abnormal back legs?

[existenziell]

So I recently got a new rabbit, Zoey. For those of you who didn't see my post in the rabbit rescue section, here is her story. We got her from a lady who clearly had too many animals (and kids) and was neglecting this rabbit. She is really skinny. She was being kept in a wire cage (for most, if not all, of her life) on just the bare wire -- no bedding or mats.

She is a lionshead mix, about a year and half old (according to this woman).

Anyway, I noticed that her back feet look...odd. Instead of her back legs and feet being almost parallel, they come together near her tail forming a shape like this: < They also stick out from under her body on the sides.

Perhaps related, or unrelated: She has a shelf (or platform) in her cage where she can hop up and lie down. We had her food bowl up there initially until we noticed that she was just putting her front paws up on the shelf and stretching to get the food. She would not go up on the shelf. We placed her up there and she was munching happily on food and a treat but, when it came to getting down, it took her awhile and she took it really slow. It's not particularly high up either. She will not jump up on her own, even though she seems interested (she keeps putting her front paws on there like she is going to but never does).

Other things I've noticed: She runs kind of funny, is a bit slow, never binkies or jumps up on anything (she doesn't even try), and she squeaks a lot. She doesn't squeak when we are handling her (we are being extra careful since we think she's fragile). Not sure if she is squeaking because she's in pain or because she's scared. She sometimes squeaks when we pet her. She is, however, perfectly content to sit on our laps (so maybe she isn't scared of us?).

We are going to take her to the vet, but, in the mean time, I wanted to get your opinion. Is there something wrong with her? If so, what could it be? And what, if anything, can I do if she's in pain?

 

[JBun]

There is most likely nothing that can be done about the legs, since she is full grown and done developing. With the shelf or her cage floor, if it is a slippery surface, she may be reluctant to jump up or down. If it isn't slippery, she may just not be comfortable jumping up or down yet. Possible also that a deformity in her leg growth is affecting her ability to jump up and down. If it's just a slippery surface,try putting something down with more traction and see if that fixes it.

Since she is in a new place, she may just not feel comfortable yet to binky or jump on things, but her legs could also play into that. The squeaking could be from pain or fear. You will just need to observe her to see if you can narrow it down. Even a rabbit sitting on a lap, can still be scared, and just be afraid to move. You'll have to look at her body language to be able to tell. Is she breathing really fast, is her nose moving fast, are her eyes very wide open in fear, or does she settle right down into your lap, with normal breathing and eyes relaxed. I would say that if she is seeming scared, you should probably not handle her too much for a while and give her some time to get used to her new home. But because rabbits are all so different, you kind of just have to try different things and see what works best for her.

If the squeaking has to do with pain, you should be able to see other signs that she is feeling uncomfortable and in pain from something. A rabbit's poop is often the first sign of something wrong, so you will want to check her poop and make sure that it is normal. Also other signs of pain or discomfort are sitting hunched up in a corner for long periods of time, teeth grinding, laying down with butt pushed up and belly pressed to the floor, changing positions frequently like laying down and getting back up repeatedly, eyes squinting, and sudden changes in behavior. Also loud stomach gurgling and bloating can indicate a digestive problem, and could cause squeaking in pain when picking her up. So if she is also exhibiting other signs of pain, then that could very well account for the squeaking. Some rabbits are also just more vocal than others, so if she seems to like you petting her but is also making the little squeaking sound, then I would say that it just may be a normal thing for her.

 

[existenziell]

She doesn't seem scared when she sits on my lap. She just kind of makes herself at home and will just stay there. No heavy breathing, clicking, wide eyes, or squeaking then. I had her on my lap last night for a good 30 minutes and, after she finally settled in to a comfortable spot, just stayed there. Her poop looks normal to me and she doesn't seem to be exhibiting any other signs of pain -- just the squeaking. This only happens when we are petting her while she's sitting on the ground.

So I don't know. Is her deformity possibly the result of the cage she was being kept in?

 

[Fietser]

Hi, I'm Existenziell's boyfriend/roommate. To back up what she mentioned in the above comment, she isn't afraid when we have her on our laps. Eyes say a lot (about all animals including humans) and I watch them very closely to make sure they are comfortable. A scared rabbit will have wide-eyes with whites showing. She never shows this when sitting in our laps. She will, however, move to a crevice and insert her butt into it...the other day I was reading with her in my lap and she did this by letting her butt fall between my hip and the arm of the chair I was sitting in. She sat there in that position for over an hour while I stroked her. Her nose moved slow and her eyes were normal. She seemed comfortable to me.
I have on occasion pushed her legs into the normal parallel position, which doesn't seem to hurt her, but they always slide out into the Y shape pretty quickly.
To elaborate more on the squeeking, she will do this sometimes when we pet her. Generally she moves to another corner of the cage when it is opened. Sometimes she squeeks when pet in this situation, sometimes she doesn't. The loudest instance thus far is after she has been picked up and placed on the floor and I continue petting her (before letting her get her exercise).
I would tend to think, due to experiences with our other girl Juniper, that she does this because she's scared. The malformed legs and fragile, starved structure of her body definitely has us worried that something might be paining her.
The longer we've had her, the angrier I get at this woman we got her from. Truth be told, I had my eye on adopting a lop bunny from our local humane society, but I'm glad we picked Zoey up. She certainly would have died at some point if we hadn't saved her. I love her very much.

