Injured back leg - spinning in circles

A week or two ago I thought Winston was hopping funny. I brought him out to the back yard so I could watch him hop over a longer distance, and he seemed fine.

Lately he hasn't been moving around much, though. And tonight when I got home he starting spinning in circles as he tried to get up. He was only pushing off with his back right leg - the back left didn't seem to be doing much at all. He eventually hopped a little, but is clearly hurt. I touched it and he didn't pull it away, and he HATES it when I touch his feet. I worried he can't feel it...

I have a vet appointment on Tuesday to check his teeth (another issue that we're just checking in on) but I'm wondering if I need to get him in ASAP. He's still eating and drinking, pooping and peeing.

He's a 6 year old flemish giant and he's currently molting. He has access to a futon that he hope up on. It's possible that he could have hurt himself jumping down from it, but it's not very high. He's a big boy, though (about 16 pounds).

Should I keep him locked in his crate until I can see the vet to limit his hopping?

I'd appreciate any and all advice!

I'll try to post a link to a video. Having a hard time getting it to work.

Here's a video of him struggling...

https://youtu.be/HOn4XS_7vW4

With an older flemish I would be concerned about something like hip dislocation or other musculoskeletal problems , which those bigger breeds can be more prone to. I would phone the vet to see if you can get in sooner, and yes in the meantime confine him to a smaller area so he doesn't aggravate his injury. Also keep a very close eye on eating, drinking, pooping, to make sure that all stays normal. If it doesn't stay normal it likely means he's in a significant amount of pain and you'll want the vet to get him on pain meds immediately(which you will want him on anyways once the vet sees him).

ETA: It could also be a spinal issue. I would get him seen today or tomorrow at the latest.

Did you watch the video?

I did. If I were to guess I would say spinal issue. Could be an injury, could be old age related. Could also be the hip or leg instead. Can't really know without xrays.

Just be aware that if it is a spinal injury unrelated to old age spinal issues(spondylosis, disc disease, etc), it really needs immediate treatment to have the most effect on helping to reverse the damage. So if you think it may be a spinal injury that happened today, and you have a knowledgeable rabbit vet to take him to tonight, that is what I would do. Otherwise I would just limit movement and get him in tomorrow.

I can't say what the outcome will be. It's possible it's reversible or it could be permanent. I had an older bun that lost the use of her hind legs due to spinal degeneration. There was no reversing it since it was due to old age, but she adapted well so I just managed her condition for the remainder of her last few months. She was put on daily meloxicam as well to help manage the pain and her arthritis.

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/PhysicalTraumatic/Spinal_InjuryLagomorphs.htm
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Spinal_abnormalities_rabbits.htm

So Winston has a fused vertebrae or sacralization of the lumbar vertebrae. He doesn't seem to be in any pain, but he's losing feeling in his back leg and is having a hard time keeping his hips straight (he tends to twist to one side). We're looking into our options.

We were told that we could do a daily medication to reduce inflammation, but because Winston is 16 lbs, that would be 4-4.5ml per dose and would run us about $120 per week.

The next option is laser therapy, that my vet has seen good results with for a wide range of animals with similar issues. We're looking into this, as it seems like it's our best bet to treat the inflammation at a lower cost. Visits are likely $30-$50, and we'll probably have to bring him in once a week for a while.

The fused vertebrae will get worse, but we don't know how long that will take. Eventually he will lose all mobility of his back leg(s). The vet tells me that at that point he could still live for a few years. We'll have to keep him clean and protect him from urine scald, and will have to monitor his quality of life.

I'm also looking to order a bunny cart/wheelchair for him. Or maybe make one. Looks like I can get one from http://www.dogstogo.net/ and that they have experience making them for bunnies.

Does anyone here have experience with bunnies that can't hop? What do you do about using the litter box? So far he's still able to use his, and I plan to make it as easy as possible, but I worry that at some point he might not be able to get himself in there. :-/

Zicheri said:

We were told that we could do a daily medication to reduce inflammation, but because Winston is 16 lbs, that would be 4-4.5ml per dose and would run us about $120 per week.
/

Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on this further?
The medication of choice for this should be Metacam and that is a massive dose and wildly overpriced if that is the drug they said to use.
What medication were they discussing?

I'm presuming the anti inflammatory your vet is suggesting is meloxicam? If so, the most affordable way to buy it is to have it compounded at a local pharmacy. I've had it done for my rabbit that had arthritis and was on daily meloxicam. I just made sure it was compounded with a suspension that didn't contain any artificial sweeteners, especially xylitol, as this can be harmful to rabbits. I got a 200ml bottle that was a 1.5mg/ml suspension, for $40. A 200ml bottle would last you about 1-4 months depending on the exact dosing your vet prescribes. You just need your vet to write you out a prescription or call it in to a compounding pharmacy(making sure they specify no xylitol, no artificial sweeteners suspension).

Buying the brand name Metacam is the most expensive way to get meloxicam, and if you get it from the vet instead of online, that further jacks up the price, usually doubling it at least. It also makes it more expensive if you go with smaller bottles. If you want to go with prepackaged bottles instead of having it compounded, the cheapest way is to get it online(they will call your vet to get the scrip authorized) and get the off brand meloxidyl in it's largest 200ml bottle, which is about $115 on several websites. This is one place that I got it in the past before I started having it compounded instead.
https://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail...110324938603&gclid=CPK325Gf2M4CFQUpaQodmw8EMA

I agree with watermelons, that dose does seem a bit high if it is the 1.5mg/ml suspension that is being used. Usual maintenance dose is 0.3-0.6mg/kg, so that would be about 4.5mg for your buns size, which is 3ml of the 1.5mg suspension. Though I have heard of vets using higher doses in some cases.
http://vgr1.com/metacam/

I haven't ever had the laser therapy done on a bun, but have read of others doing it with positive results, so certainly an option to consider.

