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broken hind leg.

22 10:03:33

Question
Hi dana,my rabbit has broken his ball joint between his leg and foot,Ive took him to the vets yesterday they took an xray and said thers nothing we can do for him,it will get better but not much. I feel like av spent all that money for nothing! He holds his foot up close to him not putting down all that much,he still acts the same eating and drinking normall,There must be something I or they can do for him. He broke it 4 days ago and he is 4 months old... Thankyou.....donna...  

Answer
Dear Donna,

You need to get him to a more experienced rabbit vet!

www.rabbit.org/vets

The vets didn't know enough about rabbits to suggest treatment, but it was positively inhumane for them to send you away without even pain medication.  The foot can at least be stabilized in a splint so that it can heal.  He might not have full use of it again, but at least it can be healed in a somewhat normal position.

If the vascularization of the area below the break is compromised, it's possible he might lose that part of the leg.  If this is the case, full amputation at mid-femur is usually recommended, and it's actually not as horrific as it might sound to have a "tripod" bunny, if it comes to that.  They do much better without a hind leg than missing a front one, surprisingly.  And many rabbits adapt very well to this condition.

I mention this only if the vets suggest euthanasia, which is certainly not something you want to consider for something like a broken leg.

I hope you can find a good vet soon, because the sooner the leg is stabilized, the lower the risk of losing it.

Dana