# Help...Broken leg!



## hok9 (May 15, 2009)

My bunny has a broken leg. Well its more like dislocated, but still its bad. He doesnt seem to be in any pain but will not eat or move much. 

What should i do?


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## NorthernAutumn (May 15, 2009)

I am not an infirmary mod by any means, but I would strongly promote you to take him to the vet. Maybe dislocated, muscle torn, who knows? He sounds like he may be in shock right now.

How did it happen? What happens when you touch it gently? Does it feel like the leg has moved out of the hip socket?

Really, I would get to the vet quickly; there's a short window of time in which bunnies can go downhill rapidly.


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## hok9 (May 15, 2009)

I cant take him to the vet until the morning when they open. It feel loose at the bend in their leg. 
I accidently stepped on him. He was hiding in a plastic bag i had out when i was cleaning and i just happend to step on the front of his foot as he was cleaning it i guess and he took off, well his foot didnt go with him.


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## Maureen Las (May 15, 2009)

It sounds like a bad break. place him in a smaller cage so that he cannot move around ; you want him to move that leg as little as possible. Take him to the vet ASAP. I am not sure what they can do; if it was a smaller bone they would atempt to align the bones and keep him in a small area a for a few months until it heals.
he also will need pain meds

please let us know how he is


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## tonyshuman (May 15, 2009)

I hope you're at the vet right now, and that's why we haven't had an answer. He could be in shock from the pain and that's why he seems fine. If not, keep him warm and as immobile as possible until you get there. If he goes into shock, his body temp could be unstable.

edit: wanted to add that I can totally understand how this would happen. My guys run around me all the time, especially when I'm carrying food, and I'm always so worried I'll step on them!


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## Happi Bun (May 15, 2009)

Oh no, I'm so sorry! A few times I've tripped over Dunkin when walking since he likes to run around my feet. Let us know what the vet says, I hope something can be done.


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## pla725 (May 15, 2009)

I stepped on Max's hind footthe other night. He was okay but I watched him for a bit. 

Hopefully the vet can take x-rays and splint the leg at least.I would also ask for pain meds and antibiotics to prevent infection.


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## DazyDaizee (May 16, 2009)

If your vet is not open you should go to an emergency vet.. this is absolutely an emergency and as others noted, he may be in shock and could go downhill quickly, making it a life threatening situation. Please take him to emergency regardless of the drive.

Like others, I can relate and obviously it wasn't your fault. I've almost stepped on my ferrets.. Mid step, feel one under my foot and I've fallen by trying to not put any pressure down on top of the ferret. I've nearly fallen on my rabbit, nearly fallen down stairs avoiding stepping on the cat. They're small.. they get underfoot.. it happens. In this case, the rabbit is injured and needs urgent medical attention. Imagine how painful it must be.. it is very difficult to tell if a rabbit is in pain.. think..how do you expect them to act if they are in pain? Quiet.. lack of movement... they don't cry.. so it's hard to judge, but I'm sure the bunny is in pain.


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## Maureen Las (May 16, 2009)

I'm concerned that we haven't heard anything ray:


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## hok9 (May 16, 2009)

Sorry, It looks like he wont be able to see a vet till monday. I tried to get to an emergency one but none of the ones here speak english so they had no idea what i was saying and hung up. He seems to be doing alright though, He is acting like himself, just not moving as much, but still eating and drinking.


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## Maureen Las (May 16, 2009)

You should try to keep him as still as possible without allowinghim to move the leg freely..

Feel his ears and bodyto determine whether he is getting shocky which would be a cold feeling.; a warm rice sock (warmed in microwave to try to warm him up if this happens.)

He would have to be in painand is hiding it as rabbits do well

look at his gums to see if they are white or pale instead of red 

if you went to an emergency vet with your rabbit the vets could SEE what the problems is 

does his leg dangle ?

Fractures have different classiification . is this a closed fracture? ; a closed fracture is one in which the skin is not broken. 
it could be a dislocation , however did you actuallystep on him a and feel a crushing sensation?

A vet would take x-rays
The goal in treating a fractured limb is to remove any foreign mateial and dead tissue

restore alignment (reduce)debride
immobilize the bone until healing can take place (stabilize )

treat or prevent bacterial infections 
provide pain relief 
The vet will manipulate the bones to restore alignment and then hold them in place by a splint, pins through the bone or plate. Most often pinning is the method of choice. rarely and usually for larger rabbits the bones are held in place with plates 

Most of the above info is from Kathy Smith/ Lucille Moore book"When your Rabbit Needs special Care"


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## hok9 (May 16, 2009)

Its dislocated, i know how a brake feels. I used to work with the medical department onboard my old ship. Its as if someone took your leg and poped your leg loose at the knee.


