Muscle wastage

Does anyone have any ideas what would cause muscle wastage in one hind leg in an elderly rabbit?

All the bunnies I have had with hind leg muscle wastage have had it in both legs :?

Arthritis, old injury, start of EC..?:?

What Jill said

They were the only things that I could think of, although I thought ec might be more likely to cause weakness equally in both legs :?

As long as there isn't anything else obvious I have missed, Thanks

Usually it affects two but can affect one more..so would be noticeable first..poor Dandelion is much worse on her left side than right

As above but also nerve damage - we have seen this before with just one leg

Its strange, the bunny in question is 10 years old and was rescued 6 months ago. It started holding a leg up when it hops a few weeks back, and the vet has diagnosed muscle wastage and said nothing can be done and it will just deteriorate :?

only other thing i could think to add to the list was spinal injury or possibly something stuck in paw like a thorn which is stopping leg being used and so muscle wastage could then occour

B had muscle wastage in her right fore paw which tends to bother her at this time of year.The vet said it was due to an injury she had before we got her.I think it may have been that she was in a small hutch with her siblings and wasn't let out for a run judging by the fact she ran round for 8hours solid the day we got her home but i guess we'll never really know.

With dogs it can be caused by cruciate damage, probalbly not much you can do if it has been a long term problem. With Pumpkin my cat, the cruciate damage was intially cause by a lux patella.

Jaypot said:

As above but also nerve damage - we have seen this before with just one leg

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I was also going to add this, Juno's paralysed foreleg (suspected radial nerve damage) is noticeably less developed than her other legs.

Sorry for my previous brief reply. I am not firing on all cylinders at the mo'
Just to add that hip/knee problems can also lead to muscle wastage in the effected limb.

Thank you for all the replies. I was just a bit concerned that the official diagnosis was muscle wastage and nothing could be done :? You would think there would be a little more to it than that!

Hugo's There said:

Thank you for all the replies. I was just a bit concerned that the official diagnosis was muscle wastage and nothing could be done :? You would think there would be a little more to it than that!

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I was under the impression that muscle wastage was normally the result of another problem and dependan on that problem you may be able to help rebuild some strenght and condition in the leg? :?

Sooz said:

I was under the impression that muscle wastage was normally the result of another problem and dependan on that problem you may be able to help rebuild some strenght and condition in the leg? :?

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Thats exactly what I was thinking :?

Apologies first and foremost for pulling up a post from so long ago But this is exactly whats happened to my Jazz bun, right down to the diagnosis. I know he has had no injury as I have had him since he was young (from a petshop where he looked so sad in a tiny glass cage) He seems to be going from being ok ish, just a bit stiff looking on his back legs - like he's holding his knees together to his left leg seeming to have no control at all - which is very distressing to see and is breaking my heart.

Was there any joy with this bun or any of the other ones you guys spoke about? or is it a case of making his life comfy and easy until he tells me he's had enough

Clare-uk said:

Apologies first and foremost for pulling up a post from so long ago But this is exactly whats happened to my Jazz bun, right down to the diagnosis. I know he has had no injury as I have had him since he was young (from a petshop where he looked so sad in a tiny glass cage) He seems to be going from being ok ish, just a bit stiff looking on his back legs - like he's holding his knees together to his left leg seeming to have no control at all - which is very distressing to see and is breaking my heart.

Was there any joy with this bun or any of the other ones you guys spoke about? or is it a case of making his life comfy and easy until he tells me he's had enough

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Has he had a definitive diagnosis for the muscle wastage ? Spinal Xrays ? Blood tests ?

Is he on any anti-inflammatory analgesia and maybe physiotherapy ?

Well I thought he had. But no bloods or xray done?! She said she could feel no thickening - which suggests its not arthritis. She did all the usual, ears, eyes, teeth, claws and bum checks and could find nothing else. Then she said he had lost muscle around that leg and that it was probably just age related (as he'll be 9 in April). She also said she didn't feel xrays etc would show anything and wasn't worth putting him through that amount of diagnosis because he is a very stressed rabbit and it would probably show nothing. She also spoke of a friend who had just gone through the same with her rabbit and said she had hers tested for everything and they all came to nothing.

To be honest I felt assured by her, she seemed to be making sense, and had said he isn't showing signs of pain. He's been put on metacam which he is taking with a small piece of mashed banana. I tried to medicate him direct but he could very upset by it and now hides from me until I say all done, which means I'm not going to try and pick him up anymore! I offered it to him direct but he wasn't interested (though the girls sniffed it on me and tried to eat my top)

The thing is Jane, I'm scared of vets when it comes to rabbits. They really don't seem as on the ball as they are with other pets. The vets I used this time for Jazz were the savvy ones I found when getting the girls spayed. When I took them for a check at my usual vets they said it was a highly dangerous and unnecessary operation and that two girls will always fight and should just be separated - and they are a vets listed on the rabbit savvy list

I know I can't have him forever, and thats not what I'm trying to do. All I want is for him to be comfortable and happy.

Clare-uk said:

Apologies first and foremost for pulling up a post from so long ago But this is exactly whats happened to my Jazz bun, right down to the diagnosis. I know he has had no injury as I have had him since he was young (from a petshop where he looked so sad in a tiny glass cage) He seems to be going from being ok ish, just a bit stiff looking on his back legs - like he's holding his knees together to his left leg seeming to have no control at all - which is very distressing to see and is breaking my heart.

Was there any joy with this bun or any of the other ones you guys spoke about? or is it a case of making his life comfy and easy until he tells me he's had enough

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I have had a rabbit with muscle wastage Clare, and it was treated with injections of anabolic steroids. They have been shown to work well for building up muscle and preventing muscle atrophy x

MightyMax said:

I have had a rabbit with muscle wastage Clare, and it was treated with injections of anabolic steroids. They have been shown to work well for building up muscle and preventing muscle atrophy x

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Thank you for this. I think I will phone and discuss this as an option