My rabbit isn’t moving

[salistair]

Hi everyone, I don’t have access to a vet who seems to know about rabbits. Smokey had a fall a couple of weeks ago. She seemed to have trouble walking, so I took her to the vet. After his examination, she got worse almost immediately. She could drag herself around before but now she is rapidly declining. She isn’t moving at all today, and her eyes are half closed. She is eating fairly okay. What do i do? Its an emergency, please give me advice

[Mikey]

What did the first vet say about everything? Can you call a vet and ask for advice on what to do? She is very obviously in pain; does she have any swelling? Was an xray done?

[Bam]

She could have hurt her back and now has lots of swelling that presses on the spinal nerves so she can’t walk. If that’s the case she’ll need anti-inflammatory meds (Metacam) to get the swelling down. You should go back to the vet, or call them, they’ll tell you what to do and probably ask you to take her in asap. They must have a journal from your previous visit. Swelling takes a little while to establish itself so that might have been why it wasn’t so bad to start with.

If she wasn’t x-rayed a skeletal break could have been missed.

That she’s eating is a very good sign, but she needs vet care and pain relief. Please keep us updated!

[salistair]

The vet did do an x ray, he said she could have a broken tail. He doesn’t seem to know anything about rabbits – he actually wanted to know if her tail was the same shape before, and then said that it is probably broken. He says she is too old to help and refused to do more. She is 7 years old. He said there could be a spinal injury too, but he can’t tell from the x ray. She doesn’t have any swelling, but she is getting progressively worse. She is eating lesser too. She isn’t opening her eyes, and she isn’t moving. She isn’t even looking up at me. I don’t want to take her back to the vet –  he seems to be doing more harm than good, so if there is anything to be done, I will have to do it myself. Rabbits aren’t a common pet here, vets don’t know much about them and treat them as “just a rabbit” – they simply don’t seem to understand how important she is to me. Is there anything else I can do for her? She looks terribly weak. 

[salistair]

The vet did do an x ray, he said it looks like her tail is broken. He wasn’t sure – he doesn’t know much about rabbits. He asked me if her tail was the same shape before. 

He said she could have injured her spine as well, but she is too old to treat. She is 7 years old. He seems to be doing more harm than good, he was quite rough with her. Where I live, rabbits are rarely kept as pets and vets don’t seem to know how to treat them. They think she is “just a rabbit” and don’t understand having one as a pet. She may be old, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be treated.

She doesn’t have any swelling, but she is getting worse, she isn’t lifting her head anymore and her eyes are closed. She is hardly eating now. Please tell me what to do. I don’t want to take her to the vet again. She won’t make it if he hurts her.

[salistair]

She doesn’t have any swelling, but she can’t walk. The x ray indicated a broken tail. The vet gave up on her, and claims she is too old to help. She is 7. Is there an over the counter pain killer I can get her? Will rest and a pain killer help her heal?

[salistair]

She has no swelling… the vet washed his hands off her claiming she is too old to treat. He did an x ray, and said her tail is probably broken.  Will she heal with rest? I don’t know if it is possible to splint a broken tail or something, but he did nothing for her. 

[Bam]

Could you get a painkiller for her? Old rabbits can have Metacam (meloxicam) for pain. It also reduces inflammation. In some countries it is sold OTC. I’d say pain-relief would be the most important thing now.

The swelling doesn’t have to be noticeable to you to cause pressure on the spinal nerve roots. A broken tail would either be amputated (if it becomes necrotic) or left to heal on its own. Rabbits skeletal bone can heal on their own.

The vet wasn’t much help, I have to say. How old is she?

Keep her warm (or rather prevent her from getting cold). Give her nutritious food. You can syringe feed her pellets soaked in water if she’s not eating her pellets. Give her her favorite greens, f ex fragrant herbs. Keep her company.

Rabbits can survive hind leg paralysis and live good lives. There are many examples of that. If this is a case of swollen tissue pressing on nerve roots, the swelling can subside and she could regain function in her legs.

Is she peeing and pooping?

[Deleted User]

7 years old is not too old to help at all. he should be struck off.
I would suggest going to any other vet right now, she needs metacam.

Poor thing

[salistair]

Thank you all so much for your replies! What is the ideal dosage of meloxicam? I gave her one drop for now… How much can I give her, and how often? She isn’t peeing properly today, and she pooped just once. I gave her digitone this morning. She isn’t opening her eyes at all, she even ate with her eyes closed. Is that because she is in pain?  

[Bam]

You can give her 0,2 to 1,5 ml Metacam per kilo bodyweight and 24 hours. I think you can start with something like 0,5 -1 ml per kilo body weight, since she probably needs a rather high dose to begin with. Then you can gradually lower it until you reach the minimal effective dose.

Hopefully the Metacam will help her perk up a bit and maybe be more keen on food. I do think she could be closing her eyes as a sign of pain.

Make sure she’s kept warm, Metacam lowers body temp as a side-effect. Getting cold “from the inside” is very dangerous for rabbits. You can perhaps give her a warm water bottle with a towel around it, just make sure she has enough space so she can move away from the heat-source if she feels warm enough.

Medirabbit gives a dose of 0,1 -1,5 ml Metacam per kg body weight and 12-24 hours, but 0,1 is too low a dose, it’s been found that rabbits metabolize Metacam much faster than cats. http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Analgesics/safe_analgesics.htm

[salistair]

Smokey passed away at 2:45 this morning. Thank you all for your help and advice. I really don’t have anything else to say. She was the love of my life for 7 long years. I hope she is happy wherever she is. 

[Bam]

I am so very sorry, salistair.

She got 7 long years full of your love, and that is beautiful. You tried to help her, it’s so sad the vet wasn’t cooperative.

Binky free, little Smokey.

[Vienna Blue in France]

So sorry to hear your news. (((Binky free Smokey)))

[Author]

Messages