Rabbit broken femur

[jeanette miller]

My rabbit has broken his femur and the bones are over lapping. Has anyone experienced a rabbit doing this and recovering without surgery. It has been a week now and still waiting for animal hospital to reply to referral. He is 9yrs old and a house rabbit.

 

[Pets mum]

So sorry to hear this, and no I've no experience of broken bones in a bunny. Has your bunny been given pain relief, has he been seen by a vet ?

 

[Zoobec]

I’m so sorry I’ve not got experience of this so I can’t advise. I’ve moved your thread into the health section so hopefully it will be seen by someone who can advise. Sending lots of vibes

 

[Shimmer]

My only experience was with a front leg, which ended up being amputated as we couldn't get the bones to stay in place after 3 attempts to set them, and they were too fine to pin. He was much happier with the amputation than the dressings for the break. He was a younger rabbit.

I suspect that pinning would be a good option, assuming there is no underlying cause for the break. Don't discount amputation if other options really are not working. Tripods do really well. Age shouldn't be a barrier to surgery / anaesthetics, if there are no other reasons not to consider it. I've had 9 year old rabbits undergo regular dentals under anaesthetic - one only had one functional lung. Recovery from amputation is pretty quick - mainly keeping the surgical site clean and dry at first, then the rabbit learning to balance again. There are a few other things to consider - such as grooming and ear cleaning, which may need to be monitored and assistance provided if the rabbit can't do it properly (and doesn't have a companion bun to help out), and additional stress on the spine and other limbs which may cause arthritis in the long term.

Rabbits can recover from broken bones without surgery - it needs a lot of cage rest, pain relief, etc. X-rays would still be needed to assess the issue, and these usually need sedation. At 9 years old, I would be looking for a functional outcome (ie a leg that he could use reasonably well to move around, with no pain) rather than a cosmetically good one (ie it may not be as straight as before). Hugo's There (a member on here) used to take in a lot of very disabled rabbits who all had an excellent quality of life, with adaptations in their environment to meet their needs.

I hope all goes well.

 

[jeanette miller]

We took Toby for surgery and lost him

 

[InspectorMorse]

We took Toby for surgery and lost him ��

So very sorry

RIP Toby xx

 

[Zoobec]

I’m so sorry RIP Toby xx

 

[Shimmer]

So sorry

 

[Craig 1965]

I am so sorry that you lost Toby.
Binkey free beautiful Toby. Xx

 

[Omi]

I'm very sorry

 

[a reader of books]

Oh, I'm so very sorry you lost him.