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anyone had/got a rabbit with 3 legs

mini lop1

Wise Old Thumper
was reading about a bunny and wondering if they would have any extra risks of say arthiritis or similar in older age and any extra care like would he need the owner to clean the ear on that side where he has no back leg , he had his back leg removed few years ago, as far as I know, just so I can advise them as he isn't insured by sounds of it he is about maybe 6 years old
 
I haven't got a bunny with three legs however when Storm broke his hind leg the vet said it was a real possibility that he could loss his leg. The owner would almost definitely need to clean the ear, as well as the bum area as the bunny would struggle to eat their poos,meaning they could get messy bums. My vet also said that urine scald is quite common because they often pee on the remaining leg. I'm not sure about arthritis but that would make sense as the remaining leg would be compensating and have to hold more weight, which reminds me that sock hocks are also likely to occur.

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I don't remember the vet saying anything like that but she didn't go into much detail because it wasn't something I needed to think about unless the leg couldn't be saved.

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I have had a bun with three legs - and Talya (Kavanna) on here has one at present.

They do need help cleaning the ear and also need checks to make sure spinal curvature doesnt develop.
Mine did not have trouble with poo or pee and Talya's bun (Toby) certainly doesnt.
 
Echo what twigs says. It does also depend which leg it is. I have one bun who lost a front leg and you'd never know she was missing anything but Toby is missing a rear leg and has a curved spine. He needs low entry litter trays and I clean his ear. He keeps his bottom clean and can reach to get caecotrophs :)
 
My tripod bun is missing a front leg. He is about 6 yo now. He has slowed down a little in the last year. Since losing his companion at the end of last year, it has been really noticeable that he has problems grooming properly - she must have done a lot for him. He also has some balance issues as he tries to do everything a standard bunny does and then finds that he can't. We have to be right behind him when he goes up stairs as he has a tendency to fall over backwards as his back legs go faster than his front one can keep up with. We have also had to adapt his outside area so that he can get up more easily when he lies down as he sometimes gets stuck on one side. He also finds it awkward to lie on my lap while I groom him as he needs extra support on one side to be comfortable. The hay in his litter tray is arranged like a donut so he can sit comfortably in the middle and rest his chest on the higher edges.

Other than that, you wouldn't know he was a tripod. A vet nurse only realised when she tried to turn him over during his dental in December - but he is black and very fluffy, so it isn't obvious. Our problem now is that he could really do with a bunny friend but he is now more fragile and may not cope with any lively bunny antics without risk to his overall mobility so it isn't an easy call. You have to adjust to the individual needs of the rabbit - but it's not a big deal.
 
I had Harry who had to have his hind leg amputated after her sustained a compound fracture when he was about 6 months of age. The only help he needed in cleaning himself was with the ear on the same side as the missing hind limb. A hind leg amputee can be prone to gunky ears and if these are not carefully managed ear infections can occur. Overall Harry did very well for about 7 years. But he did develop arthritis in the hip of his remaining hind leg and he also developed arthritis in his spine. His pain was very well controlled for about a year on first just Metacam , then he needed Tramadol, Massage and Acupuncture too. As he became less active he also needed his bladder expressing every few days. Otherwise a lot of calcium sediment built up and that would lead to bladder sludge/bladder infections. We had to let him go when he was about 8 due to medication no longer controlling his arthritic pain.

I had another Bunny, Cerys, who was missing half of a front leg. Her Mother over-groomed her when Cerys was still in the nest. Cerys never had any problems with her limbs or spine and she lived to be about 8 too.
 
I had Harry who had to have his hind leg amputated after her sustained a compound fracture when he was about 6 months of age. The only help he needed in cleaning himself was with the ear on the same side as the missing hind limb. A hind leg amputee can be prone to gunky ears and if these are not carefully managed ear infections can occur. Overall Harry did very well for about 7 years. But he did develop arthritis in the hip of his remaining hind leg and he also developed arthritis in his spine. His pain was very well controlled for about a year on first just Metacam , then he needed Tramadol, Massage and Acupuncture too. As he became less active he also needed his bladder expressing every few days. Otherwise a lot of calcium sediment built up and that would lead to bladder sludge/bladder infections. We had to let him go when he was about 8 due to medication no longer controlling his arthritic pain.

I had another Bunny, Cerys, who was missing half of a front leg. Her Mother over-groomed her when Cerys was still in the nest. Cerys never had any problems with her limbs or spine and she lived to be about 8 too.

thanks jane,, he is a dwarf lop as well so will defo need help with his ears, its good to get information from others who have had bunnies similar, so that I can pass on the advice :)
 
My bridge bun Bobby had 3 legs, not sure what happened as was a rescue bun, with a front leg amputated. He sometimes had a bit of a balance problem, but generally he was ok, managed to get up and down our stairs! His partner Rosie used to groom him a lot, but to groom himself he used to use our coffee table to balance on and he seemed ok x
 
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