Hi guys. I'm wondering if anyone out there can give me some advice. Our female house rabbit Deedee, about 4 years old, was splaying out her left hind leg so we took her to the vet. They x-rayed her and said she had arthritic changes in her hip and knee. They advised to give her metacam which we did and after a few days her mobility improved somewhat. However, then disaster struck. My husband was holding her as we were giving her meds but she managed to bite him, and jump out of his arms. Please don't ask me why we were doing this standing up, God knows I have asked myself this often enough. When we took her to the vet they gave her a full x-ray for which she had to be anaesthatized. The good news is that nothing is broken. However she is now dragging both her back legs around. She is in a restricted area so she can't try and jump anywhere and her husbun Fred is locked in the restricted space with her at night. She is being given Panacur to see if the original splay may have been caused by E Cuniculi. The vet doesn't seem too concerned at this stage as he reckons it is just soft tissue damage, but I am worried that she may not get full use of back of her hind legs - if at all. She has a great appetite still, and sits up whenever we come near her and still loves cuddles with Fred, but I am so worried.
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disabled bunny?
- Thread starter cazba99
- Start date
Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
Hello
I am sorry to hear of DeeDee's problems. If she has sustained soft tissue damage/nerve damage from the fall then it can take several weeks for things to significantly improve. If the initial hind leg problem was due to EC then it is not always possible for the Rabbit to fully regain use of their hind leg(s), but there may be some improvement.
Has you Vet suggested physiotherapy to try to minimise muscle wastage whilst DeeDee is so immobile ? Acupuncture can be useful too. Also, Rabbits who are immobile can develop problems with a build up of calcium deposits in the bladder-'bladder sludge'. Has you Vet explained this to you ?
DeeDee will need help with grooming and she will need her ears checking daily. Rabbits with hind leg weakness, for whatever reason, often get gunky ears.
Is DeeDee still having Metacam ?
These links may be useful to take a look at
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Differentials/paresis.htm
http://www.disabledrabbits.com/paralysis.html
I hope that DeeDee will show some signs of improvement xx
MightyMax
Banned
Hi cazba. I'm sorry to hear the news of Deedee. These things happen and it's no-one's fault.
Your vet may very well be right, and it's soft tissue damage. At four years old she has a good chance of her body healing up well and hopefully not taking too long before she feels better and wants to move around properly.
Metacam is a really good anti-inflammatory, and I am hoping your vet has given you a daily dose (or even twice daily) for Deedee? If she doesn't improve within a few days your vet may consider giving her a steroid injection to calm down the inflammation more quickly.
I wouldn't concern yourself about possible horror stories of if she won't get the use of her back legs for the moment. You have to remain positive and make sure she is safe and comfortable
My vet does acupuncture, and for situations as you've described it works incredibly well. Worth thinking about ...
I really hope all works out well. It's early days. Keep up with the Panacur - are both of them getting it?
Good luck xx
Thank you both so much for your encouragement. She is having both metacam and panacur. The vet hasn't mentioned anything about physio - as I say he doesn't seem overly concerned about the situation. However we would certainly want to try and engage a physiotherapist if there is one in our area. I don't want her to travel in her carrier any distance as she gets really stressed. As you say, I must stay positive and do as much as I can for her to keep her happy.
