Broken Femur

[vwelsh]

Looking for advice,

My rabbit 6 years old has broken his femur very high up. He’s been to the vet, had xrays and we’ve been sent home with Metacam, giving him a 8kg dosage. The vet advised us to cage rest him with very limited movement, and give him a chance to heal at home. The break is in an area he assured me was well cushioned with muscle, and the bones should be fairly stable, and a splint would do more damage then good. Surgery is out of the question for me as he estimated it to be upwards of 3 grand and living so rural, we’d have to travel a fair distance to even find someone to preform it, its just not an option.  I’m wondering if giving him cage rest is the right thing to do, over euthanasia. I want to give him a fair chance I’m just debating the possibility that the break will even heal. I’m okay with knowing that he will never fully be the same, but right now his quality of life is very compromised from what he’s use to, and I’d hate to see him continue on like that. He’s still eating/drinking very well, and the same bathroom habits, and when he does move, he gets around pretty well. Our challenges right now is that I unfortunately do have to move him/pick him up at least once a day to clean him up, as his injuring is making it difficult for him to stay sanitary. Im concerned that this movement of having to clean him will cause interruption to his possible healing process, but Im unsure what other option there is in keeping him clean and comfortable. I have him limited to his cage, He spends most of his time resting in his nest style bed, and he has about 6 inches of care fresh bedding outside the bed where his dish/water/hay and he uses the litter there.  Welcoming any advice on what I can improve to increase any chances of this mending.

[Bam]

I’d give him a chance with cage rest, if he seems comfortable. By a dose for 8 kilos I’m guessing you mean an 8 kg dog? (Or is he a very big rabbit?) Rabbits metabolize metacam a lot quicker than dogs and cats, so they need a higher doser per kilo body weight.

Rabbits have good bone-healing capacity, unless the break occured due to bone malignancy (which is very rare).

Giving him cage rest is an absolute necessity for the nearest time. He must put as little weight as possible on the broken bone. The bone endings must be aligned for the break to heal, so he cant be allowed to hop around. You have to help him with his hygiene, and and you could add a probiotic (f ex benebac) to his food or water to help his tummy.

Bone is made up of mineralized connective tissue (which in turn is made up of proteins). If his tummy can deal with it, you can give him food that is slightly higher in calcium and protein. You dont want him to get fat though, so you must be calorie-cautious. Some alfalfa hay (not a lot) could be a good source of a extra protein and calcium. It also has good fiber.

Here is a link to Disabled Rabbits, which is a website for owners of temporarily or permanently disabled rabbits. It has good tips, for example on housing and hygiene.

http://www.disabledrabbits.com/

 

[LBJ10]

Depending on how bad the break is and where it’s at, a vet may recommend cage rest as opposed to a split or cast. As long as the bone remains somewhat stable, it should heal. As you hinted at, it will not be perfect. His leg may be a bit crooked or slightly shorter than the other. Rabbits are surprisingly adaptable though, so he would probably get along just fine. Perhaps some arthritis later on down the road, but lots of rabbits get arthritis as they age anyway.

I don’t know if handling him will cause his leg to not heal. I would think him running around or trying to jump on things would be more likely to re-injure the area. For keeping him clean, is it possible to use fleece and puppy pee pads to wick the moisture away better? Perhaps a sanitary shave would help as well while he is healing.

[Author]

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