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## Maureen Las (May 16, 2009)

Once again I am referring to kathy Smith/Lucille Moore. "When Your Rabbit needs Special care"

dislocations technically are injuries to connective tissue that holds a joint in place

Symptoms of a dislocation are limping, swollen joint and pain .An x ray is usually needed for diagnosis > The goal in treating a dislocation is to reduce (restore to normal position) the joint and keep it stabilized while scar tissue forms and helps hold the joint in place. A reduced dislocation can often be held in place by a bandage, lightweight leg splint or a rod. Ocassionally they must be held in place by a pin inserted through the joint before the limb is splinted; pins are normally removed after about 3 weeks ; the splint after an aditional 2-3 weeks. At times a dislocation can heal without pinning or splinting; in one case a rabbit with a dislocated leg was placed in a small pen and allowed only very restricted movement

Slowly the rabbit healed and regained mobility 

Unforunately dislocations have a tendency to roccur Arthroplasty can be one solution to a hip dislocation that reocurrs. This is where the head of the femur is removed so there is no longer a ball and socketjoint and the muscle is stitched to hold the hip in place. The leg may need to be manipulated to prevent muscles remaining in a contracted position. Pain meds and antbiotics will also be prescribed. 

Care of rabbits with joint luxation include

Administration of antibiotics and analgesics

monitoring food and fluid intake 

Watching for GI disturbances
Limiting activity

massage 

keeping the perianeal area clean and dry if incontinence is present 

let us know know how he is doing until you can get him care


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## Maureen Las (May 17, 2009)

How is he doing? :expressionless


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## DazyDaizee (May 18, 2009)

Has he been to the vet yet? How is he?


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## hok9 (May 18, 2009)

Hes there now. Ill pick him up later today


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## Maureen Las (May 19, 2009)

any news ray:


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## hok9 (May 19, 2009)

Hes has a break right at what was the joint. Basically his knee cap broke off. He goes in for surgery on thursday but no gaurantee they can save his leg.


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## dquesnel (May 19, 2009)

I am sorry to hear that it sounds bad. However, some people try and fix the leg to the point where it is absolutely useless anyway (and causes significant pain to the rabbit) when in fact most animals, rabbits included, can get around extremely well on three legs. If it is a bad break I always suggest amputation rather than multiple surgeries- it really depends on the situation. Let us know how he does, and make sure he is on some strong painkillers.


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## Maureen Las (May 19, 2009)

AWW that's too bad that is turned out so bad...

but Denise is right that rabbits can do fine on 3 legs...
ray:


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## hok9 (May 20, 2009)

Yeah, me and the vet agreed that if the surgery was going to be too complicated to just cut it off and ill change his name to lucky and give him a bad ass back story about the leg. This is better then what was going to happen. I was told the surgery would be $125~$200. At first one guy said $500. I told him that i can buy lots of rabbits for $500. Im sorry that sounds cruel but you have to cap it out somewhere and thats more then i am willing to pay for one rabbit, i would have had him put down if it was that price.


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## Maureen Las (May 20, 2009)

Is he still at the vets?


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## hok9 (May 20, 2009)

No they dont hold animals unless they absolutely have to. They did have a cat in a box, i thought it was hilarious. Im getting a little worried about one of our others. Ill post a new topic about that.


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## NorthernAutumn (May 20, 2009)

Did you get painkillers for today.. until the surgery?


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## hok9 (May 20, 2009)

no, he doesnt have any, or they didnt. They are real "safe" with small animals and meds. He has been doing good today. I was doing work on their cage and he was all over the place chasing the other bunnies aroung and protecting the girls.


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## Maureen Las (May 20, 2009)

Is he going to have surgery? :expressionless


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## tonyshuman (May 20, 2009)

I'm confused. Are you going to have the leg amputated?


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## hok9 (May 20, 2009)

The leg is going to be up to the vet. Hes going to try to reset the bone but if it doesnt work or the anesthesia wheres off he's just going to amputate the leg. I told him to do what ever is not going to take all day and is easy.


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## tonyshuman (May 20, 2009)

Oh ok. Thanks for clarifying. Good luck for the surgery!


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## hok9 (May 21, 2009)

Hes back now, his leg looks bad but atleast hes doing ok for now.


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## Maureen Las (May 21, 2009)

Are you able to describe his leg more?

what procedure was done?

What instructions did the vet give?

pain meds/? 

is he eating and drinking yet/?

Poor boy


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## tonyshuman (May 21, 2009)

So the vet was able to repair the leg instead of amputate it?

Is he eating/pooping/drinking/peeing/moving? Pain meds?

Best healing wishes...


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## hok9 (May 21, 2009)

Hes fine, hes eating the same and nothing looks out of place in the cage. I think he has pain meds. They gave me baytril and this other stuff they forgot to label with the name.


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## Happi Bun (May 21, 2009)

Baytril is an antibiotic, I wonder why they gave you some? Is the other Metacam? It's a pain reliever. Since he had surgery I would hope they gave you Metacam.


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## tonyshuman (May 21, 2009)

It's pretty common to give Baytril post-op to prevent infection of the surgery site. As long as he's eating fine and has normal poos it should be fine to give. It could upset his GI flora, but some probiotics would help that out.

The compound name for Metacam is meloxicam, but I would personally hope for something stronger, like buprenorphine or tramadol, for a post-op pain med. As long as he's eating and acting fine, with of course the exception of moving the leg that was operated on, he should be fine.


