Injured front paw??

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This topic has 3sd replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 10 months ago by Bam.

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- 04/26/2020 at 5:01 AM
  LunaBugs
  Participant
  3 posts
  Hi guys! This is my first post here so bare with me…
  
  we have two 7 week old rex rabbits that we have had for two weeks and a half now. (We are aware this is much too young but they were going to be killed😭 and we thought we’d give them our best shot) anyways, they have been doing really well, but yesterday one of them started acting really scared and jumpy, hiding in a corner with her ears down like they do when they’re scared. after a while she started running laps around the room (they are free roam in our living room during the day so she was in a comfortable space) but keeping her front left paw tucked into her body. We kept checking on her overnight. This morning she still looks a bit scared and uncomfortable but she is still eating the alfalfa pellets, hay and drinking water and seems to at least have re gained some of her regular energy.
  
  we are debating if this is a sprain/break/something else. We are hesitant on calling a vet on a sunday due to the high cost it will have but are unsure if we should call anyways, if it’s urgent? On top of that, we keep debating weather or not to put her in her cage today so she can rest her leg, just seems a bit cruel compared to what she is used to. (Her cage is still very big but nothing compared to an entire living room)
  
  basically i am just wondering if this has happened to anyone, what you did, how worried we should be and maybe some ways to make her as comfortable as possible. Thanks so much in advance for any help!!
- 04/26/2020 at 5:24 AM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17029 posts
  Hi!
  
  7 weeks is not super-young, rabbits can be separated from their mum at 6 weeks and from their siblings at 8 weeks. They are by then fully weaned. Thank you for taking these rabbits in!
  
  Have you tried picking the injured bun up to feel the hurt paw? If you feel it (gently) you may be able to better asses the injury. You could also see if there is general swelling, or localized swelling around a broken toe or if theres blood from a broken nail etc. If the paw is just hanging there dangling, all flaccid, it’s likely to be a break or more extensive injury to the ligaments, in which case a splint could be needed. A vet would perhaps put a cast on and order cage rest and pain killers. Young rabbits’ bones as a rule heal very well.
  
  If, on the other hand this is a minor sprain, the bun should pretty soon try to put weight on the injured foot. That is a good thing, an uncomplicated sprain should be walked on, and restriction of movement should not be necessary.
  
  Pain often cause a bun to go off its food, so it’s a very good sign that she has an appetite.
  
  If your bun seems to need urgent vet care, I’d call ahead and ask first. Vet services can be limited now due to the covid19 pandemic. If the bun is eating and seems to be in good spirits and unaffected by pain, it’s not too late to put on a splint/cast on Monday.
- 04/28/2020 at 1:55 PM
  LunaBugs
  Participant
  3 posts
  thank you so so much for your reply, it honestly soothed our worries a lot.
  
  i want to update this because reading the solutions to some of these threads makes me feel a lot better sometimes! To ease some stress, Bugs is doing a lot better now!
  
  the day after this all happened she seemed to get kinda worse, she barely ate for a few hours and her poops were getting a bit soft, we knew this was alarming but it was pretty much impossible to get a vet appointment with a vet who knew anything about rabbits due to COVOD-19.
  
  We monitored her almost constantly, we had seen a couple sources online that said they sometimes stop eating from pain but also almost all sources said not eating 12+ = BAD and we weren’t too far from that
  
  basically we decided to treat what we knew how. We kept her in the pen (where she seemed to want to be) for longer periods so she could rest and took her out periodically so she could stretch the (probably) sprained front paw. We also borderline harassed her to eat as this was getting alarming.
  
  by the end of the night, she seemed to regain appetite, we got her to eat LOTS and she seemed to regain energy and put a bit more weight on her leg, by the next morning she had her ears perked up normally (this is what made me feel relieved) and was running around as best she could. It’s now been 24h and she’s been eating and pooping normally!!! We will keep monitoring her, but big sigh of relief!
  
  thanks again for the help!
- 04/28/2020 at 11:41 PM
  Bam
  Moderator
  17029 posts
  Thank you for the update! Very well done!!
  
  If a bun wont eat, it can be necessary to syringe feed it. I’m glad it didnt come to that with Bugs, it’s of course a huge lot better if the bun can be coaxed to eat its normal food 💚
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