For my old bun that had something similar to your rabbit, when she first started having difficulty hopping around I cut the front of her litter box down so she could get in easier. But when she lost most of the use of her back legs and could no longer hop to get into her litter box, I found the best set up to help keep her clean and prevent urine scalding was to keep her on vet bed/fake shearling fleece type material(helps to keep the urine drained away from the rabbit when used along with an absorbent layer underneath). I then had a towel under that to absorb the urine and puppy pee pads under that to catch anything extra and keep the floor clean underneath. I changed out the towel and pee pad twice a day and the fleece once a day. I had tried it without the towel but the puppy pee pads were getting too saturated too quickly, thus preventing continued drainage of the urine away from my rabbit. The fleece type fabric you can get at a fabric store like Joanns. It's pretty thin but does work relatively well. The thicker vet bed fleece works better but is quite a bit more expensive. There are only a few places that sell it in the US. You may also be able to find it for sale on ebay. I found the puppy pee pads were cheapest at costco.
http://www.joann.com/sherpa-craft-fur/6761381.html?gclid=CNqL6Mqj2M4CFYKCaQod9doAZQ
http://www.lakesideproducts.com/Vet-Bedding-Fleece-c25/

It is possible to manage it all and keep your bun happy if he adapts to the change well and still has a good quality of life, but it takes a lot more attention and care. My bun had a friend to keep her company, and I had to check on her every 3-4 hours to make sure she was able to access her hay and water alright, including getting up in the middle of the night to check on her. Aside from that extra care, she adapted well to her reduced mobility and was still excited about food and enjoyed being with her bunny companion. She was 10 at the time and slept a lot, but was able to live out the last few months of her life pretty happily.

If you haven't already looked at this link, it has some helpful tips on caring for a disabled bun.
http://www.disabledrabbits.com/

eta: Here's what my buns setup looked like.

Since everyone already said everything else I was thinking, this is my little add on.

The laser therapy is a WONDERFUL option. I fully support it if you can afford it. I have found it works wonders when paired with a pain/anti-inflammatory type medication.

Thanks for all of the tips! I'm pretty sure the medication was meloxicam, but honestly it's been a whirlwind and I'd have to double check. Winston is a flemish giant at about 16 pounds, so I assume that's why the dosage was higher. And maybe slightly higher than "normal" due to the fusion of his vertebrae rather than just arthritis.

I have an appointment on Thursday of next week with Littleton Animal Hospital in Littleton, MA to discuss the laser therapy. They also offer acupuncture, which I think has fewer success stories, but I don't really know. I'll ask them about meloxicam while I'm there, and all of the options for getting it as discounted as possible.

The costs certainly add up. At 6 years old, it's certainly possible that Winston could live for another 2 years (assuming I can keep up with all the treatments and cleaning). Might be time for a gofundme on his instagram account.

www.instagram.com/winstonthegiant

Winston has his own room in our apartment with a rug over hardwood floors... I'm hoping hoping hoping that he can continue to use a litter box with a low lip on it so that I don't have to cover the whole room in towels and fleece... or contain him to a smaller area which would definitely make him angry.

Please keep us updated and let us know if you setup a gofundme page.

Last night I changed out Winston's litter setup to a low tray, and covered it with a side table so that he feels protected when he uses it. We have a mat underneath with a rubber backing to protect the floor in case he pees over the edge. (The tray is just a small dog crate tray, covered with a lack side table from ikea).

I was sitting there staring at him, watching his every mood and he gave me such a "why are you staring at me? I'm fine, mom" look. He was hopping yesterday and this morning, so it does seem like the mobility comes and goes.

We're not on any pain killers now since he seems to be pain free, but I'm keeping a close eye on it. So far he still seems quite happy, even if he has lost a step or two.

Winston had his first laser therapy treatment last night at Littleton Animal Hospital in Littleton, MA. We met with Dr. Victoria Papscoe who did an exam and talked to me about options. She said that they also do acupuncture, and that it's great when they're treating a lot of different areas. Because Winston is really just dealing with inflammation in one area/joint, she thought the laser therapy was the way to go.

She took him in the back room and the treatment only took about 15 minutes. I also got a supplement to help with his joints (Oxbow Animal Health Natural Science - Joint Supplement) that he should get twice a day (if he'll actually eat it).

We'll do the laser treatment 2-3 times per week for 3-4 weeks, and then we'll taper back to eventually about once a month. Obviously we'll see how he responds to it.

The funny thing is that Winston was very mobile at the vet. He basically looked fine except for a small twist of his back right leg while hopping around. Almost like he was pretending to be fine so that we could just go home - silly rabbit.

I'll keep posting updates in case this is helpful for anyone else in the future. I've heard good things about the laser treatment, but we'll see how it goes for Winston.

Pricing wise, I'm being charged $35 each time he gets the treatment, plus $16 per visit for a technician. In the cases when we need to see the doctor (rather than a tech), it's an additional $60.