Spinal Injury in 6 month mini rex

[KKH]

Hello. My daughters 6 month old rex has a spinal injury. She generally gets free roaming time in our fenced back yard, on Sunday when we went to put her in her hutch for the night she was already in it and hiding in the corner. When I checked her over I could tell something was not right and thought it might be a spinal injury, but hoped it was not. She has a two story hutch and was able to go down the ramp to get to her water and food, but not back up to get to her nest box. I took her to the vet and she confirmed that she has a spinal injury. She said it is low in her spine so she still has normal bowel functions and can get around a little, but there is no feeling in her feet and lower parts of her legs. She did give us Metacam to give her for a few days and suggested keeping her in a smaller cage limiting her movement for awhile. She said she does not show any signs of pain.

Bunbun seems to be more chipper today and has her ears up and her eyes look clear. Everything seems to be working fine except she cannot sit up on her hocks and cannot hop.

The vet does not think she will recover from this. I am looking for information on how to help her continue to live a good life. I want to do what we can for her. We have moved her to her smaller cage inside the garage where everything is close for her and she is not hopping around a lot.

Does anyone else have a bunny with this type of injury and how are they doing? Anyone have one this young with this type of injury? Any comments, suggestions, etc. are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Watermelons]

Bunny Wheel Chair?
It is possible. I have hear a few stories of it. Search around on the forum as there are a few topics out there (new and old) that mention issues like this.
What kind of testing did the vet do to determine that all it was, was an injury? Did the vet rule anything else out? Best to keep an eye on her and see if things get worse or better.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11074&forum_id=16&highlight=wheel+chair
Older topic but lots of good links.
I babysat a bunny with back end paralysis once or twice, she was perfectly happy in her cage, towels changed twice a day for pee and poops, lots of cuddles, loved pumpkin seeds, I think she lived to about 8, she was born with the issue.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Do you have a small transport carrier (small enough to limit movement entirely)? It happens occasionally that a show rabbit will get a broken leg or injured back. As long as the rabbit isn't showing signs of pain, breeders will typically set the rabbit up in a show carrier, which is basically just large enough for the rabbit to turn around in, and leave it for at least 2 weeks. Make sure food and water are accessible at a good height, of course.

After a week or two, the rabbit is removed and allowed to hop around a bit for evaluation. If the injury seems improved, the rabbit may be confined for another week or so before being slowly transitioned to usual exercise again. If the rabbit seems the same or worse, euthanasia may be considered. The quality of a rabbit's life is greatly reduced if its largely immobile- they become more prone to urine scald, sore hocks, etc. among other things.

Anyway, I would certainly try confining her for awhile and seeing whether that will help. Especially in a young rabbit, recovery should be more likely.

 

[KKH]

Thanks for the comments already! I really appreciate them.

Where we are most people would not consider keeping a rabbit in this condition, but I just can't give up on her so quickly. I do understand that at some point we have to evaluate her quality of life, when she is not in pain it is a hard call though.

I guess I should have added too that she was wet and had spots of fur that were tuffed, so we are pretty certain that something got into our yard and got hold of her, so yes we are certain it is an injury and not disease or other illness.

She has only lost feeling in her feet and lower legs, so she is able to get around without dragging her entire rear end and gets up good to go potty, just can't make it into her litter box.

The vet also suggested keeping her confined for awhile and said she would not be able to go back to living in her two story hutch, we would need to find a single level one for her. We do have her in a small cage for now with her food and water right there, keeping the bedding cleaned out as much as possible. She is also still doing a good job of keeping herself clean.

Again, thank you. I am open to all suggestions!

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Best wishes for her! Sometimes all they need is time to heal. Rabbits can be more prone to stress injuries than other animals since they are frightened rather easily. Hopefully with some rest, she'll start feeling better soon. If she continues to get around on her own okay, she would be fine. It's only if she seems to be in pain or the injury worsens that other options may be considered. But as it stands now, it doesn't sound like that's the case!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[KKH]

It has been five days since BunBun's injury. I have been trying to read as much as I can on here about various things. The last two days she has been making an effort to really clean herself up. I have started setting her on her litter box several times a day and each time she uses it and as oddly as it sounds seems kind of pleased to be on it. She still will not get in it on her own, but she is starting to stretch up a little more. Tomorrow is our last day of anti-inflammatory meds so we will see how she once she is off of them.

Overall she seems happy, doesn't seem to be in any pain, just acts like she gets frustrated when she tries to do something she can't (which I think we all would be if all of the sudden we couldn't move all of our legs properly). I am hoping that she is young enough she can adapt to getting around with the loss of the feeling in her feet and lower part of her hind legs.

She has never ate many pellets and had mostly a diet of fresh veggies, grass, dandelions (during the summer that is) and hay, but since this she has pretty much stopped eating any pellets and eats only a small amount of hay. She still loves her veggies though.

I'll keep reading up on what is better for them and what's not good for them so we can keep her eating and strong.

Any suggestions on foods she might enjoy that won't hurt her in large quantities?

 

[Geoff]

hay and grass in large quantities is fine. Sometimes these paralyzed rabbits regain some movement/function in their legs with time... don't give up yet. I would recommend continuing the Metacam another few weeks though.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:ray:

 

[KKH]

Is it possible for her to gain back movement in only one side and not the other? Each day she seems a little better today she wanted out of the small cage I have been keeping her in and she hopped around some. When I touch her right hind foot she twitches it and pulls it away from me...a week ago she didn't move it all even if you pinched in between her toes. Her left hind leg still has no feeling and it tends to end up laying under her. Any chance it will come back too? Would it be too soon to let her go back in her normal house with two stories or should I keep her cooped up in the small for awhile longer?

 

[missyscove]

That definitely sounds like improvement. It would certainly be possible for her to regain function just on one side. Would you consider keeping her inside your house where you could keep a good eye on her?

 

[whitelop]

Do you by chance have mushrooms in your backyard?

There was someone not to long ago whose rabbits became partially paralyzed for a period of time because they had eaten mushrooms from the yard.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=75469&forum_id=16

Your vet could 100% be right, and I could definitely be wrong, but after seeing that the bun stays outside thats what came to mind.
It sounds like she is making some improvement which is a great thing!
I wish your bun all the best!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[KKH]

Almost another week down. Talked to the vet on Tuesday, got another round of Metacam. The tech could not believe she was getting any movement back let alone one whole side. Said according to the vets notes she figured bunbun would just go down hill.

As for mushrooms, no we don't have any, it froze and killed everything in early October here. Thank you for the suggestion though! We are certain something had gotten a hold of her.

Unfortunately there is no way I can bring her in the house as I am extremely allergic to animals and hay, and straw and her pellets! Each day she shows more improvement though. Today, for the first time she has used her litter box all day on her own, no messes!!

There is still no feeling in her left rear leg, but it does not seem to be slowing her down anymore.

Thanks to everyone for the advice!! I am glad I gave her a chance and would recommend anyone with a spinal injury to give it time, and Metacam!