I’m sorry your bun is dealing with this. 🙁

How old is he? If he’s neutered, how old was he at the time of surgery?

Maybe your vet could prescribe pain meds until he can be seen by the new vet?

I had a dog who developped marked hind end weakness at 9 years of age. A CT scan showed changes to the lumbar and sacral vertebrae and discs. She was put on daily NSAID (non-steroidal antiinflammatory meds) and gabapentin against pain. Rabbits can have the same types of meds, metacam (meloxicam) and gabapentin. (Corticosteroids should be avoided with rabbits). The antiinflammatory meds help keep down the inflammation that is a driving force in the development of spondylosis (bony changes to the vertebrae). Sometimes that is enough to give the animal a good quality of life. The medication will have to be life long, but you start with a higher dose, then taper down until you find the smallest effective dose.

You should adapt the bun area to you bun’s difficulties, f ex by cutting out “door holes” in the litter boxes.  There are some tips that could be useful on the website Disabled rabbits, although they mainly address really grave disabilities: http://www.disabledrabbits.com/

Finally I just want to mention that the first thing that comes to mind when a bun has hind end weakness is the intracellular parasite e cuniculi. Its a parasite that many rabbits carry all their lives without any symptoms. It typically attacks nervous tissue or the kidneys. It sounds to me like your bun is having a true joint problem, but ec is a differential diagnosis to keep in mind.

The most important thing right now I’d say is to get your bun some pain relief. Your present vet could perhaps prescribe some meloxicam to tie him over until you can get to a specialised vet? Rabbits are sensitive to pain and pain relief could maybe get him to eat more.

I would say if it’s progressing and in pain, explicitly inquire about emergency appointment slots. Some exotic practices do have that category and it can get you in faster. Stating that your pet is currently in pain and you have no way to manage the pain can express the need further.

Hind leg weakness is a symptom of EC, so treating for that might be a worthwhile effort.

For now, making navigation to the things he needs as easy as possible is important.

I agree, from your description it sounds like a joint problem. It could be the lower back like Bam suggested. Large breeds are more prone to arthritis and other joint problems as they age. EC is a differential diagnosis for hind leg weakness, although the weakness isn’t normally accompanied by pain.

Rabbits ideally shouldn’t be fixed until they’re fully grown to allow the skeleton to develop properly. This is especially important for giant breeds like Flemmies because of their weight, they don’t stop growing until they’re 9-12 months old. Early neutering can cause developmental abnormalities which can in turn cause issues like hip dysplasia, early onset arthritis, stress breaks and so on. That’s why I wondered how old he was at the time.

As the others have said, EC is a good possibility for sure. Treating him for that won’t cause him any harm, you can have him tested for it but unfortunately those tests aren’t very reliable.

EC is treated with a dewormer (fenbendazole: brand name, among others, Panacur) for 4 weeks, plus metacam against inflammation and sometimes Baytril (broad spectrum antibiotic). The treatment would not interfere with treatment for a joint or back problem related to bone or cartilage. There are tests, but as Hazel says, they can produce false negatives, so they’re not entirely trustworthy. For this reason, many vets treat on clinical signs. It is possible to do so, because the treatment has few risks.

Neither buns nor dogs absolutely have to be very old to develop problems with their joints. Most can live a good life with he help of meds and some simpler lifestyle changes. My dog, that I mentioned before, presented with inability to stand up. It was dramatic, but with anti inflammatory meds she regained pretty much full function of her hind legs and she was given more than 2 years of high quality dog life with lots of long hikes in nature =)