Charlie fell off his shelf last night.

Charlie and Lavender live on our lounge, they have a dog crate with a shelf in it. Charlie was sitting around in his cage last night and somehow managed to fall off the shelf, he landed on his back and couldn't turn himself back over. I ran over and helped him get back upright. He dragged himself to the corner and was shaking. He's a VERY human friendly bun so I cuddled him to calm him down and the put him on the floor to see if he was moving OK. He was dragging his right leg behind him and his foot was sticking out at a right angle. He seemed very shaken and scooted off under the table, we got him and put him in his carry case to stop him moving around and hurting himself more.

Called the emergency vet and were there within 20 mins of it happening, took Charlie out of his box, put him on the floor so the vet could see how he was dragging his leg - Charlie hopped around like nothing had ever happened! :shock:

The vet examined him and said he was sure nothing was broken, Charlie didn't flinch at all so he doesn't think there are any fractures. The vet said perhaps he dislocated it and it went back in? He said he'd normally suggest an xray but beings as Charlie is 8 its better not to xray unless we absolutely have to (due to anaesthetic) so to bring him home and keep an eye on him. Steve stayed at home with him today and he's fine - hopping around, eating, pooing, demanding fuss, playing with Lavender etc etc. He's probably getting fed up of being hugged, fussed and kissed! :lol:

So, any ideas what happened? I'm keeping an eye open for limping or swelling, is there anything else I should check. At the first sign of anything out of the ordinary I'll call the vet in Crawley that xrays without anaesthetic.

YOur vet is crazy. It can't dislocated and went back in. You're kidding. Get another vet to do a thorough X-ray on the bones. Rabbits hides their injuries. My bun brokes her leg, she simply stop using it and didn't show any pain. But at surgery, the bone is wide open w/ a 2 - 3 mm gap crack.

Happy Hopping said:

YOur vet is crazy. It can't dislocated and went back in. You're kidding. Get another vet to do a thorough X-ray on the bones. Rabbits hides their injuries. My bun brokes her leg, she simply stop using it and didn't show any pain. But at surgery, the bone is wide open w/ a 2 - 3 mm gap crack.

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Charlie has not broken it, he is using it exactly the same as the other leg - he's running, hopping, flopping around stretching his legs out, and I've even seen him doing his usual attempts at binkying. I know rabbits hide their injuries but I know him well enough (he's lived in my lounge with me since he was 3 months old) that I know when he's in even slight discomfort. I also gave him a thorough check over last night, he's not even got any signs of swelling, and definitely no discomfort when being prodded.

Btw, have you never had a joint pop, I have but thats probably cos I'm old!

I guess I was wondering if it could have been anything to do with nerves beings as he landed on his back.

I'd still get a second opinion to be honest. Like Happy Hopping said, buns do hide pain well. He may not have broken it but he was dragging his foot for a reason.

Let us know you get on - whatever you decide to do

As he is back to normal, I wouldn't think he would need a second opinion. If he were unable to walk or not eating and pooping, I think it would be necessary. Sounds as if he had a nasty shock tumbling off the shelf. What did the vet charge you for the home visit?

raine said:

As he is back to normal, I wouldn't think he would need a second opinion. If he were unable to walk or not eating and pooping, I think it would be necessary. Sounds as if he had a nasty shock tumbling off the shelf. What did the vet charge you for the home visit?

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I agree. If he's fine, then there is no need for a second opinion. He wouldn't hide pain when it was prodded etc by the vet (reflex would mean he sqeals, snaps it away or goes to bite) and would prob be grinding his teeth too. Although they are good at hiding syptoms, there are some times when they just can't.

Hello,

My bunny Jessica had a dislocated toe about two years ago, it was x-rayed as she was going in for her spey at the same time. The vet said it will heal by itself and she never showed any signs of it bothering her (she looked a bit like a camel at the time..!). Only thing I would ask your vet is about pain relief as when Jessicas toe was dislocated she was given pain relief just to keep on the safe side as I would imagine it would feel pretty painful!

Hope your fluffy is ok xx