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› Forum › HOUSE RABBIT Q & A › Broken leg?
Hi guys. The past few days have been very confusing and full of stress for me. I have had exams and also have upcoming exams which will decide my future, my career. But I also have a bunch of bunnies at home who keep facing problems one time or the other. I am a very sensitive bunny parent, but I am have been helpless and will be helpless for the next 20 days. I know people have judged me for not being able to take my buns to a vet, but it is a genuine problem I face.
I need advise on how to differenciate between a broken leg and a sprained leg? Chikoo is the bunny I am talking about. He got hurt while cage movement and screamed for 10 seconds. Mom put the hurt leg under running cold water and he stopped screaming. She applied a pain oinment on his leg (don’t know how much that works). I wasn’t home and as soon as I learnt about his fate I put him in a small cage to immobilize him as much as possible. He is eating normally. He has got urine stained paws which I couldn’t clear up in case he gets hurt again (he is a New Zealand white). He is showing no signs of pain. When I wasn’t home, he ran about everywhere with three legs.
I inspected the leg. No open wounds or blood stains. It’s the front part of the front leg. He isn’t using it. He wants to use it and but can’t. I saw him trying to groom his ear but was unable to do so. He is resting and eating normally. It’s like his leg has lost sense.
There are no vets available nearby who can take X-rays and treat his leg. There are however vets some 30 kms away whom I can’t visit before my exams end (20 days). My parents are not going to bear the cost (I don’t know what cost it is here, but if its 1500$ then it’s a hell lot of money here in India). My parents say it’s gonna heal naturally. He has just turned 1 (yrs).
That’s all the information from the incident. Please suggest ways out accordingly.
For emergency treatment I’m glad you checked for bleeding or surface bruising. Without an x ray it’s impossible to tell and you need to ensure that your bunny moves as little as possible. As long as your bunny is eating and pooping that’s a good sign but you should also reinforce the limb with a splint such as a light peice of wood or a very firm but not choking wrapping that does not limit blood flow but keeps the limb stable, for example wrapped cause secured with medical tape on the outside to prevent movement to localize pain to be accurate your going to have to gently squeeze with firm pressure til you see your bunny react to know the approximate location. Offer treats and pets to ensure that your doing the best for your bun.
Signs for a break include rotation of fur or skin such as foot fur being out of place than normal which is a neccesary vet visit. A fracture which sounds more likely since your bun is trying to move but simply can’t means he knows it’s injured. Put pain ointment daily and ensure plenty of fluids and use a damp towel to assist cleaning especially the feet with urine to prevent infection but again I would push for a vet visit cause the last thing you want is a blocked blood vein to require amputation.
I will put the splint as you said.
Foot fur is in place as I checked. Just that the limb seems to be shrunken?
I am trying to clean his foot but he is grooming himself today. He is grooming his injured leg. Just that he can’t clean his ear and mouth.
I talked to my vet and he told me to wait for four days. He prescribed pain meds. He said it might be sprain so it’s best to wait and it might heal on it’s own. I am applying pain oinment too. Hope he gets better. xx
I’m glad you got pain meds for him. That he’s eating and grooming himself is very good. BanditCamp has given you excellent advice.
I hope it’s not serious.
The shrunken bone is caused naturally by Osteoclasts. In army medical school they break down unnatural bones during a break and then the body naturally regrows the bone naturally, the splints are used to ensure that the bone does not grow weird and cause room to break again. Your bunny is looking at about 3-5 weeks to be fully healed and jumpy again but may gain full motor control sooner than that but it’s still better to limit movement
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByLVH4ihPTTgQ21ZMEc0WlJCYjA/view?usp=sharing
Here’s the video of his leg before the dressing. Please advice.
I just saw him grooming himself with the dressing. He can groom his ears now. xx Here is a picture of the dressing (Dad did it xx).
My closest vet is 30km. I sometimes take my rabbit farther than that if I want a second opinion. Not to judge – just some perspective – far for one might be close for another…
Anyway…
I also agree with BanditCamp. It is highly likely that it is a fracture, although it isn’t always easy to differentiate. They both cause swelling and bruising, but a rabbit would be more likely to use a sprained leg than a broken leg.
The trouble with broken bones – is the longer you wait to get it treated professionally, the more likely tissue will grow around the break and prevent proper healing. If it is a minor fracture, it could very well heal quite nicely with a homemade splint. If there is separation in the bone – enough for tissue to grow in between – the treatment could likely be more invasive and costly. I knew of a person whose cat broke it’s leg. She waited 2 weeks to go to the vet. The cat was young, so it healed quickly, and although it couldn’t use the leg, there was enough of a gap in the broken bone that bone tissue grew, and the femur was not able to reattach to the point in the hip socket that it broke off from. So the vet had to operate and grind down the new bone growth, in order to reattach the broken bones. After that – the cat could walk and run like normal.
Although we splint and the position looks good, you don’t know without an xray if the position really is ideal, because you can’t see what’s going on in the bones.
So while it is likely that your rabbit may recover nicely, you just don’t know without an X-ray.
Be careful of the ingredients in topical pain meds. Neosporin with added pain relief is not safe for bunnies. I also can’t help but think that a topical pain cream would help for a sprain/strain, but that the bunny would need internal pain relief for a broken bone.
