bad paws

Question
i think my rabbit must have fallen because last night he was only hopping/ walking on 3 paws, but i felt it and it didn,t hurt her as she didn't pull awy from me. it was the same this morning so took her to a vet who said just to wait as nothing is broken. but now she is not using her back leg and not really eating.  

Answer
Dear Louise,

Even if the leg is not broken, it is obviously causing enough pain to elicit GI slowdown or ileus, a common side effect of stress/pain in rabbits. Please read:

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

and please find a more experienced rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Even if it's just a "wait and see" episode with the injured paw, the bunny needs treatment for pain and especially for ileus, if the GI tract is slowing down or stopping.  Ileus can be life-threatening if not treated immediately!

I hope this helps. Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana