Runt or Peanut? Picture attached

[crystal1317]

I was given a bunny that I was told was a peanut and that probably won't live very long. The owner didn't want his daughter to get attached to her so he gave her to me. She is 8 weeks old already, and her legs are extremely short for her body and they're missing hair, but she runs around and jumps like our other bunnies so I'm having a hard time believing she's not going to live very long. Is it possible she's just a runt? She's a third of the size of her litter mates. She's a Holland lop. Sorry the picture is dark, I couldn't get a better one because she never stops moving.

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[Watermelons]

Peanuts typically die within a few days of being born so I would say shes not a peanut.
Perhaps you can get some better photos of her legs and other issues. Those don't sound normal and there may be something else going on that she may need vet attention for.

 

[crystal1317]

I can definitely try to take better pictures later. I didn't think she was a peanut but her legs are just tiny for her body. She runs around and eats and drinks and poops and pees completely normally. The insides of her hind legs are bald, though, and I'm wondering if it was because she was kept in a wire cage or maybe her mom was cleaning her too well, if that's a thing?

 

[Watermelons]

Perhaps. Could be urine scald as well.
If were able to see the condition of the skin as well if might help. Is it red and irritated? Flaky? Yellow? wrinkly?

When you breed 2 dwarf breed rabbits you can have a number of outcomes including - Peanuts, Dwarfs, and "false" dwarfs as explained here.
http://www.thenaturetrail.com/rabbit-genetics/dwarf-gene-dw-falsedwarfs-peanuts/
Very easily your rabbit could have been the only one in the litter with the true dwarf genes showing and the runt as well while all the others would be normal sized hollands that don't have their dwarf genes doing anything for them.

 

[crystal1317]

These are her bald legs, my phone camera isn't wanting to focus on her, so I'm having a hard time getting better shots. You can see how her little legs are stumpy in this picture, too.

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[crystal1317]

Thanks for that link, btw.

 

[Lokin4AReason]

beautiful lil one and I bet, she has a personality to go w/ it =0)

 

[crystal1317]

Yes, she's very feisty but snuggly at the same time. We love her, and we've named her Twinkle.

 

[crystal1317]

I wonder if she'll grow to be a normal size or if she'll always be tiny.

 

[ladysown]

urine scald due to the genetic malformity. You'll need to keep those clean.

Just love on her, she might live a long time, she might just die on you sometime.
Just love on her and hope for the best.

You might want to take her to the vet. Sometimes really busy bunnies have heart conditions.

 

[crystal1317]

I'll make an appointment for her to be seen sometime next week. She's definitely getting lots of snuggles and space to play.

 

[whiskylollipop]

Oh poor baby! Urine scald for sure, that looks so inflamed and painful. Good on you for taking her to the vet, hopefully there's some cream they can prescribe that will help heal her skin.

 

[squidpop]

It looks like her hind legs didn't form properly but if everything else works— maybe she will be just fine.
I don't think it could be a peanut. Peanuts have a cone shaped head and her head shape looks normal. And peanuts have an incomplete digestive system so they usually starve to death shortly after birth. So if she is eating and pooing like a normal rabbit and still alive after 8 weeks I don't think there is any way she is a peanut.

 

[crystal1317]

I was snuggling her last night and noticed the hair is growing back in on her legs, so that's good.
Her little legs are short and stumpy, she reminds me of a Bassett hound. Her claws are soft, too, they're not sharp, it's so strange.

 

[JBun]

Some genetic deformities will affect the back legs and she may have had some sort of leg splaying when she was born, or possibly learning how to hop was delayed and she dragged her legs til she learned how to hop properly. This could account for the fur loss on the inside of the back legs. If she can hop around alright now, then the fur should continue to grow back in.

Because she does have some genetic issues, you will want to keep a close eye on her as she continues to grow and develop, in case any new health concerns crop up.

She's a cute little bun and I'm glad you are giving her a chance since she appears to be doing well.

 

[crystal1317]

An update! I took Twinkle to see a vet, who said she's perfectly healthy in every way, except her legs are smaller in proportion to her body and she is very tiny for her breed. He advised me that it might be dangerous to breed her, and advised getting her fixed, but her size might make surgery dangerous. He said just keep doing what we've been doing with her and there's no reason why she won't live a long and happy life.

 

[crystal1317]

And just to give you a better idea of her size, she's a Holland lop, I got her when she was eight weeks old. I have small hands, she's so tiny.

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[DjulezTomAndFranky]

she's beautiful