to take the pressure of her paw but I'm frightened to intervene in case the same thing happens again.Do you think her skin could eventually harden up?
Click to expand...


It may harden up but my concern is that the skin may breakdown before this happens.
I'll have another think on this and see if I can suggest anything else.
 
Can you re-post the bunny photos as the photos doesn't show up.

Goofball has her rear leg removed, so she was 3 legged bunny too. One of the thing that I did is at all of her favorite spot, instead of carpet, I put a thick big towel to elevate the height and also make the ground softer. That way, it makes her more comfy.

I also recommend at her pee spot, obviously she can no longer use a litter box. What I did is I put a big pillow and put 2 layers of towel on top. She pees on the towel, I then remove and replace the towel, and the pillow elevate the height so she can pee easily.

In your case, since it's the front leg, I would put some soft pillow at the right of the pee spot, so it makes her balancing easier
 
Hi,
Bandaging is an option but i would be concerned that the skin would become too soft in the bandage and in the long term, end up worse. Speak to your vet and see if he/she agrees with me when i say that bathing the foot in salt water may help. Not only would the salt water help prevent infection in the skin and help keep it clean, but the salt would also help to harden the skin to enable it to endure the entire weight of the the front end of the body (which is the heaviest end). At my vet practice we had a dog in the other day and we had to remove its nail. The nail bed is then exposed and so we bandage to protect it at first (a few days) but then we advise owners to bathe it in salt water for the reasons described above. As a nurse that is what i'd suggest but i would recommend you double check with your vet.
Also, i would suggest that you provide lots of bedding - straw/towels and Vetbed is particularly good as its a deep bedding used in vets to help prevent sores when patients are recumbent.
 
kat_g said:
Hi,
Bandaging is an option but i would be concerned that the skin would become too soft in the bandage and in the long term, end up worse. Speak to your vet and see if he/she agrees with me when i say that bathing the foot in salt water may help. Not only would the salt water help prevent infection in the skin and help keep it clean, but the salt would also help to harden the skin to enable it to endure the entire weight of the the front end of the body (which is the heaviest end). At my vet practice we had a dog in the other day and we had to remove its nail. The nail bed is then exposed and so we bandage to protect it at first (a few days) but then we advise owners to bathe it in salt water for the reasons described above. As a nurse that is what i'd suggest but i would recommend you double check with your vet.
Also, i would suggest that you provide lots of bedding - straw/towels and Vetbed is particularly good as its a deep bedding used in vets to help prevent sores when patients are recumbent.
Click to expand...

Thank you,I'm concerned about bandaging the paw as I explained above.My vet is a great lover of salt water.I will try bathing her paw in salt water.Barlie is an outdoor bun in the summer so she is mainly on grass.She lives in a 12ft run at night with a nest box on the end which is packed with straw.Thank you so much for taking the time to answer I will definitely give the salt water a go I didnt know that salt water could harden the skin.
 
Thats ok, no problem. I do hope she gets on ok as she has been through a lot already having a leg off! Its amazing how well animals cope and adapt, it never ceases to amaze me at work!!
Let me know how you get on, i would be interested to know what happens.
 
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