Sterling has Spinal Trauma

[Harlow & Sterling]

Hello fellow bun lovers! I have 2 Lion head rabbits who are 2 years old. They are cage free and spayed/neutered. The other day, my boy Sterling was in his hidey house when he was suddenly startled… I saw him dart out the door. He suddenly nose dived on to the carpet and couldn’t move. I immediately drove him to a bun savvy vet. He was diagnosed with spinal trauma and soft tissue sprain. The vet seemed optimistic that he would recover and sent me home with pain meds, anti-inflammatory meds and poop medicine.Everything happened so fast and I was so distraught… and now after a couple of days I am losing hope. My baby Sterling can’t use his back legs and has been in small space seclusion. He seems to be eating on his own but I am unsure if he is drinking water or if he is in pain. Today he had a poopy, diarrhea bum… should I contact the vet? Discontinue his poop meds? Has anyone experienced this before? How long was it before you saw signs of improvement? My heart is breaking for him. I looked up a yahoo site recommended here but it is no longer active. Thank you in advance for any advice.

[LBJ10]

His prognosis would depend on the level of trauma. Did the vet do x-rays? Did he actually fall or run into something? I’m a bit confused by your description. A rabbit being startled isn’t going to cause them to fall over. Even if he tripped while running, I can’t imagine an injury this severe.

The poopy butt is concerning. Do you mean true diarrhea or a bunch of smoothy cecals?

Has he been exhibiting any other symptoms? Even before this incident? I’m wondering if it could possibly be something else.

[Harlow & Sterling]

Hello, thank you for your response. I can’t be totally certain what happened to him. When I get home from work, the first thing I do is offer my bunnies treats and say hi. He had gotten his treat and was fine. He likes to hang out in a particular “hidey house” it’s made of cardboard and sits on the floor… I heard him being startled/ like a jump/cardboard rustling… and then him bolt out and then stop and roll/ fall over a few feet from his box. He had not shown any signs of any illness prior that I was aware of… And about me: I am in my mid 40’s, live on my own and my bunnies truly are my babies and joy!

We did not do X-rays. I guess those could have given me a lot of answers… but the 24 hour vet I took him to (who was recommended by my local bunny rescue) told me that if she did X-rays or not, the therapy would be the same: small space rest and meds for 2 weeks. She gave him a physical exam and said his spine was not broken as he showed reflex when she squeezed his feet. Because of the cost of the X-rays, I decided to wait for 2 weeks to see if he showed signs of improvement.

Regarding the poopy butt, it was true diarrheal. I cleaned his bum twice yesterday and with being a lionhead it was no easy feat. I luckily read tips on this site. I discontinued his poop medicine and stopped giving him treats and pellets. When I first brought him home I was anxious to have him eat and gave him cherries and carrots… his favorite. As of yesterday evening his poops are nice and round and firm again. There are cecals too… does he need to eat them at some point?

So many questions… thanks again for your help.

[Roberta]

I would highly recommend the xrays. My rainbow bun Pascal was diagnosed with scholiosis after he started to display loss of mobility in one of his hind legs. The scholiosis had resulted in the deterioration and eventual collapse of vertebrae. I am not saying this is the cause but the xrays will hopefully give you a better idea of what is happening.

[LBJ10]

If it is inflammation due to trauma (and there are no broken bones), then yes the treatment for such an injury would be the same whether you do x-rays or not. Just by your description of what happened though, I’m having a hard time believing it is the result of some sort of trauma. At least not alone. I just can’t imagine he would have hurt himself to that extent. But I guess you never know. He could have twisted it wrong I suppose. I agree with Roberta on the x-rays. Particularly if he doesn’t show improvement soon. There could be something else going on. If he’s eating and pooping OK, then it would make sense to keep going with the treatment. If he doesn’t improve, then x-rays may reveal something else.

I’m glad the poop issue seems to have resolved. Definitely keep an eye on it.

[jerseygirl]

I can believe trauma like this can happen so easily, LBJ. Rabbits have ways…   But seriously, Jersey managed to sprain her front leg once simply from jumping the distance of 1ft from my arms. I still to this day don’t know how she managed it.

Harlow & Sterling, was it the Disabled Rabbits yahoo mail list you tried to find? There is a Facebook group that is active if that helps. http://www.facebook.com/groups/201759429869484/

Great to hear his poops are looking more normal. Sometimes meds & stress can cause poop to change but it sounds like food may have been the culprit this time. Was the poop med he was on metaclopramide (aka Reglan) or Cisapride?
With his cecals, if he produces some normal looking, intact bunches, you might be able to put them in front of him and he eat them himself. Just leave them where he can get to them. If he doesn’t eat them, try wrapping them in a leaf of greens that he likes.

I had some tabs open on my laptop for weeks bout spinal conditions but Im having trouble finding the info now. I’ll keep looking…

Sending many vibes for {{{Sterling}}} Are he and Harlow bonded? Is Harlow offering some bunny support to him?

[LBJ10]

Jersey, I know bunnies can hurt themselves easily. I guess the description of what happened is throwing me off. It sounds like he was running and then just suddenly fell over. I guess if he tripped and twisted something when he landed, he could have hurt his back. It’s just crazy to think something like that could happen without there being something else going on. But you never know! I’m sure crazier things have happened. And then there’s Wooly who falls 3 feet, bounces on the floor, and then takes off running. Stupid rabbit.

I still say see how the treatment goes, which is standard for that type of injury. If he doesn’t show improvement, then x-rays would be the next step.

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