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Should bunny be allowed to play a bit with possible broken leg?

leahb

leahb

Young Bun
Hello everyone!

My second question today!

Basically I posted earlier as my bunny has a potential broken leg (been to vet today and needs to go back on wed for further xray etc before we know for sure)

Anyway hes on painkillers now, and is ridiculously perky and wanting to play. I only opened his cage to sit with him and keep him company for the evening and turned my back for a second and hes jumped out and run upstairs to my room.

Now I'm happy for him to play quietly and I well supervise closely to ensure no jumping on things etc, but will he be ok doing this? I dont want him to get down or lonely...but don't want him to damage anything further either. Hes doing very well at keeping his bad leg off the floor and only using his good leg, but would appreciate some advice as I dint want to do the wrong thing...

Huge thanks!

Leah
 
I think you do need to keep him confined for the 48 hours I am afraid. Being cruel to be kind

I would give him some 'safe' things to chew and spend time sitting with him.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
I think you do need to keep him confined for the 48 hours I am afraid. Being cruel to be kind

I would give him some 'safe' things to chew and spend time sitting with him.
Click to expand...

Thank you. At the minute hes not doing anything really just laid out on my floor relaxing.

I might leave him be for now as hes not really doing anything and I can keep my eye on him. He just likes the company. If he starts to run around at all I'll make sure he goes back into his cage...

If you really think I'm making the wrong choice though please speak up as I really value everyones opinions :)

Xxx
 
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I think in a dog or a cat, or another predatory species, it'd probably be okay to give them a little more freedom as they'd know their limits and hopefully stop when it got too sore. However, rabbits are prey species and actively try to hide their injuries. Chances are he could be showing off to you in order to fool you into thinking he's okay - to the potential detriment of his possible broken leg. I know all too well how they can appear to be fine but are actually poorly (my bunny has a tooth root abscess and would eat perfectly fine when I was in the shed, but drop the food as soon as I left. I only found this out after she'd lost well over a third of her body weight and I figured she must not have been finishing the veg that she'd be begging me for like usual. I literally had to walk off and sneak back without shoes on to see her dropping the food and hunching up all sad). It sounds weird that they'd want to hide it from you as you're not a predator, but it's just the natural instincts of the bunny. They hide their injuries from warren members too to avoid problems where other bunnies might want to fight it and throw it out of the warren.

It would be best to keep bunny in a small area so he can't over stretch his injured leg as the break could become much worse with overuse. Do you have a cardboard box you can give him? He'd probably love stripping the walls of the paper. It keeps him occupied but limits his movement. Just make sure he's not actually eating any of it! And as Jacks Jane said, toys are a great way to give the poor boy something to do!

EDIT: I mean, it's not like you're being cruel to him for allowing him to run around if he's careful. However, it probably is best to keep him in, and furthermore it should speed up the recovery of whatever injury he has if he's had 2 days of cage time already.
 
yaretzi said:
I think in a dog or a cat, or another predatory species, it'd probably be okay to give them a little more freedom as they'd know their limits and hopefully stop when it got too sore. However, rabbits are prey species and actively try to hide their injuries. Chances are he could be showing off to you in order to fool you into thinking he's okay - to the potential detriment of his possible broken leg. I know all too well how they can appear to be fine but are actually poorly (my bunny has a tooth root abscess and would eat perfectly fine when I was in the shed, but drop the food as soon as I left. I only found this out after she'd lost well over a third of her body weight and I figured she must not have been finishing the veg that she'd be begging me for like usual. I literally had to walk off and sneak back without shoes on to see her dropping the food and hunching up all sad). It sounds weird that they'd want to hide it from you as you're not a predator, but it's just the natural instincts of the bunny. They hide their injuries from warren members too to avoid problems where other bunnies might want to fight it and throw it out of the warren.

It would be best to keep bunny in a small area so he can't over stretch his injured leg as the break could become much worse with overuse. Do you have a cardboard box you can give him? He'd probably love stripping the walls of the paper. It keeps him occupied but limits his movement. Just make sure he's not actually eating any of it! And as Jacks Jane said, toys are a great way to give the poor boy something to do!