BTW a splint (and that looks pretty decent) will also go a long way towards pain relief.
From the video and watching him walk around a bit (again I’m not a vet) its looks as if he’s avoiding pressure entirely on the leg but is able to keep the leg off the ground meaning that his Humerus is ok, however, this leaves the metacarpals (connecting finger bones), carpals (connecting finger bones smaller), Claws, phalanges (fingers/toes) the radius and ulna (arm bones) possibly to damage.
If he’s grooming after your dad applied that bandage it means definitely the previously mentioned parts has been secured and is not free floating damage and he feels better about it. But with something as serious as that a veterinarian is a better option and you can possibly take the rabbit to any vet to get a simple x-ray and ask to look for breaks or fractures on that leg. If you still absolutely cannot take your bun to the vet keep donig what your doing for 3-5 weeks and every week or so apply gentle pressure along the bones up until the elbow joint and feel for sharp edges and skin bruising or dark redness (the skin wil bruise lightly due to healing but if its DARK then you should worry). Pain ointment, limited space, plenty of hay and water and if you can foods with moderate amounts of calcium to help regrow the bones. (alfalfa hay or pellets in moderation)
Hi Vanessa. I have a car, so 30 kms isn’t far for me either. It’s the least I can do for my buns. But I live with my parents and alas, I can only request or to an extend cry to take him there. I did both. And Mom agreed. But our vet called us back and asked us about it. After we described, he told us to observe him for four days first. It might be a sprain. Or a fracture. When I said that it might cause problems if we delay, he said waiting for 4 days will not cause any harm. It will just help differenciate. Travelling 30 kms may not be time consuming, but there are certain circumstances which cannot be avoided. I have travel sickness and I can’t afford to waste a single day by falling sick since my career is at stake for the next twenty days. And without me, Mom won’t go. I know I have been judged on many occasions for not being able to go to the vet and that’s why I tried to tell you my story. But it doesn’t end there.
I am not waiting for a long time, just three more days. I am willing to do anything for my bun. But I certainly don’t know more than my vet. So if he says wait, I have to wait. I have no other option, do I? But thank you for that bone tissue information. I will keep that in mind and make sure he gets the treatment he needs asap.
My vet prescribed Arnica Montana both for ingestion and topical. And it is working!!!
Hi, BanditCamp. I will take him for x-ray in three days. The vet told to wait for four days because he wants to rule out the possibility of a sprain. The vet prescribed Arnica Montage both as an analgesic and as tincture. And I have provided unlimited hay (timothy and alpha alpha combined), water and some pellets (Zupreem).
That’s a very interesting prescription. We don’t have access to it in the USA because of it’s toxicity. I’d sure be willing to try it with Lancelot’s pain management!
There is another cream we use here for arthritis pain – Capsaicin. It is essentially black pepper. I use it myself – kind of tingly, but works well. Not sure how good it would be for bunnies. Black pepper and turmeric are both good for pain and inflammation relief.
There is some debate about the effectiveness of NSAIDs with bone fractures. When I broke my back – I was told to avoid NSAIDs because they inhibit inflammation, which inhibits bone healing. But newer studies have disagreed with that conclusion. So there really isn’t much scientific support for the use or non-use of NSAIDs for fractures – only disagreement.
I’m not judging you. Just had a hormonal/pregnant morning and feeling very strait-forward. I just posted on one of my threads about using non-prescribed antibiotics for my bunny – so I’m not in any position to judge anyone. We do the best that we can – sometimes our choices/options are not popular.
Waiting anxiously to hear how your bunny fairs.
NSAID and fractures are debated here as well, when I broke my ankle a couple of years ago, my doctor told me to not take any anti-inflammatories, not even ibuprofen, for the reasons Vanessa mentions. But when I read up on it, it seems scientific studies have been inconclusive. I didn’t have any pain though once my ankle had been stabilized with a boot cast. Hopefully little bun Chikoo won’t be in pain dither now his leg has a splint.
I hope those negative studies aren’t true. Chikoo seems to have reduced pain now since he is doing some grooming with the leg. Hope the medicines are working. Xx
A recent study I read indicated that non-union in bone (healing) leads to use of NSAIDs to manage the pain, which led to the initial conclusion that NSAIDs cause non-union. But that association is now considered inconclusive. I was told to avoid ibuprofen as well. (I actually ended up ditching the oxy and using maximum dose Tylenol instead – oxy has too many side effects for me).
I suppose you will know more in a few days time once you’ve seen the vet, but from looking at the video, to me the foot looks broken. I think it looks a little more wobbly than it should be. It’s good that you have it wrapped, it will also help prevent the paw getting skin damage from being dragged. Hopefully the vet visit goes well and he can advise on the next step.
Was Metacam a better option? But it’s not available without prescription, dude.
That is exactly what is eating me up. The leg is kind of dangling. I want to do the x-ray asap.
I think metacam (NSAID) is very effective. I use it for my bunny’s arthritis. It does require a prescription – depending on the country you live in.
What should the dosage be like?
It isn’t available without prescription.
If u can get it, different vets have different ideas about the dose. Conservative is 0.5mg/kg. Some vets prescribe 4 times that. I saw your message, ill write back when i get home and can use my laptop. This mobile phone and me dont always agree!
› Forum › HOUSE RABBIT Q & A › Broken leg?