My Dutch Rabbit with Possible Nerve Damage

[jasonpipe]

Hi Guys

I'm new to this forum and came across it by doing a search of the web. Looked a very good site to join so I did!

I was wondering if anyone out there could possibly help with some advice?

I have a 3 year old Dutch rabbit, who is not well at the moment Around 2 weeks ago my Rabbit (Bailey) jumped out of my hands as I placed him in his run and he seemed to land awkward. From that moment he was holding his left leg but still moving around. But then the other day I noticed that he had actually started to shuffle forwards and wasn't using his front legs as normal.

I took him to the Vets last week on Monday and again on Thursdayand he had a check upand had X Rays, but the Vet can't see anything wrong and has put it down to possible Nerve orTissue damage.Either from his awkward landing or maybe something else. The Vet said he may or may not recover from this. The Vet has given me some pain relief for him called 'METACAM', which I give him each day and I've got him back in his indoor cage for the time being. The Vet has advised me to give him up to 2 weeks to recover and if there is no change in him then I would unfortunately have to look at puting him to sleep.

He can still put his front legs forward and push himself up, but has the problem of not being able to walk forward properly and he just shuffles and then lays down. I know he's in pain because he sometimes grinds his teeth. He is still eating and drinking as normal. When he has his Metacam pain relief he seems to have more life in him. He even still sits up and looks around and 99% of the time has his ears up.

I was wondering if any other members on here havehad a similar problem with their Rabbitor could offer me any adviceor a contact email for me so that I could contact someone who is more knowledgable withthe health of Rabbits than just the ordinary Vets, who do admit to not being too clued up on Rabbits.

Kindest Regards

Jason

Middlesbrough, UK

 

[Pipp]

Poor bunny.

The Metacam is an anti-inflamatory as well as a pain reliever, it really should help.

I'd certainly get another vet to look at the x-rays, or a new set of x-rays, before putting him down.

If it is a soft tissue injury, one would think it will get better, but the problem may have compounded itself. If a bunny is in a lot of pain and stops using his front feet, that could lead to muscle degeneration, so the pain meds are really important. Its a delicate balance between keeping him quiet and keeping him in shape.

Any idea where his pain is? Is it joint pain? Maybe it's something like so-called 'bone spurs' (osteophytes) which can be caused by that kind of trauma, especially around the joints. I don't know how well they show up in x-rays, but I know that x-rays can be read wrong as well as not provide clear images of bone injuries or trauma. Osteophytes can't really be fixed, but they can be managed.

Here's an article that may provide more info for you:

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Bone_diseases/Osteo/osteophyte.htm

Here's another one on fractures that has some info that might be relevant.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Bone_diseases/Osteo/fracture.PDF

I'd definitely get a second opinion. Start by getting the x-rays from the first vet sent to a rabbit-savvy vet.

Not sure if we list any close to you, but check out this thread:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15071&forum_id=9

Good luck. (And welcome to RO, sorry it wasn't under happier circumstances).


sas :clover:

 

[ra7751]

Hi Jason,

Welcome to the forum....wish it were a better situation.

I agree with your vet as far as treatment. Looking at x-rays in rabbits is sometimes a bit challenging due to the small parts and the older analog pics are not the greatest. If the x-rays are digital and your vet is willing, I would be happy to look at the rads (I am not a vet but have experience in this) as well as pass along to my volunteer vets for reading. Digital rads can easily be sent via e-mail.

The Metacam is a NSAID (anti-inflammatory) related to our Tylenol. If there is soft tissue injury, this should help that. If you have to keep your rabbit on Metacam long term, really keep him hydrated as this family of drug can be a bit taxing on the liver if the patient is dehydrated.

Your best course of action may very well be what your doctor is doing.....manage any discomfort with appropriate meds and wait it out. Good luck.

Randy

 

[tonyshuman]

Might he need some extra pain medicine? The Metacam will be anti-inflammatory and reduce any swelling around the spine, but there may be more pain than it can handle. Adding a narcotic might be helpful.

I think your vet's course of Metacam is good--sometimes with traumatic spine injury, particularly in other species, a steroid is used as well to reduce swelling, and many vets will prescribe this for rabbits. In rabbit's a steroid is best used ONLY immediately after the injury (I'd say up to 24 hrs after) and you have to be really careful because they have a sensitive immune system, and steroids can compromise that. I'm glad your vet didn't prescribe steroids.

You may mention, however, that he's still in pain and may need a narcotic pain reliever in addition to the Metacam. I would also offer a bowl of water "spiked" with fruit juice, grenadine, or vanilla to get him to drink more. Offer this in addition to his normal water bowl. Another option is to leave out a bowl of dioralyte--the infant rehydration drink. It's really good at keeping bunnies hydrated and many bunnies like the taste. If you can find unflavored, however, you can flavor it with whatever you think he'll like--apple juice, cranberry juice, cucumber juice, etc.

 

[jasonpipe]

Thanks Guys for your help and advice. Much appreciated. I forgot to mention that Bailey gets 0.6ml of Metacam a day.

Fingers crossed, he does seem to be getting a little better by the day when trying to walk forward. He does use his front legs to push himself up and he is still moving his front legs when he washes himself as normal and sometimes stands up in his indoor cage and hangs his paws over the edge of the roof when I don't have the top grill clipped on. Seems to me like he can't put his full body weight on to his front legs for too long when walking forward.He becomes more lively once he's had his Metacam.

He is eating and washing himself normally. He drinks a little water but not as much as I'd like him to. He has a bowl of water in his cgae and also a bottle on the side of cage but he only wants to have water from his bowl at the minute. He does lay down alot at the minute but that's probably down to him keeping the weight off his front legs? He is not a heavy rabbit. He was weighed last week and the vet said his weight is fine. He always has his ears pricked up.

Because of the way he still moves and uses his front legs makes me think it's more Tissue/Muscle damage than Nerve damage? His body does shake a little when he is layed down.

 

[tonyshuman]

You can give him some extra water with the Metacam if you like. It should also be given with food in the stomach, especially for longer-term (>3 days) therapy. Some bunnies do well on daily Metacam for years, so even if it isn't a tissue damage thing, he should be able to have a good quality of life. He may end up being a special needs bunny, but there are lots of ways to help him feel comfortable and be happy. It sounds like he's alert and has an appetite, which are good signs. Does he get himself dirty due to not having good mobility? There are some bedding options that can reduce that. It's more common to see hind leg paralysis in bunnies--caused by spinal trauma, E cuniculi, spinal arthritis/spodylosis, etc, but many of the adaptations people do for hind-leg paralyzed bunnies could help Bailey as well, I bet.

 

[jasonpipe]

Thanks ever so much for your replies. I'm pleased to report that Bailey looks
like he is going to get better. He is improving now on a daily basis. He is
moving around a lot more in his indoor cage and no longer flops to the side
when he moves forward. He's walking and hopping forward more than he was.

Bailey is still drinking, eating, going to the toilet and washing himself like normal and he is a very clean Rabbit. He is still having his 0.6ml of Metacam a day and is due to
return to the Vets for a check up on Thursday this week. Fingers crossed I'll be told he is getting better.

Once again, thanks for your help. I will let you know how he gets on at the
Vets.

Regards

Jason

 

[tonyshuman]

It's good to hear that he's living a more normal life! I hope things continue to improve for him.