 

[PaGal]

I am by no means an expert but maybe someone else with more knowledge or experience could chime in. Could it be splay leg? I have read about it and was wondering if this could be what she has. Can you post a pic? That might help others.

You would be the best judge of weather she squeaks due to pain. My bun will grunt. I have heard people say their bun grunts when angry. Mine grunts when he's happy. He'll grunt when playing, grooming himself and eating. I would just keep looking for other signs of pain and observing closely when she squeaks. I believe there is a site called Language of Lagomorphs this may help you to read her body language. I found the site to be very interesting.

 

[JBun]

Usually it's solid bottom slippery floors, when they are young, that can result in leg problems like splay leg, but this is different than splay leg, but could maybe still be caused by slippery floors. Or it could be congenital. It also could be normal. Not all rabbits hind feet will be parallel. Some rabbits have pinched hind quarters, where the feet will be more like a V, and that can actually be a normal thing for rabbits. I guess it just depends on the severity of what you are seeing. A 'V' position to the feet is normal, but if there is something more to it than that, then there could be some abnormality. And her not binkying may not even have to do with her legs. Some rabbits just don't do it much, or even at all. Especially since she wasn't in the best conditions in her previous home. As she gets used to hopping around more and used to your home, she may start opening up more and try binkying.

The squeaking could just be that something suddenly frightens her and she soon gets over it. It could also have something to do with her previous home, but it sounds to me like she is feeling pretty comfortable with you. I would think that as she gets used to her new home, that the squeaking will subside.

 

[ladysown]

your concern is that she is cow-hocked or very narrow hipped?

Means that she should never be bred EVER. So if not spayed I'd recommend doing so, or keeping her well away from any males.

My guess is that she has some sort of a genetic fault that is causing her some discomfort and you won't be able to fix it. It'll just be a case of managing it. If she appears to be in pain you can get her some willow bark to chew on.

Unfortunately there are genetic faults out there that can cause issues for bunnies from being very narrow hipped, to spinal curvatures and more. All you can really do is manage any pain issues associated with it and let your bunny have the freedom to live as best as it can.

 

[Watermelons]

A few pictures could help...
You also have to realise you have a bunny thats naturally used to being confined. Its like if we were to lay in bed for months on end then suddenly decide to get up and run around, it wouldnt go so well, your legs would take awhile to figure stuff out.

 

[missyscove]

I agree that pictures would help. A lot of bunnies in new places are more reluctant to jump and if she doesn't have good traction, I'd give her some rugs and see if that makes her more confident. Without looking at her myself it's hard to say what's wrong with her legs or even if they're abnormal, but a full physical exam is a good idea for any new pet.
Is she really squeaking or is it more like a grunt? I've had some more "talkative" rabbits but it's usually muffled grunting noises whereas the closest thing to a squeak I can think of would be a scream.

 

[existenziell]

I'll see if I can get some pictures of her legs. Thanks everyone for your input. This has been helpful. We are still going to take her to the vet.

First and foremost, we are never going to breed her. She is currently not spayed, but we plan to do that. Our other rabbits are a neutered male and a spayed female. So my concern here is not for breeding, only to make sure that she is comfortable. We will get her spayed after the semester ends and we have more time to do so (we are both full time college students).

We have bedding in her cage and she runs around on our rug so she has plenty of traction. I realize rabbits don't like slippery floors.

She squeaks. Our other rabbits grunt, so I'm familiar with that noise. She just...squeaks. It's almost like she's crying because she'll do it repeatedly. That's why I was concerned that she might be in pain or something. She does also grunt, but she does that when she's playing with toys.

She has gotten more active and, it seems, more comfortable with our apartment since we first brought her home. She has been venturing farther from her cage to the other side of the room and generally seems more interested in exploring. I take that as a good sign.

 

[tonyshuman]

It would be good to have x-rays taken to make sure that she doesn't have issues with her bones that are causing her pain. Poor nutrition and genetics could cause bone spurs, commonly on the spine for rabbits. It's possible that petting is coming into contact with some sore vertebrae. I only have heard squeaks from bunnies that are quite upset--either being chased by another bunny in a bonding attempt gone wrong or trying to get away while doing nail trims on a bunny that is very uncomfortable being held. The leg thing may not heal, but if she has some spinal arthritis you could give supplements and/or pain meds.

 

[Azerane]

I would also recommend getting x-rays done, when you get her spayed would be a good time as she wouldn't have to be restrained. At this point since she is full grown like others have said there won't be anything you can do to correct it (her splayed legs) but it might give ideas as to how you can help and will show any other problems if present (perhaps with her spine, I agree that there might be something paining her there if she squeaks when you pet her, also might explain the lack of jumping.). If you want to keep her shelf with food, I would recommend putting a ramp with traction to it.

Does she still squeak when you pet her on her sides, or only on her back?