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## Chickadee289 (May 21, 2009)

Aw poor baby. My chinchilla got his leg broken and I thought he would never hop normal again.  But after some chinchilla asprin he was just fine after a few weeks.. so don't give up!


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## hok9 (May 22, 2009)

I wish i knew what the other stuff was. Its looks kinda like yogurt.


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## tonyshuman (May 22, 2009)

I hope it isn't yogurt... Bunnies can't digest dairy but it's a common "old-school" thing to give to bunnies on an antibiotic, in the false idea that it will be helpful as a probiotic.


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## hok9 (May 23, 2009)

its not yogurt


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## Pipp (May 23, 2009)

Isn't the name of the drug, the suspension/strength, the vet and the dosage info on the bottle? :?

Meloxicam is white and pretty thick. 

And a bit off topic, I do believe rabbits can become lactose intolerant as they age, and yogurt also has a lot of natural sugar which can be a not-so-great thing when prescribed for a gut imbalance. But while yogurt is no longer recommended, it's not really horrible or anything, Vets used to prescribe it all the time and I'd still be inclined to use it in a pinch. But Benebac and other active pro-biotics are much better. (The kind that need refrigeration are usually the most active). 

sas


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## hok9 (May 23, 2009)

theres a label for dosage, the doc was busy and couldnt fill it out,


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## tonyshuman (May 23, 2009)

Ok, just wanted to make sure.  Is he doing well today?


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## pla725 (May 23, 2009)

I believe the bunny crossed over the bridge.


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## Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears (May 24, 2009)

*pla725 wrote: *


> I believe the bunny crossed over the bridge.


 I don't think it's the same Bunny. He's refers to this bunny as a boy and the bridge bunny as a girl.


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## hok9 (May 24, 2009)

Yeah hes still around, the other one just had a really bad day.


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## Maureen Las (May 24, 2009)

Let us know if we can help in anyway 
Sorry that he had bad day


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## hok9 (May 24, 2009)

> Sorry that he had bad day


I was talking about the one the died. He has been doing good. He is now fighting me when i give his meds, which is what i expect form him. Still pushing everyone out of the way to get to food and hay, and drinking water like normal. The only thing he is not doing is getting out of the cage. I havent let any of them out for a week now, it just doesnt seem fair. 

Plus they might have mites. I am treating it but i was affraid to give them the treatment this week because of his meds. Do you think there will be a reaction? I am using Ivomec, topically applied.


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## Maureen Las (May 24, 2009)

I don'think their would be any problems with the ivomec if you dose it correctly .

he's on an antibiotic and pain med right?


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## hok9 (May 24, 2009)

yes, baytril and that other stuff i was trying to get figured out metacam or something.


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## pla725 (May 24, 2009)

Oops my bad. Sorry about that. Things get a bit confusing sometimes. Hope your bunny is getting better.


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## hok9 (May 25, 2009)

Heres' a picture of his leg after surgery.





(He's camera shy)


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## Maureen Las (May 25, 2009)

Wow !!

Idon't know what they did to it in surgery but it looks way better than I imagined and it looks like it's healing


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## hok9 (May 26, 2009)

Its doing pretty good. The surgery was to put pins in the bone to help the loose peice stay in place to heal. It looks like i was trying to eat his leg though.


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## kochun (Jul 24, 2012)

dnt listen to them whenever u ask someone or some expert they always say vet vet vet vet vet, but u soon will learn vets dnt knw sh*t abt bunnies. my dwarf lop 4months old broke her hind leg after a nasty fall, i took her to vet they charge me 60pounds for a stupid injection, then wanted to charge overnight fee 45 then 200 for xray minimal 2 xrays required then possibly 500-2k for a operation or cast dumb twats i gave them 60pounds for injection as charity, i took my bunny home stick her in a very small cage/box fed her nothign for the highest quality hay alfalfa hay and clean water everyday, 3 weeks later she is hoping like nothing happen the leg still sticks out slightly but she can stand again both leg and self groom even can do binkies, u need to understand these animals are wild they are actually more resilient then we think, the only time u sud be worried is if a bunny stops eating and pooing diarrhoea.


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## MiserySmith (Jul 24, 2012)

I don't think it's very smart to think all vets are bad.
Sometimes, yes, Rabbits can heal on their own, but not in every circumstance or every type of injury. Also you would not be able to get pain meds without a veterinarian and how would you like no pain relief when you break your leg? It wouldn't be fun.

There's always good and bad vets, that's why it's important to search around and make sure they know what they're talking about.


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## Maureen Las (Jul 25, 2012)

*MiserySmith wrote: *


> I don't think it's very smart to think all vets are bad.
> Sometimes, yes, Rabbits can heal on their own, but not in every circumstance or every type of injury. Also you would not be able to get pain meds without a veterinarian and how would you like no pain relief when you break your leg? It wouldn't be fun.
> 
> There's always good and bad vets, that's why it's important to search around and make sure they know what they're talking about.



This is true!


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