splay - leg

Question
Hi - My daughter has a rabbit which is now about 3 years old. Over the last few months we have noticed that her front legs are splayed more and more. Previous to this vet told us that she needed to loose weight,as she is a rather large lop eared rabbit. Gradually due to a careful diet plan she has lost weight. Is this splaying of her front legs due to her previous weight or is it something else? She seems to have developed the splaying since loosing weight.The hutch she is in does have a slippery surface, but she is like this outdoors on grass & the path too. Otherwise she is a very bonny rabbit, eats well & does run around the garden.  Can you help?

Answer
Dear Ania,

The combination of being overweight and living on a slippery surface are most likely the culprits of this problem.  You must immediately change the surface of her hutch so that she has complete traction on it, or this problem will just get worse.  It's not just that she can't get her footing on the slippery hutch floor.  It's that when she's in the hutch on that slippery floor, she's doing permanent damage to her joints and soft tissue.  The longer she's forced to *ever* walk on a slippery surface, the worse this problem will get.

Since this problem is developing as she's an adult, the splinting protocol shown here might  not be necessary if you act quickly.  But if her legs continue to splay, you might consider rigging her front legs like this, until her muscles strengthen and she can walk and stand normally again:

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

Hope this helps.

Dana