Bunny amputee advice needed

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Kanyon

Kanyon

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Hi all!

My bun, Pancake, got diagnosed with cancer, a soft tissue sarcoma, recently and he’s looking at needing his front right arm amputated. Obviously, I’ve got some concerns and want to do right by my precious boy. I’m looking for any success stories, warnings, anyone with experience with anything similar — what did you do, why, and how did your bunny do?

He’s a Californian between 8-10yrs old. He may be old but he’s very energetic, happy and in good health. Words of advice or encouragement are greatly appreciated
 
I can't share any experience with amputation, but just some general considerations for rabbits with mobility issues.

Recovery and getting used to the missing limb is likely to be a bit more difficult due to your rabbit being older. You may need to do some physical therapy to help your rabbit learn to balance with the loss of the limb, using something like a sling held by you while your rabbit practices hopping. But because this is a front limb and not a major supporting hind limb, the difficulty adjusting and help needed, hopefully will be minimal and short term.

Things to consider are making sure your bun has flooring surfaces with good traction, and grooming that will be affected by the loss of the limb (eg ear and face cleaning).

www.disabledrabbits.com/limb-loss.html

There are some personal stories of amputee buns on reddit if you want to Google those.

For general pre and post surgery care.

https://rabbit.org/health/pre-surgical-care-for-rabbits/

https://rabbit.org/health/post-surgical-aftercare-for-rabbits/
 
JBun said:
I can't share any experience with amputation, but just some general considerations for rabbits with mobility issues.

Recovery and getting used to the missing limb is likely to be a bit more difficult due to your rabbit being older. You may need to do some physical therapy to help your rabbit learn to balance with the loss of the limb, using something like a sling held by you while your rabbit practices hopping. But because this is a front limb and not a major supporting hind limb, the difficulty adjusting and help needed, hopefully will be minimal and short term.

Things to consider are making sure your bun has flooring surfaces with good traction, and grooming that will be affected by the loss of the limb (eg ear and face cleaning).

www.disabledrabbits.com/limb-loss.html

There are some personal stories of amputee buns on reddit if you want to Google those.

For general pre and post surgery care.

https://rabbit.org/health/pre-surgical-care-for-rabbits/

https://rabbit.org/health/post-surgical-aftercare-for-rabbits/
Click to expand...
That is helpful, thank you!
 
My bunny had his front left leg amputated successfully! He was 1 1/2 at the time, so he recovered fully within about a month and his fur grew back to cover the scar. Your bunny’s recovery will likely be slower due to his age, but they are resilient little creatures! It is a good thing that he needs his front leg amputated and not a back one.

Some things my bunny enjoys are getting shoulder massages where his shoulder blade used to be and having me scratch his ears, because he can’t scratch them with his back feet without falling over.

Good luck! Hope your bun makes a speedy recovery!
 
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