Rabbit Limping & strange flap of skin

Hi

I was just wondering if anyone had come across anything similar to this before.

About 3 weeks ago my 5 year old Dwarf Lop Harvey began limping and holding his front paw all crooked. We took him to the vets who checked him over and thought he had possibly broken a small bone in his foot. We got metacam for him plus some Fibroxymis(?) or somthing to help his gut and make him eat as he was off his food. He didn't really eat much at all for 2 weeks except for carrots which he loves. Consequently he has lost a fair bit of weight. Thankfully last week he seems to have got his appetite back and is tucking in to his food again. His drinking is normal and poops are normal.

However, whilst the foot seems a little better and is no longer bent, he will only walk on it for a little while and then just wants to lie down. He flicks it and washes it quite a lot and is not keen on me touching it.

Today I have noticed that his skin has grown at the top of the leg and looks a bit like a dewlap which you normally see under a female bunnies chin, only this seems to be over his poorly leg. It doesn't hurt him and I can't feel anything in it, it just seems to be extra skin.

I will be taking him back to the vets this week but just wondered if anyone had any ideas or had come across anything similar.

Thanks, Michelle

I'm not sure what this is at all but I'm bumping this post up so hopefully someone may have an answer for you.

Bump.

Anyone any advice for new kit mishmash94 please.

Did the vet run some Xrays? Are they certain it is his lower leg or foot that is injured and not higher up? Does he have any sores on the sole of his foot?
Is it just skin at the top of his leg or is it thicker - as if it were fatty like a dewlap normally feels?
Where does he not like you to touch it?
How is his eating and gut motility now? Some people find porridge oats helpful for weight gain in a poorly bun. Have you tried offering him some fresh herbs, dandelions etc... to encourage his appetite?
Is he able to move around on his foot normally? or does he still limp?

The 'skin flap' may be due to muscle wastage caused by him not using the leg.

Jack's-Jane said:

The 'skin flap' may be due to muscle wastage caused by him not using the leg.

Click to expand...

Yep id agree i see this in dogs too

Hi

Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it. What you said about muscle wastage makes a lot of sense as we were told to restrict his movements and not let him run around like usual. Therefore, he has been in his hutch for 3 weeks without much exercise, just a daily cuddle. However, wouldn't he get muscle wastage on other legs too if he isn't using any of them like normal, or would this only happen on the poorly one?

The flap of skin is just skin I think, there doesn't seem to be much thickness to it and it certainly doesn't feel fatty like a normal dewlap.

The vet didn't do any x-rays as they said even if a bone was broken there wasn't much they could do and it would just have to heal by itself. I am still not 100% sure whether it is his foot rather then his leg, however, he is quite happy for me to touch his leg and stretch it out feeling for any problems. He doesn't like it though when I touch either the top or the underside of his foot.

I also found a sore on his back foot today which is on the same side as his poorly front foot. Not sure if this is related but he has never had anything like this in the 5 years I have had him. The sore was healing and scabbing over.

He will move around on his foot normally when I put him down on the floor but only for a couple of minutes then he lies down as he is obviously feeling discomfort. I saw him try to wash his opposite side today and he toppled over as he can't put weight on that foot.

The only other thing that's unusual is that since he was tiny he has always used his bed as a toilet and slept in the other side. Now he is spending 90% of the day in his bed and using the food side as a toilet. I just assumed he feels happier in his bed as it is quiet and sheltered and he has moved his toilet so that he is not sitting in it all day.

As far as his eating goes, thankfully he is now eating well, eating his pellets, carrotts, grass, etc and is starting to put some weight back on. Always had problems with him not eating much hay despite trying different types, so still working on that.

Really appreciate your advice. Thanks.