mystery condition

[tofnz]

Hi all, We have a lovely boy ( mini lop mixed with Angora) who is turning 6 years this month. Around a month and half ago, we noticed he is not putting much pressure on his front right paw. However he can run, jump and eats well. Few days past and we noticed it more. He has been sitting while putting the arm under his body and when he flops to his right side he struggles to get up.  Naturally we took him to a vet who is known for his speciality in rabbits. First thing he examined was any broken bones. He couldn’t find anything or any visible sing of injury. He prescribed the pain killer an anti inflammatory med. The med made no difference and after 5 days we took him back again to perhaps perform an xray or any other tests possible.  The vet examined him and told us he doesn’t see any point in xray as it would require general anesthtic and as he doesn’t believe we are dealing with a broken bones , it’s not recommended.  He advised most likely he is suffering arthritis due to his age.and advised to continue giving him the med.  After nearly a month and half, med hasn’t made any improvements. The bun eats and drinks well, although doesn’t eat as much as before but he seems healthy and in gold condition. He is obviously in discomfort but we don’t know how else we can help him. Everything else is good with him. He runs up and down the stairs fine, jumps in his litter box and stands on his feet.  I attach a photo to show how he holds his front paw in case someone else has seen and experienced this with their rabbit.  Are there any specific tests we can do ? Vet mentioned blood test won’t show anything and there is little can be done even if there are torn tendons or muscles. But he does put weight on the foot when he runs. Very confused parents we are   Any help is really appreciated!

[Bam]

I asked a human physiotherapist about this. They said it could be a ligament injury. Those can heal unless its a completely torn ligament, but it as a rule takes quite some time. It doesnt seem to be a complete rupture, because he retains such a lot of function. Its very promising that he has so much function.

Another possiblity could be an elbow injury. That could explain why he wants to stretch the arm out under him when he is “loafing”, and why he has trouble getting up after flopping.

There could be a hairline fracture somewhere, which x-rays could confirm, but you wouldnt do much about it in a rabbit. You can put a cast or a splint on a rabbit if needed, but rabbits often remove casts or splints. If there is a fracture, it could be wise to not let him jump or run on the stairs for a limited time, so a break gets the chance to heal.

Physio also says arthrosis as a rule hurts more during rest than during moving.

The antiinflammatory med I assume is meloxicam? Meloxicam is both an  antiinflammatory and a painkiller, so even if you havent seen improvement, they could still be helping against pain, which is very important for rabbits as they are highly sensitive to pain.

 

 

 

[tofnz]

Thank you for your response. Very helpful information.

I was thinking elbow injury is he tries to clean his right ear but can’t bring the paw up. But he can clea  his face with that paw. I gently touched his elbow and he didn’t react at all. Even vet examined and he said he couldn’t see or feel anything.

It could be something in the paw itself or joints so he sits that way to avoid pressure. But then at other times he stands on it too. When he runs about we can see he is using the paw to a certain degree and doesn’t hold it up.

We just want to bring him comfort and do everything we can. Vet told us it could be risky and not recommended to do xray as he needs to put him on full anesthetic. And Xray might not show the small fractures if it’s on the paw bones due to their size.

Yes that’s the medicine, we are giving him two dozen of 5ML daily.

 

[Bam]

I think you are doing whats best for him. Its true that very tiny fractures might not show on x-rays, and even if they did, you wouldnt treat it any differently except perhaps try to stop him from jumping for a week or two. Rabbits dont appreciate full cage rest, so cage rest could do more harm than good in his case.

Asked physio again, the fact that he can wash his face but not the ear could indicate a shoulder injury. Not a full luxation, that’d be extremely painful and it would prevent hopping and running, but maybe injury to the joint capsule? An injury to any joint can set the process of arthrosis in motion after the acute injury has healed.

If he cant clean his ear himself, you could try and help him with that. Its good anyway to keep a close eye on a lop’s ears, because they are more prone than up-eared rabbits to wax buildup that can become a breeding ground for bacteria.

ETA: I assume you mean 2 doses of meloxicam/day. Meloxicam comes in 2 strenghts, 1.5 mg/ml and 0.5 mg/ml. How much to give depends on the weight of the rabbit and the severity of pain. Medirabbit says 0.3 -1.5 mg/ kilo body weight and 24 hours, which can be divided up into two doses given roughly 12 h apart. http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

 

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