Paralysed baby rabbit

[sandyrose]

Hello..my 6 week old baby rabbit has paralysed back legs...she was bitten on one hind leg by her father 3 weeks ago..and has been hopping around on three legs..about 5 days ago she started putting weight on her injured leg and seemed perfectly happy running bouncing eating well..overnight her back legs have become paralysed...she can't walk, just drags her hind quarters ...but mostly just sits still..can anyone shed any light on why this would suddenly occur and what the cause may be..unfortunately where i live in North Africa there are no vets in our area..should i euthanasie her or is there hope this is temporary and she can be saved...thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

 

[JBun]

You'll want to rule out any infection from the bite wound and that a bacterial infection isn't the cause.

It could be from an injury to the back, or possibly a parasite. Are there any other symptoms? Is she eating/drinking and able to poop/pee on her own? Do you have access to medications like metacam or the antiparasitic fenbendazole? Sometimes an injury can be helped with an anti-inflammatory medication like metacam. Or if it is the parasite e. cuniculi causing it, then fenbendazole may help. It's really hard to know if the damage will repair or if it's permanent, especially without a vet being able to do tests to figure out the cause.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/paresis.html

 

[sandyrose]

she is eating and drinking fine..but i did notice i pile of runny poo ..but didn't know which rabbit it belonged to..now i suspect it must be from her...i will have to find out what drugs if any i can purchase here..thank you for your advice..never thought of a parasite..and infection is odd as she was healing really well..another question..why would the male (father) attack their back legs ..he had done it to 3 of them..i didn't know what was happening until i caught him in the act recently..

 

[JBun]

When rabbits fight, they typically go to nip/bite at the hind end, so that could be why they were getting bit in the hind legs. It's best to keep male rabbits separate from mom and babies, as it can sometimes result in fights and the other rabbits being killed.

If you can get the meds, you could try treating with both to cover both possibilities as the cause of injury. Metacam is often given for e. cuniculi as well(unless there are kidney problems), as the spores rupturing cause inflammation, which results in some of the symptoms that are exhibited. If you decide to use the fenbendazole, the dosage that is recommended for EC, is 20mg/kg, once a day, for at least 28 days. Fenbendazole is a common livestock antiparasitic. Here is some info on EC, as well as dosage info on metacam(meloxicam), which is an anti-inflammatory med. The dosage for metacam, that I've read of being used for rabbits, is up to 0.6mg/kg twice a day, but that is something that you will want to have a vet confirm(if you can). Be aware though, that this is the dosage for an adult rabbit. I'm not sure of dosage info for young rabbits, or if it is even safe for them.

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/ecuniculi.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[Watermelons]

It may be best to put her out of pain while you can. Since you don't have access to a vet in your location, guessing the problem and self medicating is not recommended. Accidentally overdosing her can cause more harm then good if an incorrect dose is given, not to mention her age makes medicating even tougher.
Euthanization is probably your best option due to circumstances.
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f20/euthanization-67196/

 

[majorv]

Agree that putting her down is probably the best at this point. Six weeks is very young to be putting these drugs in her system and if she's having diahrrea, too, that's worse.

 

[sandyrose]

Thank you so much for yr help..yes i know the dad needs to be kept away from the babies..am doing my best with that one but he can be so sneaky....sadly my little baby passed away in the night..gutted...but she was eating and drinking well till the end so was not suffering unduly that i could c...i love my rabbits so much and grieve a lot when one is lost..only a week ago i lost another ..we have rats here and i forgot to lock them in for the night and sadly the rats got her ..not such a good week for me ...but once again thank you .

 

[Ilovemyrabbit]

I'm so sorry!