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Splayed front legs

A

abbymarysmokey

Wise Old Thumper
Anyone else got a bun with front legs that splay outwards and walk on the sides of their feet or ankle bone?

Meg's splay legs are getting worse. The vet warned that this would happen because the muscles/tendons tend to tighten up and make the condition worse over time.

The vet can't give us a timescale as to fast it will progress because she's seen cases where the rabbit has remained mobile and healthy for years, and at the other end of the scale has seen it progress so quickly that the rabbit developed sores and lost mobilty and had to be pts within 6 months.

We suspect that Meg was probably born with the condition. She's still quite young (probably between 1-2 years old) and is a big girl at 3.5kg, which probably doesn't help her condition.
 
Moses had one splayed leg but he was an old bun and it was caused by an injury rather than congenital. Angel has deformed front legs but they go inwards and have caused her no problems for 6 years. All our hind splayed leg bunnies have had very short lives,none living more than two years :(

Sorry thats probably not much help
 
Hugo's There said:
Moses had one splayed leg but he was an old bun and it was caused by an injury rather than congenital. Angel has deformed front legs but they go inwards and have caused her no problems for 6 years. All our hind splayed leg bunnies have had very short lives,none living more than two years :(

Sorry thats probably not much help
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Thnaks for the reply Liz :)

I've also noticed that buns who have front legs that go inwards don't seem to suffer any ill effects...our Pudding has rounded front legs and toes that point inwards like a cartoon bulldog, but you'd never know she had a deformity by the way she moves around.

I wonder if there is much difference between splayed front and hind legs in terms of mobility and life span?
 
I have no idea. With splayed back legs the spine starts to curve which eventually compresses the chest cavity. As the chest is so small for a bunny any decrease in its size can lead to breathing issues. Also if they have an obvious congenital problem on the outside often there is a lot more going on on the inside which isn't always easy to detect :?
 
My long term foster bun Bigwig has really bad back legs, that splay out badly. He is nearly 4kgs!. I have had him a year and he has recently started having problems with his back end getting/staying wet. He has been started on Loxicom as I/vet think he is starting to feel discomfort. I suspect he will be on this for the rest of his life now. However he is very happy and manages. He can hop (of a fashion). His history isn't known.
 
Sorry to hear about Bigwig's problem. How old is he? Do you think it's a congenital problem or an old injury like Liz's bun?
 
What flooring do people use for splag leg buns?

I'd like to keep Meg on vet bed, but she eats it, so I swapped her to newspaper with a thick layer of hay on top instead....she has the most fabulous big golden poops with all that hay to eat. lol!
 
abbymarysmokey said:
Sorry to hear about Bigwig's problem. How old is he? Do you think it's a congenital problem or an old injury like Liz's bun?
Click to expand...

I don't know how old. He was adopted for a fair few months and then returned as he badly bit his owner. I think she must have handled him roughly as he has never tried to bite me , but likes being held a certain way (because of his legs). I think it's congenital as both back legs are affected. His feet twist out and around.

His hutch has lino and paper/hay. It also has a Poundland pet bed in it. His run is part earth, part paving slabs. His favourite thing is a plastic dog bed with another pet bed. He will sit in that for hours :).
 
Bigwig-1.jpg


Here is Bigwig. Hope you can see how the back leg is affected as that is the bottom of the foot you can see, and that's how it always is. His front feet also point in.
 
I've got a bunny with splayed front legs, they are getting worse, he is only 3 and it's such a shame
 
abbymarysmokey said:
What flooring do people use for splag leg buns?

I'd like to keep Meg on vet bed, but she eats it, so I swapped her to newspaper with a thick layer of hay on top instead....she has the most fabulous big golden poops with all that hay to eat. lol!
Click to expand...

We used vetbed too and as they were all houserabbits they were free ranging in the house on carpet with no problems. But in our new indoor housing we have put in stable matting specifically for bunnies with mobility problems and it is amazing :D
 
If a bunny otherwise is in good health...are there surgery options ? like kids who have ops for their legs etc:?
 
chelle said:
If a bunny otherwise is in good health...are there surgery options ? like kids who have ops for their legs etc:?
Click to expand...

For ours there wasn't as either bone was missing or/and there were bone where there shouldn't be, along with curves in the spine
 
My old girl Rosie had that quite bad, she was an older bun, about 6.5yrs when it started, and it got too much for her just before her 8th birthday. The vet said it was no longer fair to keep her going when she couldn't move.

Rosie by Niseag, on Flickr

Her back legs started to go about 2 weeks before she was PTS.

043 copy by Niseag, on Flickr
 
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