hurt leg?

[Tam O Ham]

hey all. It's been a while. Since I was last on here I've lost a bun and gained a bun. Which brings us to Fizz, my five pound lionhead/angora.

About a week and a half ago, I came home from work to find Fizz in a miserable little ball, refusing to move much and ignoring her treats. I brought her to the vet and he said she was obviously in pain and proscribed Meloxicam for her. At the time he didn't want to take x-rays because he felt it would only exacerbate whatever was going on with her. Well, the pain medicine works great and I've had a very active frisky rabbit since. She puts weight on all her legs, pretzels herself around when she's cleaning, stretches just fine, flops - all the usual and perhaps a bit more than usual. So here's the thing. I notice that sometimes, not every time, but fairly regularly with no obvious pattern I can find, she makes a noise when she moves. You know that sound your joints make when you stand up or move sometimes, that popping click noise? Well, she does that fairly regularly now when she's hopping around. It don't seem to have any reaction from her when it happens but its also not a sound she made before. I suspect its a back leg though where I can't tell since she doesn't seem sensitive wherever I touch (as much as one can touch a little bun's back legs without getting the 'huff off'). The vet is reluctant to take xrays because he says he'd have to sedate her and we're both not so gung-ho about that. She's still on the pain meds and as much as I can I've tried to remove just about everything she jumps on and put down pillows everywhere (she's a house bunny). I understand if this is something I just need to give her time on but its also something I don't want to ignore if its going to be a problem in the long run. I've got a vet phone appointment on Monday to ask but in the meantime -

anyone have any ideas? Or similar experiences? Or just words of advice or encouragement for a worried bunny mama? Thanks in advance. She's my little heart bun and I'm a terrible worrier when it comes to her.

 

[Maki_p29]

hey all. It's been a while. Since I was last on here I've lost a bun and gained a bun. Which brings us to Fizz, my five pound lionhead/angora.

About a week and a half ago, I came home from work to find Fizz in a miserable little ball, refusing to move much and ignoring her treats. I brought her to the vet and he said she was obviously in pain and proscribed Meloxicam for her. At the time he didn't want to take x-rays because he felt it would only exacerbate whatever was going on with her. Well, the pain medicine works great and I've had a very active frisky rabbit since. She puts weight on all her legs, pretzels herself around when she's cleaning, stretches just fine, flops - all the usual and perhaps a bit more than usual. So here's the thing. I notice that sometimes, not every time, but fairly regularly with no obvious pattern I can find, she makes a noise when she moves. You know that sound your joints make when you stand up or move sometimes, that popping click noise? Well, she does that fairly regularly now when she's hopping around. It don't seem to have any reaction from her when it happens but its also not a sound she made before. I suspect its a back leg though where I can't tell since she doesn't seem sensitive wherever I touch (as much as one can touch a little bun's back legs without getting the 'huff off'). The vet is reluctant to take xrays because he says he'd have to sedate her and we're both not so gung-ho about that. She's still on the pain meds and as much as I can I've tried to remove just about everything she jumps on and put down pillows everywhere (she's a house bunny). I understand if this is something I just need to give her time on but its also something I don't want to ignore if its going to be a problem in the long run. I've got a vet phone appointment on Monday to ask but in the meantime -

anyone have any ideas? Or similar experiences? Or just words of advice or encouragement for a worried bunny mama? Thanks in advance. She's my little heart bun and I'm a terrible worrier when it comes to her.

Maybe she has some issue with her leg/joints. Usually if it’s a leg issue then they usually heal on their own in a week or two at most. How does your bunny seem when it’s close to their dose of pain medicine?

 

[Tam O Ham]

Thank you. I'd be estatic if it healed by the two week mark. She gets her dose once a day about 8 pm - sometimes not until 9 depending on work. So she's usually dozing by that point and one hour doesn't seem to make much of a difference. If she sees me going for the meds to give her she's pretty physically actively trying to mug me for it and sometimes she's sleeping/dozing with her little back legs all stretched out instead of in a loaf when I check on her beforehand. So it doesn't seem she's in pain, though I'm hesitant to take her off because I don't want her to grow to be in pain while I'm sleeping. I had a friend suggest lowering the dose to half and seeing if that makes a difference.

 

[Maki_p29]

Thank you. I'd be estatic if it healed by the two week mark. She gets her dose once a day about 8 pm - sometimes not until 9 depending on work. So she's usually dozing by that point and one hour doesn't seem to make much of a difference. If she sees me going for the meds to give her she's pretty physically actively trying to mug me for it and sometimes she's sleeping/dozing with her little back legs all stretched out instead of in a loaf when I check on her beforehand. So it doesn't seem she's in pain, though I'm hesitant to take her off because I don't want her to grow to be in pain while I'm sleeping. I had a friend suggest lowering the dose to half and seeing if that makes a difference.

I would keep her on the dosage for now. It’s important to keep her pain under control. I would keep observing her and if anything becomes concerning give the Vets office a call. If things seem pretty normal until your appointment, write down questions to ask the Vet. But definitely let them know about the popping sound. I hope your bunny makes a full recovery!

