older rabbit mobility

Question
my 6 year old rabbit did something quite odd the other day. he was sat under the table for a while and when he came out, he was dragging his back paws and seemed to be panicking and crawling around on his front paws very quickly. this isn't normal for him because hes quite slow now and tends just to chill all day. i was worried so i picked him up and he sat with me for a while. after that he seemed fine and hasn't done it since. it was like he had lost feeling in his back end! is it possible that it was just like a bit of cramp or could it be something more serious? he has been eating and drinking normally.

many thanks
Charlie x

Answer
Dear Charlie,

It wasn't a cramp.  This is probably something more serious, and it does warrant a trip to a very good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

He could have suffered a traumatic injury, but at his age there is also a very good chance that he's now starting to show signs of a central nervous system parasite, E. cuniculi.  Rabbits at his age seem to be in the prime time for this parasite to start to cause serious problems.

Please read this:

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

but, more importantly, get him to a good rabbit vet ASAP for treatment.

If this is E. cuniculi, the sooner treatment is started, the better his chances for recovery and improvement of movement.  Anything causing hind limb weakness must be treated *promptly* for best chance of recovery.  If your vet is not familiar with this parasite, please share this:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/fenbendazole.pdf

I hope this helps.

Dana