• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • 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.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

serious advice needed ....disabled bun..UPDATE

bunnymadhouse

Wise Old Thumper
Hi everyone ,
im hoping especialy that the few people on here with disabled/poorly buns may read this . sorry if its a bit long will try not to ramble ...

A bun came to us last night . She has been incontinent but this is almost better . She has trouble getting around as she seems to have lost some use of her back legs . One of her legs is very swollen. Also her spine seems very strange , she is hunched right over . She did have slight head tilt but seems to have recovered from this .

She is on treatment already for e. cuniculi (by the owners vet) as this is what he suspected had caused some of the symptoms .
But she also had a stress full incident about 2 month ago when her hutch blew over and her illness started just after .

She is now with our experienced fosterer who has taken her to her own vet who has x rayed her to check for broken bones etc... No broken bones
our vet agrees she needs to carry on the treatment for e.cuniculi as this is prob to blame for most of the symptoms but she also thinks the poor bun has arthritus.(she is a decent vet who seems to know buns)
She is still at the vets and on a drip . vet wants to get pain under control before letting her home .

What i want to know is what you think about these symptoms ...we have our own ideas but would like to compare with others .
Also are there any particular drugs/treatments which might prove useful.

poor little dear is so bonny and friendly and we would love to get her so she has a reasonable quality of life .

Angie
 
Awwww bless her. Sounds like the Vets are well on her case. Could the swollen leg be Oedema due to lack of use and consequent reduced blood circulation? Regular 3-4 times daily physio could help to promote a better blood supply to the limb. Maybe a few doses of frusemide (diuretic) to shift the fluid in the first instance. Vet would be best to advise about that as it might not be appropriate if Bun is on NSAID pain relief.
I believe arthritis in the spine can cause the vertebrae to fuse causing spinal deformity. This could also effect the nerves leading to the back legs which might account for their weakness.
If the Vet can get buns pain well controlled starting gentle physio could be very beneficial.
Hopefully Jaypot will see this thread as she is the expert with disabled bunnies.
Janex
 
are there any animal chiropracters that would work on a bunny? i dont know if it is even possible on such a small animal?
sorry if its a silly idea.
 
Poor little darling :( Just because the x-rays showed no damage (which is a great thing) does not mean that there isn't any. She could have nerve damage which is actually harder to treat most times than a break or fracture :?
What medications has she been given? With Pimms, she came to us unable to walk and over on one side - read this thread http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=18637
Is the bun staying with the fosterer or is she going back to her original owners?
Is she on vet bed at all times for comfort and keeping her dry?
What is the little one's name and approx age? Does she need a home?
Whilst Pimms has recovered and can now hop about (albeit in a slightly strange way) another of our buns Holly is unable to walk or sit up - she is to the side as well but is happy and content as she is. Doing physio on her is fine but trying to get her to stand or hop is very distressing to her so as she is so happy as she is we are not pushing her :) Holly had all kinds of x-rays and nothing has shown up - but again, it could be nerve damage :? Having said that, she did have a siezure a couple of months ago and we are now wondering if she did in fact have some kind of bad siezure that has caused her inability to walk and sit up.
What is buns name? She must be ever so brave :D
Give her a huge cuddle from me and if she needs a home let me know :D
 
Meant to say - Pimms also had a swollen leg when she came to us - the reason we used the metacam was for it's anti-inflammatory properties rather than as a painkiller.
The swelling did subside with the initial course of metacam but came back when she was taken off it - since she had the second course of metacam and was slowly weaned off it there has been no swelling :D
I do hope this helps in some way.
 
Hi jaypot ,
had wondered about nerve damage myself. wondered if she could have been hurt when the hutch blew over. vet hasnt mentioned this though . will tell the fosterer to bring this up tommorow. :thumb:

i dont know what pain killers she is on as she is still at the vets but she is on a drip.

we havnt any vet bed , need to get some . (WHERE FROM??)

Our fosterer has named her Daisy and she is about 3 yrs old. Shes a small white lop with beautiful navy eyes.
She is not going back to her owner . She admitted she could not give her the care she needed . She will be with the fosterer at least untill june unless she decides to keep her longer (she has 8 buns already and a bit of experience with poorly buns but nothing this serious.)
 
we put her straight on metacam last night when she came to us to tide her over till got to vets today . i suspect vet will keep her on it but we ll see.

thanx
 
bunnymadhouse said:
we havnt any vet bed , need to get some . (WHERE FROM??)
If you need to get some quick, they sell a vetbed product (though not the 'original' in Argos, I've also seen it in Pets at Home and Wyevale, not sure if either of those are the original "vetbed" trademark stuff. The original stuff website is www.vetbed.co.uk, whenever I've ordered from them in the past it has turned up in maybe 2-3 days. The other stuff is still fine but nowhere near as fluffy or substantial as the original vetbed, I can imagine it wouldn't last as long, but would be fine in the interim and the stuff from Argos is fairly cheap. Good luck with the little bunny xx
 
Angie - I pass a pet shop every morning on my way to work that sells vet bed if you need some. Could swing by & get some if you stuck
 
There's an animal chiropractor here in Gloucestershire called Tony Nevin - you can find details if you google his name. He's supposed to be very good, but I think the bun would need to be in good health before he started treatment.

Anna x
 
update on this bun...
still at vets but seems more comfortable . Looks like metacam is doing its stuff .
home tommorow hopefully.

Angie
 
Oh I am so pleased to hear that she is improving :D :D
Poor wee Bun. Hopefully she is on the road to as full a recovery as possible.
Janex
 
bunnymadhouse said:
Angie65
have you any idea how much it is .

Angie

Err no! I basically saw it in the shop on Sat, & thought oo look Vet-bed - cos I haven't seen it anywhere else either. Hopefully, I am leaving at lunchtime today (Midland Hopper Group Honeybunny do tonight), so will call in & see.
 
thanx for your input everyone .

The bunny is doing ok . She is now home with the fosterer . She ll be staying there a good while i think :wink:

Angie
 
Back
Top