EDIT: I mean, it's not like you're being cruel to him for allowing him to run around if he's careful. However, it probably is best to keep him in, and furthermore it should speed up the recovery of whatever injury he has if he's had 2 days of cage time already.
Click to expand...

Thank you...from what both of you have said (and the fact he was starting to get too playful for my liking!) I've made his cage half the size and moved it into my bedroom so he can stay with me and I can keep a close eye on him in case theres any problems. Thank you for your help xxx
 
leahb said:
Thank you...from what both of you have said (and the fact he was starting to get too playful for my liking!) I've made his cage half the size and moved it into my bedroom so he can stay with me and I can keep a close eye on him in case theres any problems. Thank you for your help xxx
Click to expand...

No problem :) It's probably for the best, but he might be a little bit miffed at you! Will you update us and let us know whether it's broken or 'just' ligament damage or something?
 
yaretzi said:
No problem :) It's probably for the best, but he might be a little bit miffed at you! Will you update us and let us know whether it's broken or 'just' ligament damage or something?
Click to expand...

Of course I will :) its so lovely how many people really care on these forums, I'm really impressed and touched by it!

Hes TOTALLY miffed at me! I wish someone who speaks bunny could explain to him he might have a broken leg, as I dont think hes realised yet!
 
leahb said:
Of course I will :) its so lovely how many people really care on these forums, I'm really impressed and touched by it!

Hes TOTALLY miffed at me! I wish someone who speaks bunny could explain to him he might have a broken leg, as I dont think hes realised yet!
Click to expand...

Yay! It's horrible to occasionally wonder what ever happened to that bunny with the *something*!

Haha, I bet! No animal does tantrums quite like bunnies, I find!
 
Bunnys going to be ok! :-D

Hey there everyone

Just wanted to let you all know, alfie had his xrays today and hes got the all clear!

His leg isn't broken or fractured! He has got a really bad sprain though that is going to take at least a month to get him back to rights.

Hes on daily meds for the pain, and vet checkup in a fortnight. Hes got to have fully supervised play (to make sure it stays gentle...thats going to be fun trying to keep him getting too excited hehe) and stay in his cage most of the time to try limit movement.

I feel a bit mean caging him but its for the best and its only a month for the sake a long happy healthy life, so its going to be well worth it (despite his protests!).

Theres a chance he might not be able to hop as high or run as fast in the future but I've got my baby back!

I'm so so happy, and would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone on here for genuinely caring and being so lovely, supportive and helpful. Its been very much appreciated!

Lots of love

Leah and alfie xx
 
leahb said:
Hey there everyone

Just wanted to let you all know, alfie had his xrays today and hes got the all clear!

His leg isn't broken or fractured! He has got a really bad sprain though that is going to take at least a month to get him back to rights.

Hes on daily meds for the pain, and vet checkup in a fortnight. Hes got to have fully supervised play (to make sure it stays gentle...thats going to be fun trying to keep him getting too excited hehe) and stay in his cage most of the time to try limit movement.

I feel a bit mean caging him but its for the best and its only a month for the sake a long happy healthy life, so its going to be well worth it (despite his protests!).

Theres a chance he might not be able to hop as high or run as fast in the future but I've got my baby back!

I'm so so happy, and would like to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone on here for genuinely caring and being so lovely, supportive and helpful. Its been very much appreciated!

Lots of love

Leah and alfie xx
Click to expand...

Great news! Although I doubt Alfie would agree if he knew he had a month of cage rest coming up :lol:!
 
yaretzi said:
Great news! Although I doubt Alfie would agree if he knew he had a month of cage rest coming up :lol:!
Click to expand...

Hehe I know, hes already protesting a bit and hes sleepy still from his earlier anaesthetic! Going to be interesting when he fully comes round!

Its going to be a looooong month haha. Worth it though to have him fit and well again!

Xx
 
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