Dragging hind legs

Question
Hello!

I have an 11 week old Netherland Dwarf bunny - Cotton. I got him when he was 6 weeks old from a breeder. We have made contact with the breeder and he informed us that none of the other bunnies of the litter were having issues. There were two bunnies born from the same mom and she did not want them. He placed them with a surrogate mom who was nursing one bunny of her own and she accepted Cotton and his sister.

Cotton is very active and affectionate and loved to be out. After letting him settle down and becoming accustomed to his new environment, I started to let him out in order to get exercise. I noticed from the first few days that he did not hop like a bunny. He did more of a walk. I thought the floor was slippery for him. So I got a hide which has no colouring and is all natural. He hopped a little more but still did the crawl. This is my first bunny so I thought nothing of it. It was cute.

About 4 days ago, I saw him dragging his legs a bit more. He also had some fecal matter stuck to his bottom. He was going to the washroom all over the cage which is not normal for him. On Saturday night he was dragging a lot. On Sunday, we took him to the vet. X-rays were done and there appears to be no breaks or dislocations. The x-rays are now sent to a specialist to review again. I thought he was having diareah, however, the vet said that he has crystallized urine and wanted his diet changed. We are now giving him Timothy Hay and pellets. She also wants him on veggies and fruit and provided me with a list of veggies to give him. His urine is still a yellowy thick colour. He also has an eye infection and they gave us eye drops to place twice per day for 10 days. They prescribed an antibiotic twice a day for 14 days.

The vet said he has one of three things:
1) an infection
2) a neurological issue
3) congenital issue.

I took the recommendation of the vet and placed towels in the cage in order to monitor his urine and also took the step level out of the cage so he is only on a flat surface. He is eating and drinking lots. And he is still grooming his upper half of his body. He still wants lots of affection, however we only pet him and we are not taking him out of the cage. Tonight I will try and make a barrier to make his cage half the size as he is still active and drags around sniffing and chewing the blankets.

I am really worried about him! I feel hopeless and helpless. The vet also recommended I bring him back in 10 days when they can do a urine test and blood work. Unfortunately the vet bill was $500 and additional testing will cost about $300-$400 which I cannot afford.

Is there anything I can do at home to help him recover? Have you heard of bunnies getting better after having symptoms like these? When should I expect to see change with the antibiotics? Should I get the additional testing done?

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Mariann

Answer
Dear Mariann,

There are several different possible reasons for a rabbit to lose the use of his hind legs, and some are discussed here:

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

(Be sure to read the linked article by Dr. Susan Brown.)

While it is not common for such a young bunny to show signs of E. cuniculi, it's not impossible.  You might discuss this possibility with the vet, and perhaps consider putting bun on Panacur (fenbendazole) and ponazuril (which you can get without a prescription these days).  It could be that this little guy was a sort of "runt" and also immunocompromised, which would make it more likely that E. cuniculi could cause signs of illness in him.

Be sure your vet is very experienced with rabbits.  If you're not sure, you can look here for another vet for a second opinion:

www.rabbit.org/vets

But if the worst happens and he doesn't regain the use of his back end, don't despair.  Amazing advances are being made in rabbit medicine, and bunnies can even have custom wheel chairs made these days!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PzEqJHj_jY

Also see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NJjdnbAvkk&NR=1

and especially:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=disabled

Hope this helps!

Dana