Need advice on hind paralysis!!!

[Tsuki]

Hi all! I know I haven’t been on in a loong while, but a lot has been going on in my life as you will get a peek in a few seconds.

My 8yr old rabbit, Usagi, has had complete hind leg paralysis starting 2 days ago. It has been a slow onset, which I thought was arthritis, over about 4ish months. I can’t afford to take him to a vet because we spent all of our money moving to a new state while I was 7 months pregnant and now that our baby is here it’s even tighter on money. I know he’s old, but Usagi is my first bunny and I want to do anything I can within reason at this point. I know I have to keep him dry and clean. I also have been giving him food and water in a way that he can reach it without moving to get to it. Idk at this point if he has urinary issues, but I read may have to do compressions of some sort.

Please please please help. I don’t know if I should be preparing myself the worst or if there’s something I can do until I can take him to a vet (it could be months honestly, especially if we’re talking x-rays and lab work).

[jerseygirl]

Im sorry to hear about Usagi and your current circumstances also. We can all find ourselves there. {{{Usagi}}}

True, it could be compression and might self-resolve fingers crossed! But unfortunately could be a multitude of other reasons.

Could you try applying for Care Credit ?  

There is also Pet Assure which might be great for managing future costs. However, I don’t know their schedule of fees but I do like that they’ll cover pre-existing conditions. 

If you can get some assistance somehow, getting him on an anti-inflammatory would be wise. You can opt out of other procedures if the funds aren’t there. 

Im sorry I can’t be of more help.  How is his appetite?

[Tsuki]

Thank you for taking the time to answer me
His appetite is still decent, which is my saving grace at the moment. I’m going to be moving him away from the other rabbits for now so I can focus a little better on him.
I don’t know about care credit because my husband already has a line out that we haven’t paid since the move 6 months ago. We had to pick our most important bills and kind of screwed the rest since he’s the only one working. I guess I can call around and ask if any vets could give me a rough estimate without going in.
Thanks again for your response! It means a lot

[Tsuki]

Sorry about that -.-

[Bam]

It is difficult of course when you can’t be quite certain about the cause of this paralysis. 8 years is pretty old for a rabbit, but not quite old enough for complete paralysis unless there’s sth else than normal aging/arthritis going on. E cuniculi (a parasite) can cause hind leg paralysis. That’s not super-uncommon, unfortunately. You can, if you must and there’s no other way, treat that at home with Panacur (fenbendazole) for AT LEAST 28 consecutive days. Fenbendazole is OTC in most places and a dewormer and it’s standard protocol for treating e cuniculi, so it’s what a vet would give if he’d reason to believe e cuniculi is the culprit, the parasite doesn’t always show up in a test conclusively (many bunnies carry it, most are unsymptomatic all their lives.) I can’t of course advice you on what you should do, none of us here are vets. But we can provide you with clues that you can look into further.

If on the other hand you are confident this is arthritis, you could try glucosamine and/or chondroitin (joint-health supplements). You can use same stuff they use for horses but in much much smaller doses (obviously). The problem is if she is/will be in pain, there’s no bunny safe OTC pain med. Both Metacam (meloxicam) and tramadol are prescription only. If she’s eating and pooping and looking ok, she probably isn’t in pain, and perhaps you could build a small cart for her?

I think there are FB-groups for disabled bunnies, you could try to find one of those. It’s often good to discuss these things with others in similar situations.

[Aki]

Does he look to be in pain? If it was arthritis, I think he would be? (I don’t have any experience with arthritis in bunnies, but I’m pretty sure he would not eat well or that he’s grind his teeth…). I second the e cuniculi possibility. If you really can’t get your rabbit to a vet, it might be worth a try to treat with Panacur which isn’t expensive, I think. I’d say that, at this point, it can’t really hurt.
You can find ways to make the whole thing as comfortable as possible for him and to avoid pressure sores.
Maybe you can find useful tips here:
http://rabbit.org/category/health/mobility-issues/

I just glanced at it, but it looked pretty informative:
http://www.disabledrabbits.com/paralysis.html

[Mollysmummy]

Hi

I have a 10yr old bunny who is a currently up/down with her hind legs too. What I would say, is that even with vetinary support it’s hard to get a diagnosis between EC or arthritis (or anything else!) It really needs X-ray and with this there is the concern of anaesthetic in an older rabbit.
Of course, it’s best to go to a vet if you can, but if this really isn’t an option, i hope this is of some comfort.

Is your rabbit leaning to one side/falling over sometimes? Or is it more of a limp. We’re not vets, but I’d suspect something more neurological if the former personally (including EC).

In addition to what others have mentioned, I’d add that it’s important to check the Cecotropes are accessible and getting eaten, otherwise you could get into knock-on issues. If your bun can’t reach them you might have to get in there and help!

Lots of luck xx

[Tsuki]

Thank you all so much for your replies! I had to wipe him down with a damp washcloth and he was grinding his teeth and trying to get away he did run on all 4 legs for literally a second. He is eating and drinking (a lot) if water, but he’s very skinny. Hes pooping good still, but as for urine i can’t really tell because I’m pretty sure he’s urinating on himself. I will try some of your suggestions and I’m hoping I can go next week to a vet and see what we can do. I know he’s definitely getting up there in bunny years, but he still seems alert and responsive.

[Author]

Messages