Possible injury?

Hi everyone.

Im a bit worried...my rabbit (whos now 7) tonight freaked out...a lot! I went to take her into the house for playtime as i usually do, and she jumped out of my arms before i even shut the shed! She ran around the garden like a nutter, more so than usual, but i didnt think too much of it, as sometimes she tries to jump out when she really wants a run. I got her inside, and thats when i started to worry...She ran around more than usual again! When she finally sat down, which is when i stroke her, she let me stroke her front end as normal, but as soon as i got nearer her back she freaked! She kept running away, sometimes when i didnt even touch her, and thumping her back legs! She calmed down a bit and let me stroke her back later on, but wasnt comfortable, so i didnt push it. I couldnt feel anything, like dislocated or bumps etc.

Im not sure if she injured herself before i got her out, or when jumping out of my arms, or whether shes a bit freaked, as our male bunny made an escape yesterday while i had them all out (seperated by a pen), and tried to hump her, which could maybe why its her back end thats worrying her.

Im more worried as a few months ago, her right front paw became paraylised (for no apparent reason), she held it up, the vets did tests and no feeling even in the deep nerve, took xrays etc but nothing. They have her a course of metacam thinking it could have been a slipped disc that corrected itself but had hurt the nerve. After a wekk she started using her paw, and the vet took her off the metacam after a month or so, and shes been off it for 6 weeks. She can walk on it fine, but the lower part still has no feeling, and she cant clean herself with it. The vet doesnt want to amputate it as its a major operation at her age, and at the moment, its not doing any harm, not being dragged, no cuts and no infections. But now her back doesnt seem right...im worried it could be related!

I was just wondering if people think i should take her to the vets tomorrow, or whether i should leave it a few days and take her friday if shes no better? She was running around fine, fast and straight, which does make me wonder if shes hurt herself as surely she wouldnt want to move? But with her past mystery illnesses (back in january she stopped eating, they couldnt find a reason but her liver and kidney functions were both DOUBLE what they should be, and then the paw thing) im thinking it could be something more..

Does anyone have any advice? Or can think of any questions i should ask the vet? My vets dont seem as experimental as everyone elses, they are reluctant to use pain relief in rabbits (apparently as it can put them off their food), and even when i asked for it they said no the first time for a different rabbit, the second time i insisted and hey presto, the bun was fine within 2 days, and started eating within 30 mins! They are certifidied for small and exotic pets though, the only one in my area, and other issues have been great, i think its hit and miss with what they know so how they treat it...So advice would be great so i can tell/ask the vets things! Thanks

Oh i forgot to mention, shes eating and drinking fine still, poos are normal, and went straight to her veg when i took her back down!

I'd definately take her to the Vets tomorrow

Where any other tests done last time ?

Yes. Please take her to a vet, today or tomorrow, she may be in pain. But not to a vet who thinks pain relief will 'put a rabbit off their food'....:evil:

Which time, for the not eating or the paw?

The not eating, they thought it was her teeth (shes a dental bun), but couldnt see much but did the op anyway and nothing, so sent blood samples off, they just told me it was elevated and to keep an eye on her, make sure she eats, that was it!

The paw, they did some kind of deep nerve test, and found there was no feeling, as i thought she hurt her paw at first the way she held it up. After that, they did an xray, and found no tumours, no broken bones, no slipped discs, no arm dislocation...other than the xray though they didnt do anything, the vet was a bit puzzled, i dont think she knew what else she could do. She just said it could ahve been a slipped disc that fixed itself, and that nerves on rabbits can take a while to heal, so gave the course of metacam as pain relief and an anti-anflammatory. She made me take her back after 2 weeks, and then again after about 4, and we weaned her off the metacam as no further improvement. The only thing she said is to keep an eye on it and if it gets worse theyd have to do more tests.

Up until now, shes been fine (its not got worse, she runs around as she always has), other than she cant groom with that paw, but that doesnt seem to be an issue as she can reach around.

