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BROKEN BUNNY LEG???

22 10:53:34

Question
hi, i am from los angeles but am visiting family in shanghai, china right now.  we have been caring for our bunny for about a week.  just yesterday, my brother accidentally stepped on him and i think something is wrong with his right hind leg.  he can stretch and move it, but when he hops, he doesn't use the leg.  i have confined him in a small cage to minimize movement, but there isn't a vet around here to properly treat him.  i feel so bad and i wish there was something i could do for him.  could you tell me what i can do here?  they don't really have care for animals here like we do in the states...  our bunny is still eating and wants to hop around.... the only abnormal thing is his hind leg is dragging...  i know that he should get x-rays, but at this point, that's not an option because there isn't proper treatment that i can find here.  please let me know what i can do.  thank you.

Answer
Dear Michelle,

Without a vet, there isn't much you can do except to stabilize the leg in a single position, as close to normal as possible.  Without seeing the leg or knowing where the break might be, I can't even advise you exactly how to do this.  But if all else fails, you could gently fold his leg into as normal a position as possible--with all three segments (thigh, calf, and foot) as straight with themselves as possible, and gently wrap the leg so it's against his abdomen and can't move.

Be extremely careful not to tie things too tightly!  All I can recommend is this until you can get him to a vet.  If the leg is broken, the ONLY thing you can try to do is immobilize it and hope for the best until you can find a vet.

There are international vet listings linked here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

though I'm not sure about Shanghai.  I hope this helps.  And if you're coming back to L.A. soon, then get the bunny to a good vet there ASAP.

Good luck,

Dana