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My poor bunny.....Is it her back???

jyoti

New Kit
I went to their cages this morning, and I seen my poor Tao sitting half in half in her house, with one back leg out to the side. I called her over to me, she tried to turn around but she couldnt. I moved her from there as carefully as i could, and i put her on the floor to see if she could use her back leg at all, and it wasnt just the one she couldnt use it is both. She was perfectly fine last night when I put the bunnies to bed. Is there something I could do to fix her without the vet? Or if I need the vet, should I expect bad news? what kind? Thanks for any help...she's a female netherland dwarf, 7 mos. old if that matters. Her cage is large enough for her to run around in.....I'm wondering if she might have fallen off of her house and then tried to crawl inside :(
 
Oh dear, I am sorry to hear this :(
Don't panic too much as it may be a strain or something rather than something more serious like a break. You will need to go to the vets with her first thing and they should do x-rays to rule out any breaks. She could have twisted a nerve and got it trapped or anything like that.
Rabbits bones are extremely thin and when they are young they are even thinner - just jumping and playing can cause damage.
She may need a shot of antibiotics and a steriod and then cage rest for a while. Her surroundings will need to be safe and secure so that she can't hurt herself while she heals.
Is she eating, drinking and pooping alright?
A few weeks ago we had a bun brought to us that was going to be pts due to her having back leg problems - the vet had diagnosed Ec (wrongly) and she pulling herself around on her front legs and not using her back ones at all - she came to us and we put her on restricted exercise, on vet bed to keep her dry and she has come on in leaps and bounds :D
She's had a bit of a step backwards today and is dragging her back legs again but I'm not worried as this can happen when recovering.
Make sure that the vet x-rays your bun and bun shouldn't need to have to go under GA for that.
Let us know how she gets on - sending lots of healing and positive vibes to her - xxxxx
 
You really need to get her to a vet asap. There are a number of things it could be, but the vet will need to see her. Meanwhile make sure she is warm, and has food and water where she can reach it. It is too cold to leave her outside tonight, find her a box and bring her inside if she isn't in already.
 
Alright, I will call the bunny vet right now. She's an indoor rabbit, couldn't imagine making my bunnies live outside. Thanks guys.
 
*sighs*
Well, I had to leave her there overnight. The vet checked her out, she said there is no feeling at all in her back feet, but she couldn't feel a fracture. She said it could be nerve damage, in which case there is a 5-10% chance of her making it?
I don't know, I may have gotten mixed up with what she was saying, but what I got out of it was either way the bunny is either going to stay paralyzed, prolonging the inevitable, or she will need to be euthanized. She said she was going to do a 24 hr treatment, and if that doesn't do anything she will do an x-ray.....She said that the x-ray wont tell her anything unless it is bad news. I wanted to just do the x-ray, but my mom (who cant even remember if my bunny is a him or a her) Decided she didnt want to pay for the x-ray right now. Wish I had the money, I would spend any expense on my baby.
Vet was being pretty negative, saying either way there is a very low chance she will ever be back to normal. A low chance is still a chance....There's still hope for my bunny.
 
im so sorry to hear about your bunny hopefully she will be ok and will get back to normal
ive got my fingers crossed for her i hope she gets well soon :)
 
As you say - a low chance is still a chance, so of course there is hope for your bunnster.
Some vets are very negative, but I think it's just that they don't want you to get your hopes up that everything will be ok.

Hang on in there and try to keep your chin up - your bun needs you to do that.
xx
 
Please don't have bunny put to sleep :( There are chances that she can recover and also chances that she can adapt to any disability.
Can the vet let you pay off in instalments? Most vets do now as they know that people haven't got the money.
Just because there is no feeling in her feet does not mean that it will not come back - believe me, we have so many buns here that are disabled and they have adapted to life and love their lives and are happy.
If the vet will let you pay in instalments would your mum be willing to have the x-ray done? That is the most important thing to have done so that you can actually see if there is any damage to the bones.
Please, where abouts are you in the UK?
I would be willing to take bunny on and get the treatment for her - please show your mum our website - www.eboneyeyes.co.uk and she will see that most buns will adapt and that being disabled is not the end.
I am sending all the positive and healing vibes that I can - we are rooting for your little girl.
 
I really feel for you and yoou wee girlie :(

However please do not give up on her just yet - some vets are really quite negative and don't see the bigger picture. If you need inspiration on a happy bunny that has physical problems then look no further than Scoot. :D

Please do not do anything rash - or let your vet talk you into anything that you are not 100% happy about. Vets can be very set in their ways and often do not have much bunny experience especially with special needs bunnies :roll:

I am sure that if you need advice then Jay (under Jaypot) would be happy to advise you either in open forum or via pm. :D Jay has helped loads of bunnies and is a real expert in the field of special needs/disabled bunnies and I would imagine probably knows more about their needs and prognosis than many vets. :D I understand your mum may not be willing to spend lots of money cause x-rays etc can be costly - however please do chat to Jay. :D

We are all here for you and are keeping paws and fingers crossed.
:D
lol Pam
 
You can always get a second opinion from another vet. I have been to three vets since we moved here (18 months ago :shock: ) but I've now found one I'm happy with. Hope your little bunny is ok, and we're all here to help.
 
Judging by the time she took her to the vet she can't be in the UK. I think an international bunny run is beyond even this forum. - Or is it?

Must go - to the vets of course :roll:
 
I dont know if this is going to work. its just a stab in the dark. One of the users on my forums had the very same thing happen to there bunny.

They gave there bun "Tomato juice" and it was right as rain a few days later.

There full post off our forum is below:


the beginning of this week i found banjo lifeless in his pen. thinking the worse from the bad start in life i thought this bun was a goner.
he seemed bright eyed but couldn't move his body. it was like he was paralyzed.
made an appointment at the vets where i was given the worse news. that banjo must have received a fall and was paralyzed.and that there wasn't much the vet could do. apart from putting him to sleep.
i asked the vet to give me another 24hrs to see if there was any change then i would do the best thing for banjo. he gave me some painkillers and i took banjo home.
knowing that banjo hadn't done any thing to incur a n injury to that extent i sat and puzzled for a while.
i then looked in my rabbit lopaedia book that has helped me out several times. i must recommend this book as it is brill.
then i found this.
Quote:
floppy rabbit syndrome is seen in young rabbits that are suddenly found limp in the cage, unable to fell or move their hind legs.the condition responds to the administration of potassium

thought ah symptoms fit.
so read on
young rabbits (12-14 weeks of age ) are mostly affected there is sudden loss of feeling and movement in hind legs.
cause. an xray may be necessary to rule out any spinal trauma. potassium is necessary for the muscle movement and a lack of potassium can cause muscle weakness.
treatment tomato juice is an excellent source of potassium and can be given orally by syringe to the young rabbit. if not eating it should be forced fed to maintain a positive energy balance.high doses of corticosteroids may be given.

what did i have to lose. so i liquidized some tin tomatoes and fed banjo with the syringe. at first no improvement but after a couple of days. he began to move slowly at first then yesterday i went in to find him back on his feet.
he is now back to normal and running around like a loony.
the vet was gobsmacked to find that he was wrong and next time look for the impossible.
i thought this would perhaps help somebody in the future and that you can always give your buns some tomato juice as a tonic to prevent this.
I hope this helps, as it wont cause any harm its worth a go anyway :)
 
gosh that is sooo weird - I was chatty to Denny about this poor bunny and she suggested the same thing - I think that post came from Sue dickinson originally.

Yes it could be flopsy caused by lack of magnesium in which case give her tomatoes :D

lol Pam
 
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