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Partialy Disabled mini lop

L

leedspaddy

New Kit
We have a 12 week old beautiful cheeky mini lop (Stu) , all was well till Sunday eve when we noticed he was dragging a back paw, we got him to the vets Monday and was told he potential has spinal issues, he is booked in for a MIR on Friday so we will know more then, however as he is dragging his back end he is constantly gathering droppings at his rear end, he is been cleaned every couple of hours but he hates it. would it be OK/ advisable to trim the fur on his back end to minimize the distress to him when we are cleaning him. I have been baby wiping him every time he has a clump but he is a smelly lil man now and i think we are going to have to bath him (we have rabbit shampoo) so if its OK to trim him would it be best to do it wet or dry.

Despite his legs dragging he is still a jolly happy little fella and fingers crossed its not a permanent thing, but what ever happens so long as he is happy with us we will be paying to get him through whatever he needs.

Thanks

Paddy
 
It'll be better to trim him if you can do so safely than to wash him. Rabbit fur takes a long time to dry and the wash will be stressful for him. When Mini got very mucky I actually found it better to use toilet tissue to clean the area than to get it wet.

You say he is gathering droppings, I assume you mean his cecotrophes rather than dry pelleted poos? If they are properly formed it might be helpful to feed these back to him as they contain a lot of nutrients. Is he passing proper poos as well as the stickier cecotrophes?
 
I think trimming him would be a good idea. Just be careful because rabbits have very loose skin and it's easy to catch the skin if you're not careful. I managed to do this once. :(
I also agree with trying not to bath him if you can at all help it. Rabbits really don't like it, but obviously if he gets too bad it might be necessary.

The other thing I wanted to say was has you vet spoken to you about EC? This can cause paralysis, quite often in the back legs and can usually be treated fairly successfully. I don't know too much about it but maybe another member can give some more details.
 
Thanks Guys,

EC has and is been discussed, we have him on various treatments at the moment, as it could be any number of things, And its his cecals that are sticking too him, He has been offered these but is not too intessted at the moment. Like i say he is his normal chipper self other than dragging his back legs.
 
leedspaddy said:
Thanks Guys,

EC has and is been discussed, we have him on various treatments at the moment, as it could be any number of things, And its his cecals that are sticking too him, He has been offered these but is not too intessted at the moment. Like i say he is his normal chipper self other than dragging his back legs.
Click to expand...

If you've tried him on antibiotics that often makes the cecals taste awful apparently.
As long as he's eating a lot of hay that should keep his gut moving.
I hope you get to the bottom of it. :wave:
 
well its been a long while but after i posted the original thread i discovered poor Stu had a break in his back. sounds horrific but the lil guy trooped on, he has slowly got better and is now as good as he was before whatever happened, happened. the vet been pretty amazed but we can only put it down to his been a youngster his left brain right brian has kicked in and he is now running around as mad as ever.

thanks for the help guys
 
I didn't see the post originally but just seen your update. That's great news. So pleased for you all.

Rabbits are amazing aren't they how they deal with everything. Photos please!
 
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