Could my bunny have splay legs?

[SarahC.]

I just got my first bunny about two weeks ago.  She is almost 7 weeks old.  Her back legs seemed a little awkward, but I figured it was just because she was so young.  As she has grown, her back legs seem to point out- her left one does more prominently (and actually seems larger in size).  She doesn’t seem to be in pain…although sometimes she will jump up on the second floor of her (very spacious) cage and not seem to want to jump down.  When I put her in her play pin, she runs around like crazy and is very playful.  She is in the process of being litter box trained- she will almost always pee in there…still working on consistently pooping in there.  Recently, she hasn’t been able to reach her ears with her legs to scratch.  I am in the process of getting her to a vet, but I thought I would post a forum to see if anyone has had experience with this sort of thing.  I was up all night searching the internet, and I feel that has put me in a panic.  If it is splayed legs, is there anyway to correct it since she is so young? Or is it more likely that it is a fracture from her jumping and twisting around while playing.  She is so young, I can’t stand the thought that I have done something wrong or caused this in any way.  She has a good diet- eats her hay and around a 1/4 cup of pellets daily.  She has a good home with lots of love and toys.  

[MK]

The vet will be able to tell, but sounds like splay to me. Just as a word, splay legs don’t interfere AT ALL with their quality of life, the only thing being you may have to clean her ears more frequently. I volunteer at a rabbit shelter where i saw a bunch with splay legs, and they were (and are) so cute! Definitely get it checked, though. Welcome to BB!

[AnnaW]

Hey SarahC My bunny Belle has slightly splayed legs (I think). My vet has not seen them as they are only clear when she is sitting, which she doesnt do at the vets – she wont sit still! Belle also only has 3 legs, one of her front ones was amputated so i think she maybe has splayed legs to compensate She has a wonderful happy life, dont be too worried about your little one xx

[AnnaW]

I found some pictures of Belle and her funny legs  

[SarahC.]

Thanks for all the responses!

I took her to the vet this morning.  Unfortunately it is a splay leg.  Looking at the x-ray, the left leg is much worse than the right.  At this point she should be able to live a pretty normal life, but she is only 7 weeks old.  I took down the second floor in her cage, which she seemed a bit annoyed about at first, but she will adapt.  The vet made it seem that if it continued to get worse, she could become immobile.  She also mentioned that many bunnies with splayed legs get put to sleep.  I am a vegetarian and huge animal lover, I just cannot imagine having to do that.  It is very encouraging that you all seem to not have too much of a problem with it.  I’ve only had her 2 weeks, and I just love her so!

[MK]

I have never heard of a rabbit becoming immobile over a splay in my life. She will be able to live just as she did before, no worries! Just watch her and remove or move anything in her habitat she could catch her leg on. I knew rabbits in the shelter that had FOUR splayed legs and still managed to get to the shelf a foot above the ground! It really is no biggie

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