leg ASAP

Question
hi.. when i woke up this morning i noticed that one of my rabbits cant walk on her right foot. she can stand on it but cant walk or run on it. she was okay last night so i guess it happened late last night when they were playing or something. i cant take her to a vet. please help me ASAP. thanks

Answer
Dear Sara,

Unfortunately, I cannot help you much over the internet.  I can only tell you that if she is not putting *any* weight on the leg or moving it to run and walk, then something could be broken and she needs to be seen by an experienced rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

If a bone is broken, there is nothing you can do at home to solve the problem: your bunny needs veterinary attention, no matter what.

If she is putting *any* weight on the leg, that's a good sign, and it could be just a soft tissue injury.  If that's the case, then observe her for a couple of days.  If the problem doesn't improve, she still should be seen by a good rabbit vet.  That is the only way to know what is wrong, and how to treat it.

Check her toenails to see if one is broken/bloody.  That can make a bunny favor a foot, and can be treated by removing any part of the nail still hanging, and then disinfecting thoroughly with dilute povidone iodine, and keeping a close eye on it for any sign of swelling or inflammation (at which point, she goes to the vet!).

I wish I could tell you she doesn't need a vet, but I can't.  Please do the right thing, and get her to a good vet if you suspect a bone might be broken.

I hope this helps.

Dana