 

[Tam O Ham]

I would keep her on the dosage for now. It’s important to keep her pain under control. I would keep observing her and if anything becomes concerning give the Vets office a call. If things seem pretty normal until your appointment, write down questions to ask the Vet. But definitely let them know about the popping sound. I hope your bunny makes a full recovery!

thanks. I'm usually pretty decisive but I'm a terrible ditherer when it comes to Fizz. Not knowing for sure what's going on and how to make it better is hard to be patient through. I'm definitely hoping for a full recovery too!

 

[Maki_p29]

thanks. I'm usually pretty decisive but I'm a terrible ditherer when it comes to Fizz. Not knowing for sure what's going on and how to make it better is hard to be patient through. I'm definitely hoping for a full recovery too!

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Love the picture of Fizz !!! I understand and can empathize with you on some levels. My own bunny had a issue at the Vet and was injured by a Vet Tech. Things have been resolved and the Vet apologized on behalf of their staff members error but my bunny is still healing up, on pain medicine and critical care. I hope it heals in a few days. It’s been about 9 dayI’ve never had a bunny with such a injury as this and I’ve had a few different bunnies the past 19 years. My Bunnies name is Hawkeye and I love her so much! It’s hard to see her hurting in any way - it makes me hurt too.

we love our animals - they are our fur babies and friends. So it’s totally understandable that you feel for them and want the best care possible. It is hard to have patience but as long as you’re doing all you can for them, what else can a person do?

How is Fizz doing today? Any differences? Which leg is the injured one in the picture above?

 

[Tam O Ham]

Love the picture of Fizz !!! I understand and can empathize with you on some levels. My own bunny had a issue at the Vet and was injured by a Vet Tech. Things have been resolved and the Vet apologized on behalf of their staff members error but my bunny is still healing up, on pain medicine and critical care. I hope it heals in a few days. It’s been about 9 dayI’ve never had a bunny with such a injury as this and I’ve had a few different bunnies the past 19 years. My Bunnies name is Hawkeye and I love her so much! It’s hard to see her hurting in any way - it makes me hurt too.

we love our animals - they are our fur babies and friends. So it’s totally understandable that you feel for them and want the best care possible. It is hard to have patience but as long as you’re doing all you can for them, what else can a person do?

How is Fizz doing today? Any differences? Which leg is the injured one in the picture above?

oh my gosh! That's a nightmare! How completely awful to have that happen when that's where your bun should be the safest. That would be an emotional blow to deal with on top of the already emotional shaking of having your bun in pain. You have all my empathy to be going through that, both you and Hawkeye. I know the feeling of wishing you could do almost anything to take their pain away from them.

Fizz is doing her usual self today, which is to say she pulled some bunny burn-outs on the mattress i've got on the floor this morning before I went to work and now she's sound asleep under the coffee table she kicked me out of sitting at with my laptop. I swear she somehow knows when I'm worrying about her and does her best to show me I don't need to. So her pain medication is certainly working great for her - but she's still sometimes making a 'joint pop' noise. I can't be sure but I suspect its her right back leg. I'll talk to the vet tomorrow about both what the plans are for how long I should keep her on the meds and what he thinks I should do about the noise. I've got a vacation week coming up soon so it'll let me stay at home and keep a closer ear on her too. The noise doesn't seem to effect her when it happens, but I'm worried there's something underlying with a joint or ligament or something and if I leave it alone it will deteriorate or something. Caught in the old 'do nothing and let it heal by not poking at things' and 'do something to prevent things getting worse' waffle of not knowing.

 

[Tam O Ham]

just as an update, Fizz is day three off the medication after I talked to her vet. She is doing fine and bouncy and living her best bunny life - and now her mama is too. She's still making the joint noise pretty regularly when she moves but she doesn't react to it when she does and the way she flops her body around says its not something that's bothering her. So it looks like we're back to our regularly bunny schedule and I couldn't be more grateful. Thanks to Maki_p29 and everyone else that followed this thread and left positive kudos.

 

[Maki_p29]

just as an update, Fizz is day three off the medication after I talked to her vet. She is doing fine and bouncy and living her best bunny life - and now her mama is too. She's still making the joint noise pretty regularly when she moves but she doesn't react to it when she does and the way she flops her body around says its not something that's bothering her. So it looks like we're back to our regularly bunny schedule and I couldn't be more grateful. Thanks to Maki_p29 and everyone else that followed this thread and left positive kudos.

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Glad to hear the update and that precious Fizz is back to her usual self!! .

it’s no fun when our fur babies/friends aren’t feeling well. We worry because we care about them. You’re a good bunny owner always looking out for your furry companions. And I believe they do look out for us too because they feel our love we give them.

I would continue to keep watch over their leg situation. As long as Fizz seems comfortable and happy I wouldn’t worry much!

may both of you have good health and many happy days together !