Leg Weakness/Wobbling

Question
Hi Sarah,

My name is Lana and I have a seven year old Californian Mix named Annika.  She weighs 9.6 lbs.  About 4 days ago, I noticed her back leg seemed to be in pain, as she dragged it a bit/tucked it under herself when she was walking.  The next day she seemed fine and I could barely notice any dragging.  I attributed this to arthritis, and planned on taking her into the vet this Tuesday after Memorial Day.  

(I don't know if this is relevant, but about 4 years ago she had an injury on that leg by snagging her toenail suffered some nerve damage to her leg.  She has walked with a barely noticeable limp since.)

Anyway, today a few hours ago I noticed her back leg was up to it again, and then she was tucking in her front paw on the same side as well.  When I offered her a carrot she tried running up to me, but kept flopping over/tripping on herself.  I held her for about 20 minutes, then offered her another one.  This time she wasn't tripping on herself; she just was a bit unstable/wobbly.  

I tried contacting the emergency vet to see if this was indeed an emergency, or if it could wait 2 days.  The woman who answered the phone couldn't really give me advice.  It didn't seem like they see rabbits regularly, and the technician couldn't tell me if the vet on duty had seen anything like this before.  I am also reluctant to see the emergency vet because I had to take another pet there last year and they really didn't do anything, the nurse was rude, and it cost me $800.  However if this is an emergency, she is worth it to me.  Please help.

Answer
Hello Lana


I think that $800 just to see a vet is disgusting. There are some vets that are just after more and more money. But not all vets are like that. If i was you then i would ring up as many vets as possible to see what they think as they will all have different opinions about your poor bunnies leg.

Her leg may have something to do with her old age and her age may make it harder for her to walk which is why she keeps falling over and tucking it in. It sounds that it is really painful for her so try and make her as comfortable as possible and try not to let her walk on it as much. Don't let her have too much exercise on it as it could make the pain worse.

hope it goes well at the vets.

hope this is some help

sarah