Bunny’s hind feet are sticking outside

[rosche]

I have a 9 month old Netherland Dwarf and I realized that since 1-2 month before, her hind legs are sticking outside a little bit (shown in the picture below). She also tend to ‘sit’ on her butt, lifting up the front part of her hind legs a bit (as shown in the same picture below).

I’ve read about splayed legs in rabbits and that it could be caused by genetic, overfeeding, or slippery floor and i’m worried if this is a splayed legs, since I think there’s no ‘cure’ for it. Oh, 3 weeks ago I brought her to a vet *because she’s limping again on one of her hind legs* and when the vet checked, the vet said nothing’s wrong with her feet, no bone fracture, pulled muscle, cramp, broken bones, or anything (although she’s in pain for some reason) and then give her some Ibuprofen. (It’s around the recovery time from this limping that I notice her hind legs sticking outside more than usual…).

FYI, I don’t know much about her parents, so i don’t know if it’s genetic. I bought her online from a breeder *that breeder doesn’t seem to know much about rabbit, unfortunately* when she’s 2-month old. For almost 2 weeks since I have her, she live indoor, free roaming on tiles flooring. She was fed pellet and veggies+honey by the breeder *but it’s more like a rabbit-for-meat food: a bunch of whatever veggies and pellet to make it fat*. Only after I have her, she got a proper diet (hay, fruit as treat, good pellet nutrition, fresh vegetables).

So, is the legs normal for a growing rabbit, or is it splayed legs?

[Sarita]

That doesn’t look like splay leg to me. Is she wearing a collar? That is probably not a good idea.

[Roberta]

What a pretty little bunny.. My bunny Starsky tends to have slightly sticky out feet but he is also very overweight. I have noticed as he slowly loses the extra weight his feet are less to the side. If your bunnies diet was bad and she is a bit chubby this may be part of the reason.

[rosche]

@Sarita: yes, she wears a collar. This might be off-topic but why’s collar not a good idea? The collar function to repel flea/mosquito/mites, not a leash collar.

As for overweight, she’s about 0.5kg in my last visit to the vet, and my sister even said that she’s thin. But reading your post, maybe she’s actually a bit chubby for a rabbit? *i don’t know what is considered chubby rabbit*.

Nowadays *actually after she’s limping for the first time*, she can’t clean her paw the way she used to (as a reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHg7k81qqFA ). She only lift one of her front paw a little bit high and then clean it. She likes to lean on things. She rarely stand on 2 feet. Sometimes, she slipped on her own feet (as if she was unbalanced).

Are those a sign of overweight? (I always thought she took after the stray cats that love to play with her during the day ever since she’s with me).

[Sarita]

Collars are dangerous for rabbits in general but a flea collars chemical dosage is for dogs and cats who are generally larger than rabbits. If you rabbit is indoors it is not common for them to get fleas, etc….

[rosche]

Yeah, the collar are actually for dogs & cats…

She lives outdoor and for the time being there’s a lot of mosquito outside and other bugs like drainflies/fruitflies. And she got mites before too. So I thought it’ll be best to have her wear it. But if it dangerous I’ll have to take it. Thanks for telling me .

[Sarita]

I thought you had brought her inside – is that something you can consider doing again? It’s just safer inside and rabbits are more social if they can be around people more…

[rosche]

I’d love to have her inside, since it’ll be easier to keep an eye on her habit and health and also to potty train her, but the circumstances just doesn’t allow her to be inside -at least for the time being-. Well, there’re no eagle/hawk/owl nearby, the stray cats are friendlies *they love playing with her*, I also have fences to prevent her from going outside to the road, so it’s quite safe for her until I find a solid place for her inside the house (can’t let her free roam because my sister iguanas are free roaming and sometimes they fight,..).

[Author]

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