Leg problems

Question
QUESTION: Hello Dana ,  

 You helped me earlier in year with one of my bunnies who became disabled.  I have another who has only the use of her front legs recently.   This is apparently because I did not act quickly enough on a tooth problem and she became dehydrated. She was never a good eater of hay and greens so she was always thin.   She has recovered somewhat with vet care , fluids and metacam, and I have the pet palace fleece .

 I am doing what I can to keep her clean with cornstarch powder but it does not look like the back legs are going to come back .  One is dragging behind.

   My main question is do you have any suggestions regarding one of the front legs which the hair has become worn off from trying to hold herself up.  The only thing i have done is put vaseline on it.  She seems to be constantly pushing off on it to the side making it worse.  Can it be bandaged somehow or immobilized ?

Thank you,

John


ANSWER: Dear John,

It's not very likely that your bunny's hind limb paresis is due to her dehydration episode.  And because you have two rabbits with the same problem, I would seriously consider that this may be at least partly due to infection with the parasite, E. cuniculi.

This can be treated with fenbendazole:

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

and the sooner the drug is started, the better the chances for improvement, if the drug does work in your bunny's case (results range from excellent to fair).  Another, newer drug also showing promise for treating E. cuniculi is ponazuril.  But you need a vet who really knows a lot about rabbit medicine, and you can find one here, I hope:

www.rabbit.org/vets

The main way to get your newly disabled bunny better is to start treatment to see if the fenbendazole or ponazuril will work.  But in the meantime, you may have to wrap your bunny's leg in a protective "glove."

The best padding is rabbit fur, and since now is shedding season you can groom the bunnies and harvest as much loose fur as possible.  Store it in a ziplock bag.  To create a cushioned sling for your bunny, read the instructions for making a pad here:

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

But instead of wrapping the hind legs, you can modify the wrap procedure shown in the diagram to fit her front leg needs.  You might have to be a bit creative, and I'm not sure I can help much since I can't see exactly where she's rubbing herself raw.

I hope this helps!

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:     I probably left out some details so as not to be too long.  But Dr. Jennifer Saver is my vet.  She is a little far away and I had a lot going on.  My bunny was having trouble with her teeth for a few weeks but still eating.   Then she stopped and I tried to get her to the vet locally the same week my wife was having surgery and no one was available that handles rabbits.  I was feeding her critical care.


 I still owed Dr. Saver from the last time so that probably embarrased me from calling her even though she is not like that .  I ended up there after going 2 other places in an emergency.  Blood tests at one place were showing kidney problems .   Dr Saver said she had muscle waste and thought she was not eating for some time.  
   She had always been a thin rabbit , not eating greens and only some hay.  I only realized that this could be a problem now because she had nothing to fall back on.  
 So the subject of e-cunniculi did not come up .   She had been doing better eating somewhat with pellets and critical care and looks better but seems very discouraged and uncomfortable by the leg problems and her messy butt.

Thanks ,
John

Answer
Dear John,

Dr. Saver is terrific, and your bunny is in good hands with her.  The news about the renal disease isn't good, but rabbits with E. cuniculi often have kidney damage because the parasite inhabits (and damages) both the central nervous system and the renal system. So treatment with ponazuril and/or fenbendazole might be something to pursue, to prevent further damage.

Good luck,

Dana