Bunny amputee advice needed

[Kanyon]

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

 

[JBun]

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/