what happened to my baby ?

Question
QUESTION: i will make this very short but need an answer asap. i live in a very small town with only 2 vets and neither will take rabbits since they say they are wild animals. so i am counting on you to at least give me some idea of what to do. i have a rabbit i call my baby. ive had him since he was first born. i kept him in a huge cage with plenty of room to run and recently let him out in my fenced in yard. after 2 days i noticed both of his back legs are broke. i have no clue what happened. he just sat there and when i picked him up both legs were dangling. i put him back in his cage but have no clue what to do. hes eating great, drinking, and lets me pick him up so i know hes not in alot of pain. can you please help? thanks lynn
ANSWER: Oh Lynn I am so sorry about your baby.  I have no idea what could have caused his legs to become broken.  Is there anyway he could have been attacked by another animal or fallen in a hole?  In any case as long as he is able to get to his food and keeps eating and drinking then you can deal with this.  If his legs are broken some vets would splint them and others won't.  When we have broken legs we let them heal on their own.  You just have to make sure he can get around and get to his food and if he can't then you need to bring it to him.  The only difference is that if you were able to find a vet they might give him pain medicine.  Just be really careful when you pick him up and keep an eye on his butt.  Make sure he isn't covered in urine or poo.  If he is you might have to clean him daily.  You can use baby wipes or if it is really bad you can wash his hind quarters in a small area of warm soapy water.  Make sure that if he is not able to get up and go potty on his own that you give him a towel or something to lay on so that it will help absorb the moisture.  Make sure to keep him really clean.  Also, please don't let him outside until he is completely better.  He may act normal but predators will notice that he is more vulnerable.  He will be much safer indoors.

About the vet situation.  The vets in your area should at the very least be able to refer you to an exotic pet vet.  We have many vets that will not treat rabbits but how foolish of them to say they are wild animals.  Domestic rabbits are not wild animals what-so-ever.  If you need to find a vet please go to this site

http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

It may be a few hour drive but it is important to find one somewhere incase of an immediate problem.  You are going to want to have someone that you can see if your baby becomes worse.

Please let me know if you need anymore help

Pam



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

QUESTION: i have a neighbor who says he will splint my babys legs if i want. hes worked on many area rabbits but no hes not a vet. i was wondering if maybe i could give baby a crushed up aspirin in his water? what do you think? lynn

Answer
Hi Lynn... don't give baby aspirin.  It is not approved for rabbits.  As long as your neighbor has worked on rabbits you can let him splint them.  If baby feels shows obvious signs of distress or tries to eat the splints just take them off.  She seems to be doing ok on her own.  All of the pain medicine approved for rabbits you can only get by prescription.  There might be some natural remedies but I am not trained in natural remedies.  If you would like some natural remedies you can try

http://www.petmedicinechest.com/rabbit/Default.asp

I do believe they also have a phone number that you can call for support on correct doses etc.