Yesterday she was fine too, no problems runnign or being handled. It was just tonight...hich is why im HOPING its just my other bun thats freaked her out (hes about a quarter of her size as hes a mini lop young bun). Shes always been the 'dominant' one with other buns, non of the others have questioned it, until him, which is why i thought it could be nerves...

It is just her back end, no visable bumps, and when i had a quick feel nothing...The vets are going to LOVE me, recently im always there, bet i pay their salaries alone!lol.

This vet was recommended to me by a breeder, and we used it since we got this bunny, but it seems like theyre just trying new things on my buns (my younger female and her brother got a virus, he died within hours, she was stronger, but the vets didnt know which virus it was at that point, or even if it was a virus, so tried everything!)

If she was in pain, do you think she'd stop eating? Thats my main worry at the moment, after he teeth ops its a pain to get her eating, so last thing i want is her to stop overnight! But like i said, upto now she was eating and ate her veg...so fingers crossed!

lilbun said:

Yes. Please take her to a vet, today or tomorrow, she may be in pain. But not to a vet who thinks pain relief will 'put a rabbit off their food'....:evil:

Click to expand...

The vets are shut now, and its something ridiculous like £150 and thats before the consultation fee and any treatment to call out of hours! And as shes eating and she did run around seemily ok, i think it can wait until the morning.

Ill make an appointment first thing! the problem with the vets is we dont have that many around here, we have a few that treat cats and dogs and horses, but are rubbish with rabbits. I know years ago vets thought things like metacam and anastetic were bad on rabbits, so i guess its how they are taught, it was two seperate vets i saw, the first was one i dont normally get, the second one i do and she was the one who gave the injection. She said, so i dont know if this is true "pain relief in rabbits can affect their appetite, and as shes not eating it might make it worse", but i said how shes not eating anyway so theres nothing to be lost, and she agreed to it. Ill try and get her, at least if i insist she'll do it.

Is there anything in particular the vet should be doing, any particular tests or medicines? That way i have an idea of what to push if they dont do much! Thanks for your reply.

make sure the vet is a rabbit specialist.

They should check her over. They might want to do blood tests again, to check her kidney function before giving pain relief or an anaesthetic. They may also need to do xrays again to check for things like arthritis, fractures or narrowed disc space

How do i do that, do you just mean ask them while im there, or is there a website that lists it? I cant find where i found the info last time, it said something about being a small animal and exotic pet specalist if i remember correctly.

lilbun said:

They should check her over. They might want to do blood tests again, to check her kidney function before giving pain relief or an anaesthetic. They may also need to do xrays again to check for things like arthritis, fractures or narrowed disc space

Click to expand...

Thanks for that. I was planning on getting blood tests done again, after reading a few posts on here, i was gonna wait until her teeth needed doing again which should be soon, shes like clockwork!lol. But if im taking her in anyway it makes sense.

Iv took a bunny before that i *thought* had hurt herself, she was fine by the time we got to the vets, the vet put her down on the floor to see if she'd move, and it took us ages to catch her again!lol. So thats the reason im asking if i should do it now or leave it a few days, as i was really hoping itd be nothing. But i guess it is different with her, as she has had random unknown problems before, so i guess its better to be safe! I had not one problem with my bunnies until i got her, now they all seem to get ill for one reason or another!lol.

HCB said:

Thanks for that. I was planning on getting blood tests done again, after reading a few posts on here, i was gonna wait until her teeth needed doing again which should be soon, shes like clockwork!lol. But if im taking her in anyway it makes sense.

Iv took a bunny before that i *thought* had hurt herself, she was fine by the time we got to the vets, the vet put her down on the floor to see if she'd move, and it took us ages to catch her again!lol. So thats the reason im asking if i should do it now or leave it a few days, as i was really hoping itd be nothing. But i guess it is different with her, as she has had random unknown problems before, so i guess its better to be safe! I had not one problem with my bunnies until i got her, now they all seem to get ill for one reason or another!lol.

Click to expand...

