Injured front leg?

[Noodles]

Hi everyone! So Cinnabun and I live in a dorm (we’re in my last year of undergrad yay, she is my ESA), she is free-range and I’m lucky enough to be an RA and have my own room. Yesterday we have a fire drill and I took Cinnabun with me, she is very skittish and freaked out and while I was holding her she jumped out of my arms, I assume due to the loud noise and lots of people. I quickly scooped her back up and waited out the drill. When I brought her back inside I was mortified – I put her down and she couldn’t seem to walk. She kept licking her right front leg/arm and was tripping all over the place. I was sure her leg was broken so I freaked out and called the nearest vet that was open. Her regular vet was already seeing 4 emergency pets and couldn’t see me that night, so I called another nearby vet. 

Now this vet didn’t seem rabbit savvy. His website mentions that he has experience with all kinds of animals, including horses, but not rabbits. I brought her in and her grabbed her by the scruff which I didn’t like. He felt around her front legs (arms? idk what to call them) and said that “nothing felt broken”. I still didn’t feel like I could trust him though because of how he was handling her.

I am bringing her to my rabbit vet later this morning. Last night, however, when we came back, she seemed a bit better. A lot more active than before i brought her to the vet. She was eating normally and walking but avoiding pressure on that leg. I thought I’d wait out until the morning and removed any high surfaces she could jump on. This morning she seems a lot better – seems to be running around normally and faster, no limping/tripping anymore. When she’s sitting, though, she still is avoiding pressure on that leg, and I don’t think she has been able to “lay down” (stretch out her legs and lay down/loaf) on account of her hurting arm. I’m wondering if it’s just sprained? She was eating normally this morning and begged for treats like usual, standing on both hind legs. She does not appear to be in any sort of pain. Again, I’m taking her to the vet later today so I just wanted to see if anyone had any opinions or similar experience. Thanks!

UPDATE: I called the vet earlier and it looks like they aren’t able to get me in until tomorrow. Is it worth it to wait this long? 

[DanaNM]

It sounds like it could have been a sprain, but I would still take her to the rabbit vet to confirm since it still seems like she is not fully using that leg. I would call back and pester them to see if they can get you in sooner. Most vets will find ways to see bunnies since they can get worse so quickly.

Even if she’s fine, then she will at least get a check-up at the vet. Rabbits do hide pain, so she might still be in pain but hiding it better.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[LBJ10]

I hope she is OK. I agree, it could be a sprain. Soft tissue injuries can take time to heal. It’s important to have it checked out though to make sure no ligaments were torn, etc.

If she’s eating/pooping, then she’ll probably be OK waiting until tomorrow. I would think that would be better than taking her to another vet that doesn’t have experience with rabbits.

[Noodles]

Thanks for both your input! Got some x-rays done today at the vet and mostly everything checked out fine – the radiologist just called, though, and said they were concerned about her foot. They wanted to get more x-rays done but I didn’t want to bring her in again because she was already so stressed out.
There was some inflammation around her shoulder but nothing torn or broken, so they gave me some metacam for that. Vet said to restrict her movement for the next few days so I’m gonna put her in a dog crate for the weekend. I was told that even if her foot is fractured, there isn’t really anything they can do about it, they would just recommend rest and restricting movement and pain meds… so not sure why I would bother doing extra x-rays anyway?

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