EMERGENCY!!! Rabbit paralyzed!

[gentle giants]

This am when feeding, I noticed one of my MiniRex jrs was walking a little funny. This evening, his back legs areparalyzed. He is dragging himself around in circles on a towel as Itype. I can't find any external injury, except for where one of hisbrothers plucked some fur a week or so ago, which has been treated andlooks almost healed.
One of his legs still has some control, Isaw it tense up very slightly as I was carrying him into the house. Hehas no bowel or urinary control left whatsoever, he is just dribblingeverywhere.
I don't know what to do, I have absolutly no money to take him to thevet right now, we just spent $700 fixing the brakes on our truck, andproperty tax right before that. Has anyone seen anything like thisbefore? Is there anything that can be done? I don't know if he'll evenmake it through the night.

 

[Haley]

oh no!

Im so sorry to hear this. I have no experience, just sending lots of prayers and good thoughts your way.

Any chance you could get him to the vet and charge it or see if theycan bill you? Sounds like he really needs medical attentionasap.

 

[Pipp]

Check out some of the Resource articles...

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12044&forum_id=10

It could be anything from a temporary swelling that will fix itselfwith some rest and care and feeding, to an EC problem, which means heshould be quarantined and treated with an array of drugs -- and there'slots of things in between.

Stay stress-free, too, don't want him getting more stressed 'cause your stressed.

Poor little guy!

Let us know how he is, and if you have any more hints as to what the problem is once you read some of the material.

Kisses and nose pats..

sas and the warren

 

[m.e.]

ray:

 

[pamnock]

Keep the rabbit in a carrier with towels toprevent him from trying to move around too much. Give himanti-inflammatories. Best case scenario is that he may havejust pinched a nerve. Worst case is parasitic infection,broken back or some other neurological problem.

Keep us updated!



Pam

 

[gentle giants]

Where can I get/what are anti-inflammatories?Could a fight with one of his brothers have done this, without anyexternal signs? He seems to feel better today, is more active, and hasbeen drinking. His urine is very strong and foul smelling, I don't knowif that means anything or not. It seems to me that he has less controlthan he did last night, but the movement I saw in his leg was so smallthat I could be mistaken. I put a little feed in there for him lastnight, and it looks like he has eaten some. His little butt looksslightly inflamed to me, and of course he still has no control over hispoops. I don't know if that could be why his butt is irritated or not.

 

[Pipp]

Do you have any Metacam (Meloxicam)kicking around? If not, I think Ibuprofen is your next bestbet -- like Motrin. Not sure of the dosage, though.

EDIT: I'd make sure he's drinkinglots.If he has to reach for abottle, may not be as enticing.(Those drugs shouldbe taken with food and water).



sas

 

[JimD]

ray:

 

[naturestee]

Ibuprofin is on the rabbit drug dosage calculator under analgesics (painkillers).
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html

Anti-inflammatories are often painkillers. They reduceswelling, which in a case like this can relieve pressure on the spinecaused by some injuries.

His butt might be irritated because of urine. Try to keep himdry and change his bedding a lot. Desitin might help some.

Lots of prayers! ray:

 

[Pipp]

I'll learn to spell Ibuprofin when I'm moreawake. And best not to navigate the drug dosage before myeyes are open as well.

Also will add that it's very possible it is an injury after a tussle,it's now swelling an causing problems. (Couldbeanything, butnot a badguess).

As Ms. Stee said, really importnat to keep the beddingcleanand dry, I do believe disabled rabbits are most oftenlost toUT infections.



sas :yawn

 

[gentle giants]

Yeah, keepiing him dry isn't going to be easy,he is dribbling non-stop. Could I give him children's Motrin, do youthink? I will look at the link here in a minute. I know what you meanabout being tired, Pipp, I am running on roughly three hours sleepright now. What with coming home and finding this guy last night, I gotin bed much later than I meant to, and I had to be a work at 3am today.

 

[gentle giants]

I have been lookin up dag carts, the kind forparaplegic dogs, just out of curiosity. There are very few made forrabbits, at least that I have found. The cheapest small dog cart that Ifound was $220. There are some used ones advertised, but no pricesgiven, and the measuements would have to fit my guy.
You know, Ihadn't named this bunny because I was planning on finding him anotherhome (he is a white, not a color I raise) but I think I will have tofind him name jsut so I have something to call him on here!

