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Advice please - bunny is limping - update

Wellington

Wellington

Young Bun
We have noticed today that Basil is limping. He’s holding up one of his hind legs and not putting weight on it at all. Because of this he’s spent all day in the upstairs of the hutch. We’ve brought him inside now to observe him and he’s moving around a bit to shift position but no more than that. He’s eating normally and is washing himself (and us!) which is a good sign. Right now he’s sitting in his litter box eating hay, but normally he’d be jumping up on the furniture and running around.

He’s ten months old and generally healthy.

Should we ring the vet?
 
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Wellington said:
We have noticed today that Basil is limping. He’s holding up one of his hind legs and not putting weight on it at all. Because of this he’s spent all day in the upstairs of the hutch. We’ve brought him inside now to observe him and he’s moving around a bit to shift position but no more than that. He’s eating normally and is washing himself (and us!) which is a good sign. Right now he’s sitting in his litter box eating hay, but normally he’d be jumping up on the furniture and running around.

He’s ten months old and generally healthy.

Should we ring the vet?
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Yes, definitely ring the Vets now. Also, confine him to a small area to stop him trying to hop about much, he may have sustained a fracture. At the very least he needs pain relief, so the Vet must see him
 
Thanks. It’s so hard to know what to do and he doesn’t seem *ill*. We’ve taken him to the vet this evening and they said they can’t find any sign of a fracture. They’ve given him pain relief and we’ve brought him back home and will keep an eye on him and take him back to the vet if he stops eating.

He’s back in his litter tray glaring at me now.
 
I hope you have some continuing pain relief to give him at home. I would also keep him confined to aid recovery and / or prevent exacerbating the injury - so no jumping on furniture, etc - better to err on the cautious side in this case. It is also important to make sure he is eating / weeing / pooing as normal. Pain may stop him eating, and that can lead to stasis - which is a veterinary emergency. Hopefully he will be feeling brighter in a few days.
 
Yes, the vet gave us some pain relief to give him at home for the next five days. He’s eating and pooing normally, he’s just very still which is so unlike him :cry::cry:
 
If no improvement at all within the next 48 hours of pain relief and rest I would want him re-examined by a Rabbit Savvy Vet. Hopefully this won’t be necessary and he will improve x
 
Thanks for the advice and good vibes :love:

No change this morning. Basil is still eating, drinking and pooing. He came downstairs for his morning pellets but other than that he is just resting in his litter tray, eating hay where he sits. He gets up occasionally to go to his water bowl or pellets but other than that he isn’t moving around. When we stroke him he licks us very enthusiastically so I’m hoping that means he’s not feeling too sad. He’s due more pain relief tonight and if he’s not moving around tomorrow we’ll take him back to the vet.

Bonnie, his sister, is showing no concern for him at all and is happily running about in the garden :roll:
 
Wellington said:
Thanks for the advice and good vibes :love:

No change this morning. Basil is still eating, drinking and pooing. He came downstairs for his morning pellets but other than that he is just resting in his litter tray, eating hay where he sits. He gets up occasionally to go to his water bowl or pellets but other than that he isn’t moving around. When we stroke him he licks us very enthusiastically so I’m hoping that means he’s not feeling too sad. He’s due more pain relief tonight and if he’s not moving around tomorrow we’ll take him back to the vet.

Bonnie, his sister, is showing no concern for him at all and is happily running about in the garden :roll:
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If all remains the same tomorrow I would be requesting Xrays. Glad to hear that he is still eating. Is his wee output OK, no sign of urine soiling ?
 
As Jane says, you may need an x-ray to confirm there really is no break or spinal involvement with the injury. Leaving it for too long will make it more difficult to obtain the best outcome. I wouldn't be letting him on stairs at the moment - he really needs to be off the injured limb as much as is reasonably possible. Even soft tissue injuries will take a while to heal well.
 
Shimmer said:
As Jane says, you may need an x-ray to confirm there really is no break or spinal involvement with the injury. Leaving it for too long will make it more difficult to obtain the best outcome. I wouldn't be letting him on stairs at the moment - he really needs to be off the injured limb as much as is reasonably possible. Even soft tissue injuries will take a while to heal well.
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When I said he came downstairs for his breakfast, I meant he came down to the ground floor of his hutch. We always serve their pellets there and he was already downstairs waiting for them. Maybe we should have blocked off the stairs to stop him going up and down them.

He’s been inside today, mainly just lying in his litter tray. He’s still eating loads of hay, drinking, pooing, and getting out of his litter tray to go and wee elsewhere. We gave him more pain relief this evening which he was not happy about. He’s normally very friendly but at the moment when I hold him against me it’s clear it’s hurting his foot :cry:

We’ll take him back to the vet tomorrow for an x-ray.
 
Wellington said:
When I said he came downstairs for his breakfast, I meant he came down to the ground floor of his hutch. We always serve their pellets there and he was already downstairs waiting for them. Maybe we should have blocked off the stairs to stop him going up and down them.