Trouble with bunnies is they will try to mask pain as showing a weakness will ake then vulnerable to predators in the wild, so it is always best to get them checked to be on the safe side in these situations.
To find a good rabbit vet in your area you could become a member of the RWAF as they have a list of rabbit-savvy vets but if you start a thread asking for a rabbit vet in your area someone may be able to suggest one

Hi, just an update.

Iv got her booked in for the vets today at 3:10, there was some kind of emergency there this morning, so they were booked till later on. Because of the emergency i dont know which vet ill get, but they said theyll try and get me my usual one!

Thanks for the advice on finding the vet...ill check that out as soon as i can.

Theres definately something wrong,shes still eating and drinking thank god, but its whenever i go near her back, shes fine if i stroke her nose and front just past her shoulders, but when i get to about half way down thats it, runing away! Im not sure where her kidneys are, but i hope its not them! She REALLY freaked out when i picked her up today, hit her nose on her cage and theres a little scratch and fur missing now! So i left her in her cage, i dont want to stress her out more than i have to!

Anyway, Ill let you know what the vet says! And ill make sure they dont just pass it off as "old age" or something, surely it wouldnt come on that sudden if it was? Fine one day then suddenly like this?!

Ok, been to the vets.

As usual, she decided to act ok while there! typical!lol.

The vet checked her out, said theres no muscle loss from her upper body from the old paw injury. She checked her spine etc, said it SEEMS fine, its straight, no bumps, symetrical. She checked the flexibility of her legs, and said they were fine, so doesnt think its artheritus or anything like that. Checked her stomach etc and again fine.

Got to the very lower part of her back (with me the bunny freaked out my half way down, but it was further with the vet), then heavy breathing, bit of a scream (not quite as bad as a scream, but a noise a bit like it) and running away started! Its around her muscles rather than joints or organs, so COULD be a muscle wasting disease.

The vet took a blood test and will get back to me when she gets the results (i didnt even have to ask, she did it right away).

It was my regular vet this time, she seems to be great with the buns, and seemed to be doing what people on her suggested. The other vets i normally only see when my vet is off, or in an emergancy, i dont have time to be fussy then, it was a different vet who refused pain relief, my vet was away!

While i was there I asked about pain relief and why they didnt give it to the other bunny, and she said the reason they were wary of giving it to my other bunny was because she was so ill, underweight and young! She was only 8 weeks, severly ill and lost a lot of weight quickly. They thought it could kill her, thats why when she was in such a bad state they were willing to try it, as they were considering putting her to sleep, so it was worth a shot!

This bunny is on a week course of metacam for now, until we get the blood tests back. She said further tests may be needed such as an xray, but at this point she doesnt think its anything to do with her spine so said it makes sense to wait for these results. She did say something about she could have hurt herself somewhere else and the pains felt somewhere completely different to where she hurt, and that could be a slipped disc, which is what she susspected last time, but nothing showed up on the xray so she thought it could have corrected itself. Anyway, ill just have to wait for the results now and then the course of action! She had her metacam for the day when we got back, and i gave her extra veg, which she started munching as soon as she got into her cage!

I hope the vet is able to find out what is causing her pain and treat it sucessfully

Another update...no blood back yet, they said possibly today or monday.

I had to take her back yesterday however, as i saw blood in her urine as i was about to give her the dose of metacam.

I took her at half 5, i only saw it at 5, and had to have a different vet. As always, my bun decided not to show her symtoms while there, she did a little wee but it was fine! So i bet the vet thinks im being stupid/paranoid, but as soon as i saw blood i knew it wasnt good!

She said it could be cystitus (sorry i dont know how you spell it), in the bladder, so gave baytril. Personally, i think she didnt seem to know wtf she was doing, one min she said to stop the metacam as it could be that, and i said she has been on it before fine, and i only gave her wednesdays dose, so then she said keep her on it, then she was umming and arring about giving her baytril...

Im wondering if it could be her kidneys again? Would blood come out in her urine occasionaly if her kidneys were packing in? (iv got no idea about rabbits anatmomy, so this may be a stupid question), or is it more likely to be cystitus from her bladder? Thanks