 

[pamnock]

A while back, there was someone who designed their own cart for a paralyzed bun.

Hopefully, we can search and find that thread.

Pam

 

[Starlight Rabbitry]

pamnock wrote:

A while back, there was someone who designed their own cart for a paralyzed bun.

Hopefully, we can search and find that thread.

Pam

Hope this is the thread that you are refering to:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11074&forum_id=16&highlight=cart

Sharon

 

[naturestee]

I think you can use a dog cart, it doesn't haveto be specially made for a rabbit. I know someone who got herrabbit's cart second hand because she couldn't afford a newone. Maybe you could search for a used one?

 

[gentle giants]

Great thread, Pam and Starlight. I wish I were that creative. That person should be an engineer or something!
Naturestee, I have seen listings for used ones, but I haven't gottenhis measurements yet, and the ads didn't give prices, just the owner'scontact info and the measurements of the cart they had for sale.

I am really worried about urinary infections right now. He can'tempty his bladder, he dribbles all the time. What I have been doing isgoing in and holding him over the toilet three or so times a day andsort of squeezing his belly. It seems to work, except every time Ithink I have gotten it all, as soon as I move him to a differentpositiion, the dribbling starts again. I am also having to change thetowels he is laying on two or three times a day, or he is just layingin his pee.
Here is something weird I have been trying, I found it on one of thelinks that someone gave me on here. Assuming it isn't trauma thatcaused this, of course, this is supposed to work. Mix 8oz of milk, 32oz of water, and get this- a tsp of brandy, and give it to them as thesolitary source of water for three days. If there is improvement afterthe three days, keep doing it for 4-7 more days, if not it isn't goingto help. I thought, well, I don't suppose it will hurt. So I startedhim on that last night, and we will see what happens. I hope I am notimagining it, but it seemed that he was tensing up when I was "peeinghim" this am.
I am really impressed with this guy right now, he is lively, energetic,and alert every time I go in there. (He's in the master bathroom so mykids can't bother him.)I would think he would be droopy or depressed,but he is really doing great! I need to get him to eat more, though, Ithink he is spilling a lot more than he is eating.

 

[pamnock]

Many thanks Sharon! I searched for that thread and was unable to locate it.

Pam

 

[gentle giants]

Ok, I was just looking up a dosage for him (foranti-inflammatories) on the bunny dasage calculator thingy, (technicalterm!) and it says he needs 7.5 mg of Ibuprofen, and it says route PO.I am assuming that route means how you give it to him, but what onearth is PO? My brain is not built for complicated thinking, darn it!LOL Can I use children's Motrin? I don't think there is such a thing aschildren's Ibuprofen, and I also don't think I can find any way ofmaking/measuring 7.5mg of Ibuprifen out of 200mg pills!

 

[Greta]

gentle giants wrote:

what on earth is PO?

PO means PerOrally, i.e. by mouth.



Can I use children's Motrin?

Absolutely. It's easier to give (mine like the berry flavor), not to mention easier to measure!



I don't think there is such a thing as children's Ibuprofen

There is: it's sold under the name of children's Motrin/Advil/etc.If you look at the label, it should tell you how much ibuprofen iscontained in the bottle.

 

[gentle giants]

Ok, so I've got the children's Motrin. It says100mg per 5ml. So I just need to figure the amounts there, right? Andgive the drop or so of medicine by mouth, thanks for that info, Greta.It will definalty be easier using a liquid anyway, than trying to crushup a pill. I have done that before, when one of my does had an abcesson her foot. Man, what a pain that was! How many times a day does heneed this? Should it be the every four-six hours like for people, orjust a couple of times a day?

I almost forgot to add this!! I don't know if this is a good sign ornot (that he is feeling something) but he is evidently feeling somepain now. He was crunching his teeth this afternoon. And when I wastrying to drain his bladder, he cried a little. Should I be worriedabout the fact that he is hurting, or should this be a good sign thathe is getting feeling back?