Rabbit putting no pressure on paw

Question
Hi,
I have a two year old male rabbit (Mini Rex).  He hasn't been putting much pressure on his front right paw.  We took him to the vet and they gave him an x-ray.  They said nothing showed up on the x-ray.  The vet said it could possibly be just stressed or a muscle strain, etc.  That was two weeks ago.  They gave him Medacam (a weeks worth).  During that week the rabbit was fine, but once he got off of the medication he went back to putting no pressure on it.  

Could it still just be sore?  Or possibly something more serious?  Should I bring him back to the vet?

Thanks,
Tessa

Answer
Dear Tessa,

Two possibilities come to mind:

1.  A soft tissue injury that is taking a long time to heal

2.  A bone break that was not sufficiently calcified to show up on radiograph at the time.

If it's the former, then it might help to ice the injured area.  If it's tender to the touch, and if there is any crepidus (crickly sounds) when the foot is moved, then I'd suspect a fracture, if only a hairline.

Might be time to re-radiograph to see if there's a small fracture now starting to calcify.  Since bun isn't putting any weight at all on the limb, I'd want to make sure of *all* areas that could be involved, from pectoral girdle to toes.

Might also ask the vet about wrapping the foot gently to stabilize it (as you would a hurt knee with an Ace bandage) to see if that helps at all.  But be careful not to bind too tightly:  if it's a ligament, wrapping it could make it pop into an uncomfortable/painful position, which might make things worse until the bandage comes off again.

Hope this helps.

Dana