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  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

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Could be saying goodbye tomorrow...

Got home today to find my beautiful baby bunny dragging his back legs around in the cage, he was fine last night. so I rushed him to the vets and she thinks he's been a little over active in his cage, bashed or flipped against something and damaged his spine. He has had an anti inflammatory and morphine injection and has been sent home for me to watch over tonight, and has to go back for an x-ray first thing. There could have been some hope if he was showing a small sign of feeling in his back legs, but seeing as when she clamped between all of his toes he didn't even flinch, we were told it's not looking good.

I have him here in a blanket on my lap as I have to keep him warm, and he is desperately trying to stand which is just breaking my heart to see. Hoping for an improvement over night or it looks like we'll be saying goodbye tomorrow.

I was hoping to come up with a new name as we've recently found he's gone from what we thought was a she to a he, but I can't bring myself to start calling him something else right now, he's my baby Pixie and I love him xxxx
 
Oh no :(

A lot of people on here have had experience with buns with this sort of thing, many lived long happylives even without movement in their back legs, even if there is no improvement I'm not sure that means that pts is the only option. I hope someone with more experience than me sees this and can help you :(
 
the vet said that would be the option if the x-ray didn't show good news, but maybe theyre just saying that as its an easy way out? or maybe I'm just being too hopeful. I really hope that someone can suggest something else too, I'll seriously be heart broken
 
I hope something can be done for your bunny, keep us posted, i will keep everything crossed for your bunny xxxx
 
Oh I'm sorry.

There are several examples of bunnies on this forum who have lived well with damaged spines. A Girl Called Trevor is the one who springs to mind most readily. Bless her heart she's at the bridge now but Hugo's There did a brilliant job with her whilst she was at Rainbow Rabbits and she was a happy and wonderful bunny until she crossed over to the bridge.
 
i'll absolutely not give up on him if I don't have to :) he's scaring me hes leaning against me very still and lethargic. Do you think hes just going to take a nap or something worse?
 
i'll absolutely not give up on him if I don't have to :) he's scaring me hes leaning against me very still and lethargic. Do you think hes just going to take a nap or something worse?

If he has had morphine he will be away with the fairies til it wears off. This usually takes about 4-6 hours

You need to make sure he is warm enough as the Morphine will lower his BP and he may struggle to maintain his body temperature. It is also important that he eats a little overnight. So if he shows no interest in food by about midnight you will need to syringe feed him. Only do this if he is more alert though. If you try to do it when he is still very drowsy he may aspirate it.
 
yeah hes sitting on me wrapped in a blanket so I wont let him get cold :) he's just had some water but not eaten as yet, will keep trying though. what do you suggest I syringe feed him if he wont eat by then? i'm new to all of this :oops:
 
yeah hes sitting on me wrapped in a blanket so I wont let him get cold :) he's just had some water but not eaten as yet, will keep trying though. what do you suggest I syringe feed him if he wont eat by then? i'm new to all of this :oops:

Do you have any 1ml syringes ?

If not, then you will just have to try to tempt him to eat for himself. If he has not eaten overnight it is very important that you make the Vet aware of this. He/she is likely to want to give him some syringe feeds and possibly some gut motility medication for a few hours BEFORE sedating him for the Xrays.
 
yeah hes sitting on me wrapped in a blanket so I wont let him get cold :) he's just had some water but not eaten as yet, will keep trying though. what do you suggest I syringe feed him if he wont eat by then? i'm new to all of this :oops:

You can syringe him his pellets but mush them up with water, or critical care if you have any recovery food. If he won't eat that you could try vegetable or fruit only baby food (Ellas Kitchen range is good) but I would try his own food first.
 
Thank you :) I really do appreciate all of your help and advice, Looking forward to a long night ahead now, but will be good practice for when our baby arrives in a couple of months I suppose!!
 
We fed Malteser every 2 hours. Have they ruled out EC? You can place a hot water bottle under a carrier to keep warm over night. I would be tempted to give it some time. Malteser wanted to walk for a fair bit before he was able to. His wa EC and nerve damage. He stil wwouldn't pass the test where they find the table at the vets when you rub the top of the paw on the egde but he can run, jump and binky! Good luck.
I f you need any help on housing you can pm me anytime xx
 
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