Floppy paralysed foot - Help and advice Please!!

[simba_dad]

So our beloved lionhead Simba went into hospital last week with a blocked up tummy that we couldn't treat at home, and when we went to pick him up after 3 days at the hospital the vet told us that his right hind foot was now paralysed! It's the strangest thing - it's completely floppy and seems to have no sensation.
It was a massive shock to us at first, seeing it being dragged under his body as he stumbled around. That was about 4 days ago and since then he's learned to manage it and move around, even jumping up on the sofa, but the foot is completely limp. He doesn't react at all when we touch it, which is very unusual.
His leg seems to be fine, down to his ankle, although one of the vets thought his right leg seemed a bit weaker, based on how much he struggled during the xrays.

Does anyone have any idea what it could be or what we can do?
He's had blood tests for E.Cuniculi parasites, which we're waiting on, but the vets at the hospital didn't seem to think it could be that. He's had xrays and they found no fractures or obvious injuries.
We half suspect he might have been injured or dropped while in their care, but it's impossible to know as he has no visible injuries. We're very upset and worried, and want our beautiful binkying boy back. If anyone has ever experienced anything like this I'd love to hear about your experiences.

A very worried Simba Dad

 

[JBun]

Did the vet take xrays to make sure he wasn't somehow injured at the vet office? Other possibility if it's the whole side of that body affected especially, is a stroke caused by the stress of being at the vet. Was he given any anti inflammatories in case it was an injury?

 

[simba_dad]

Did the vet take xrays to make sure he wasn't somehow injured at the vet office? Other possibility if it's the whole side of that body affected especially, is a stroke caused by the stress of being at the vet. Was he given any anti inflammatories in case it was an injury?

Thanks for replying! Yes they took x-rays of both his hind legs to compare, and couldn't see anything unusual in his affected right foot.
We haven't had a scan of soft tissue yet, but that could be an option - an expensive option!

He's on a low dose of metacam for the potential inflammation - 1ml of 1.5mg solution twice a day.
If it was a stroke wouldn't there be other signs of it on his right side? His face and right front foot are fine.

 

[JBun]

Yes, if it was a stroke it would affec the whole side. If it's just his hind foot, there could be a spinal injury causing it. That would seem the most likely explanation if no breakage has occurred.

 

[cwebster]

Sorry to hear Simba has a foot problem. Have read that sometimes after trauma the limb will recover. Might Simba have arthritis?
When our poor male, Arnold, lost use of both hind legs, xrays didnt show anything. Did vet talk about a brief trial of a steroid? By the time we got Arnold into a vet due to the vet shortage and long wait times, vet said it was too late to try that.
Are there meds for bunny arthritis?

 

[simba_dad]

Sorry to hear Simba has a foot problem. Have read that sometimes after trauma the limb will recover. Might Simba have arthritis?
When our poor male, Arnold, lost use of both hind legs, xrays didnt show anything. Did vet talk about a brief trial of a steroid? By the time we got Arnold into a vet due to the vet shortage and long wait times, vet said it was too late to try that.
Are there meds for bunny arthritis?

I don't think it's arthritis as it came on very suddenly when he was in the care of the hospital for a few days with a very bad case of GI stasis.
I'm beginning to suspect that something happened while he was there which caused him an injury.
He's just about 3, so that would be very early for arthritis to occur? Also his foot seems to have no feeling in it, is that a symptom of arthritis?
We're waiting for the results of blood tests for e.cuniculi but in the meantime we're assuming it's some kind of physical injury and we've covered as much of the floor in soft and grippy materials to help him get around without slipping and he seems to be doing ok.
Simba and mystery illness seem to go together unfortunately!

 

[cwebster]

Poor Simba. I would hate to think he was injured at the vet’s. Glad to hear he is getting around ok and hope he is better soon.

 

[Jazzyterp]

So our beloved lionhead Simba went into hospital last week with a blocked up tummy that we couldn't treat at home, and when we went to pick him up after 3 days at the hospital the vet told us that his right hind foot was now paralysed! It's the strangest thing - it's completely floppy and seems to have no sensation.
It was a massive shock to us at first, seeing it being dragged under his body as he stumbled around. That was about 4 days ago and since then he's learned to manage it and move around, even jumping up on the sofa, but the foot is completely limp. He doesn't react at all when we touch it, which is very unusual.
His leg seems to be fine, down to his ankle, although one of the vets thought his right leg seemed a bit weaker, based on how much he struggled during the xrays.

Does anyone have any idea what it could be or what we can do?
He's had blood tests for E.Cuniculi parasites, which we're waiting on, but the vets at the hospital didn't seem to think it could be that. He's had xrays and they found no fractures or obvious injuries.
We half suspect he might have been injured or dropped while in their care, but it's impossible to know as he has no visible injuries. We're very upset and worried, and want our beautiful binkying boy back. If anyone has ever experienced anything like this I'd love to hear about your experiences.

A very worried Simba Dad

YES, IT HAPPENED TO US! HIS LEG GOT WORSE UNTIL HE STARTED CHEWING ON IT! Vet, not exotic vet, had to amputate!!! It was horrible! But our Chubb's survived and thrived for many years!!!! VET Cut NERVE! VET SHOULD PAY! GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR BUNNY!!!

 

[cwebster]

Hope Simba is doing ok.

 

[simba_dad]

Hope Simba is doing ok.

Thank you, well it's become another example of Simba's remarkable powers of recovery. After about 2 weeks we noticed he was hoping around perfectly well and even running to get his treats, but he still couldnt lift his foot up to scratch his ears.
It's now over 3 weeks since his problem and he has been tenaciously working that scratching foot higher and higher every day until he finally reached his ear and now he almost seems totally fine! It's incredible, we can't understand it and it will be interesting to explain it to the vet when we go back next week for his tooth trim!
The vets were completely stumped, after 4 x-rays and a blood test. They examined him and the foot was completely floppy with no reaction to stimulus, just hanging behind him as he tried to hop around.

What Simba had taught us is to always believe in him, support him with love and give him time, because he always surprises us with his strength and resilience. What an incredible rabbit.
Hopefully we can keep sharing our experiences and encourage people to give their rabbits more time and invest in recovery treatments rather than assume there's no hope. He's always stronger than we think possible!

 

[cwebster]

SO glad to hear Simba is doing so well!