Rabbit hurt left leg and dragging it

[Ashlee]

Hi there, yesterday morning I went to refill my rabbits hay (he is almost 12 weeks old) and he was kinda dragging his left leg behind him. I have no idea what happened. He then stopped eating, drinking and pooping for the next 5 hours. I took him into an exotic vet ER and they gave him fluids, pain meds and took X-rays. The vet said she didn’t really see anything wrong but maybe there was a tiny shift in on of his discs but it wasn’t very noticeable. After a few hours, u gave him critical care from a syringe and then gabipentin the vet sent me home with. I also got meloxicam as well. I know it hasn’t been longer than 24 hours yet but he still won’t eat or drink but he is now pooping. I also game him gas drops. If I try and give him hay he just throws it from me. His leg seems about the same. The vet just said that it’s normal but to just keep an eye on it and they thought that he would most likely heal overtime. Just wondering if anyone has any experience and what I can do to get him to start eating on his own! Thanks!

[LBJ10]

So the vet didn’t think it was “anything”? I find that odd. I mean, it could be a soft tissue injury. Did the vet check to make sure the joints weren’t slipping?

If he doesn’t eat, then you will need to hand feed him Critical Care or another recovery food to get him through. Does he have a regular, more rabbit savvy vet?

[Ashlee]

The vet and the exotic rabbit savvy vet checked him over and felt nothing out of place. They checked his hip for any luxation and his spine for anything out of the ordinary or swelling. They couldn’t find anything but the rabbit savvy vet said that they could see maybe the smallest of shift in a disc in his lower back that could be the issue of the leg because of how he’s presenting with symptoms.

I am hand feeding him critical care, gas drops and water through a syringe. He has since been pooping but very small sometimes and a little more normally randomly mixed in when he takes a few nibbles on some hay. He still doesn’t really have an appetite. He’s young to get any greens etc so I haven’t done anything like that.

[Ashlee]

Update: he had different position X-rays done and they see nothing wrong with his discs. They are saying possible pinched nerve. Has anyone dealt with that before?

[Bam]

If there is no structural damage (slipped disc, fractured vertebrae, partially torn ligaments), chances are this is muscular. Muscles in the back can contract very forcefully I’m a split second when a person or animal takes a fall or slips or lands badly. This is a protective reflex- the body tries to protect the spine bc the spine is so very important.

The problem that can arise (and often does) is that the muscles might stay contracted even when the danger is over. This can result in “muscle knots” and local muscle inflammation. Inflammation and very tense muscles take up more space than relaxed muscles. There is barely any spare space around the spine, so there will be extra pressure on the nerve roots and blood vessels in the area, and this in turn will interfere with nerve signalling and blood flow. This is how nerves can become pinched even if the cause might be all muscular.

Did you get any anti inflammatory med for your bun? (Meloxicam, loxicom, metacam and other brand names).

[Ashlee]

Thank you for the information! That’s kinda what the vet is thinking. That it’s some sort of pinched nerve or muscular issue that happened. They prescribed him gabapentin every 8-12 hours and then meloxicam every 12 hours for the next 5 days. If he seems like he needs longer pain control, they will have me give it longer. They kinda just said it’s a waiting game to let the injury heal.

[Bam]

Oh good!

Gabapentin is for nerve pain and meloxicam for pain and inflammation, so that’s great! He might get very sleepy from the gabapentin, thats a common side effect. That could be good for him in this phase of acute injury though.

It is obviously important that he eats, so you have to keep hand feeding him until he gets his appetite back. His poop will most likely be smaller and unevenly shaped for a while now, due to reduced food intake and lower activity level. It can tske some time for it to get back to normal even after he starts eating like he should again.

 

 

[Ashlee]

Thank you! Yes he seems to be quite sleepy and a little more uncoordinated on it. However, he did start eating some more hay a few times this afternoon and began drinking on his own! I am still giving him critical care every 6 hours and massaging his belly. But it seems like his appetite is coming back which is great. Now it’s just the leg. I’m hoping it was start getting better within the next few days. It’s hard watching them struggle to get around but he’s actually been getting around better this afternoon

[Author]

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