He’s been inside today, mainly just lying in his litter tray. He’s still eating loads of hay, drinking, pooing, and getting out of his litter tray to go and wee elsewhere. We gave him more pain relief this evening which he was not happy about. He’s normally very friendly but at the moment when I hold him against me it’s clear it’s hurting his foot :cry:

We’ll take him back to the vet tomorrow for an x-ray.
Click to expand...

Is your Vet Rabbit Savvy ? I would not waste money taking him to a Vet who is not clued up about Rabbits. Not all Small Animal Vets are, Rabbits are classed as an Exotic Species and so many Vets only have minimal knowledge about them

If in any doubt about the Rabbit specific competence of your Vet you could take a look on this link for recommendations of Rabbit Savvy Vets

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-...abbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/


Or if you post a thread in Rabbit Chat on here giving your approximate geographical location some members on here may be able to offer suggestions

Good luck
 
Wellington said:
When I said he came downstairs for his breakfast, I meant he came down to the ground floor of his hutch. We always serve their pellets there and he was already downstairs waiting for them. Maybe we should have blocked off the stairs to stop him going up and down them.

He’s been inside today, mainly just lying in his litter tray. He’s still eating loads of hay, drinking, pooing, and getting out of his litter tray to go and wee elsewhere. We gave him more pain relief this evening which he was not happy about. He’s normally very friendly but at the moment when I hold him against me it’s clear it’s hurting his foot :cry:

We’ll take him back to the vet tomorrow for an x-ray.
Click to expand...

If it is metacam then try just offering it on a leaf, or inside a raspberry - some will even take it just from the syringe by itself. No need to restrain and force it then. Hiding it in favourite foods can work really well.
 
This evening he remembered that he likes the taste of the medicine and wolfed it down. He’s moving around a bit more and is putting a bit of weight on his paw. His sister Bonnie is not being kind though. They adore each other and are normally inseparable but she is mainly ignoring him.... other than mounting him :rolleyes: She is very much the dominant rabbit, and has started mounting him a bit over the last month or so, but today it was constant. He tolerates it but we’ve been shooing her off him today because he’s not well.
 
Wellington said:
This evening he remembered that he likes the taste of the medicine and wolfed it down. He’s moving around a bit more and is putting a bit of weight on his paw. His sister Bonnie is not being kind though. They adore each other and are normally inseparable but she is mainly ignoring him.... other than mounting him :rolleyes: She is very much the dominant rabbit, and has started mounting him a bit over the last month or so, but today it was constant. He tolerates it but we’ve been shooing her off him today because he’s not well.
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It sounds as though he is slowly improving. Did you take him back to the Vet ?
 
I took him back to the vet today. Although he is moving around more than he was, he’s still not back to his usual self. The vet said to increase the oain relief to twice a day and bring him back if there’s no improvement in a few days.
 
Update on Basil

Basil went to the vet for an x-ray today as he’s still not putting weight on his foot.

He’s fractured his hock :cry: The vet said there are four options:

1. Do an operation to fit a metal rod. High risk and low chance of success.
2. Put a splint on it. Unlikely to succeed and risk of infection.
3. Amputate the leg. Vet says animals cope surprisingly well with just three legs, but rabbits really need their hind legs.
4. Metacam and keep him confined for a few weeks and hope it heals.

We’re going with option 4. The vet said his leg will probably not heal perfectly, but enough to give him a good quality of life.

Poor Basil. He’s only ten months old! We don’t know how he injured himself but it can’t have been anything dramatic. He was playing in the garden and then went to lie down in his hutch.
 
Wellington said:
Basil went to the vet for an x-ray today as he’s still not putting weight on his foot.

He’s fractured his hock :cry: The vet said there are four options:

1. Do an operation to fit a metal rod. High risk and low chance of success.
2. Put a splint on it. Unlikely to succeed and risk of infection.
3. Amputate the leg. Vet says animals cope surprisingly well with just three legs, but rabbits really need their hind legs.
4. Metacam and keep him confined for a few weeks and hope it heals.

We’re going with option 4. The vet said his leg will probably not heal perfectly, but enough to give him a good quality of life.

Poor Basil. He’s only ten months old! We don’t know how he injured himself but it can’t have been anything dramatic. He was playing in the garden and then went to lie down in his hutch.
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What a shame the Vet did not take X-rays sooner :cry:Is your Rabbit insured? I ask as I realise not many people have a bottomless pit of funds, but if a referral to an orthopaedic specialist were an option I would want to try to obtain their opinion.

ETA, I note you are in Surrey. Fitzpatrick Referrals https://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/
 
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He’s not insured, and we’ve spent over £1k on him this week. To be honest, it’s probably our fault he wasn’t x-rayed until today as we knew it would be really expensive so we waited a few days hoping it would get better on its own.

The vet has emailed the x-rays to a rabbit specialist for a second opinion.
 
Wellington said:
He’s not insured, and we’ve spent over £1k on him this week. To be honest, it’s probably our fault he wasn’t x-rayed until today as we knew it would be really expensive so we waited a few days hoping it would get better on its own.

The vet has emailed the x-rays to a rabbit specialist for a second opinion.
Click to expand...

Hoping for the best outcome possible
 
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