Think Daisy's broken her toe...

[delusional]

We had Daisy and Bunny in the playpen for a 'date', to see if they looked like they would bond.

Well, they won't. Not easily anyway.

But the thing is, Daisy made a leap for freedom over the side of the pen, and got her foot caught on the way. She hopped off and looked fine, but now that we've gotten her home she's limping a little and her toe is sticking up at an odd angle.

I think she may have broken it when she got it caught. (I'm hoping it's just the toe, and not the whole foot...)

I'm taking her to the vets, but I won't be able to get her there until tomorrow.

I know she must be in pain... I don't want her to hurt herself any further.. I need to know if there's anything I can do in the mean time, until I can get an appointment at the vets?

 

[Elf Mommy]

Oh no!!! I hope she's ok, but it does sound like she might have broken it from what you said. I hope someone can tell you something you can do to soothe her.

Minda

 

[Flashy]

I would suggest keeping her warm (with a snugglesafe or rice sock or something), and giving her lots of food too (whatever she can normally tolerate), just so you know she is eating, and acting ok.

If there is someone from here (or rabbits united, which is predominantly a UK based forum) who has Metacam and could get to you, it might be worth doing that. I'm too far away, sorry, or else I would bring you mine.

Someone will be along soon who can tell you whether spliting or is anything is worthwhile. I know nothing about that sort of thing but obviously others do

 

[tonyshuman]

others here have given ibuprofen (motrin is a brand name) to bunnies before... (provided there is no dehydration)

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=38643&forum_id=16&highlight=motrin

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=42051&forum_id=16&highlight=motrin

 

[Maureen Las]

Idon't have personal experience with this either

here is a question answered by Dana Krempels (highly reliable source )re. an old injury

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/Broken-bunny-toe.htm

I would be concerned if your bunny is in pain ; does she appear in pain ?

also pm ra7751 (Randy) as he will be able to give you something more definite for today.

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Our "street baby" Sylvia, at 7.1 lbs, incurred a fracture on her front footie (this past November). We suspect her paw got caught in a bunny-proofed fence arrangement when she wanted to nibble hay from somebun else's hay stash. Paw caught, and she yanked to free herself. Upon discovering the injury, she held up her foot and did not put weight on it. Not seen immediately at the vet, but within a day or 2.

Report card notes from our veterinarian ...
Fracture: her L fore second digit is swollen and has some crepitus.

Radiograph A/P view revealed a midshaft fracture of the 1st phalange with minimum distraction to fracture ends.
Applied a soft splint with cast padding and tube gauze, covered with elasticon.
Start metacam once daily for pain/inflammation. We will recheck her xray in about a month.
--------

This doesn't sound as bad as Daisy's toe is. :? I'd suggest Low to no activity, keep her confined until she can be seen at the vets. Sylvia ate about the same even though she had the fractured digit.

Sylvia did a terrific job of chewing off the bandage and gauze each time it was applied. She hated the wrap thing, and got more stressed out by the stuff. An e-collar was suggested too but we were persistent in the gauze splinting for as many days as we could! We gave her metacam for one week to assist in healing process. Kept her confined on a carpeted area. No spots to jump to! The fracture healed well. The vet advised if it wouldn't heal properly, amputation may be required.

We made sure her litter box had comfy shredded paper and such instead of stiffer litter box filler.

I'm wishing you the best in keeping Daisy *pain-managed* -- and not to bounce around until she can be seen. Hope she won't eat the gauze and wrapping tape. Hope this helps, tf

 

[delusional]

Thanks for all the replies, guys.

She's still eating and drinking fine, just eating some hay now as I type. I'll warm up the heating pad for her before I go to bed.

Over the evening, her toe seems to have started to return to a more normal position - when I first posted it was about 90 degrees to the other toes, now it's laying down at maybe 30 degrees-ish.

She's been licking her foot a fair bit - I'm guessing this indicates that she's in pain from it? And I thought maybe she's knocked the toe down a bit..

I will ring the vets first thing in the morning and see if I can get her there before I go to work - I'll have to go in a couple of hours late but luckily in this job I'm on Flexi so I shouldn't get in too much bother for it.

I'll update you guys tomorrow..

 

[Pipp]

It's best to see a vet if you can.

But... I'm personally reluctant to take rabbits with reasonably minor breaks that don't appear to bother them much to the vet. In my case, with vet bills REALLY a challenge, that's one of the 'wait and see' ailments around here. Also, I've seen too many vets who want to operate, and as many bad outcomes with that as there are with watching and waiting. So unless it's swollen, discolored, lumpy, painful or otherwise unusual, I let it heal on its own. They may not be the best course of action, I'd like more feedback, but that's where I'm leaning at the moment.

But if the vet is affordable, by all means get it checked out first, it may save the bunny a lot of grief in the future.

I have several rabbits who came to me with 'odd' looking toes. I think it's a pretty common injury.


sas :goodluck

 

[TreasuredFriend]

We've had experience with a dislocated joint too, a springboard on what Pipp posted.
I didn't want to risk a toe amputation for Sylvia, so we were vigilant in keeping her at low activity, plus getting the follow-up vet exam. Wrapping her footy, :nurse: then observing her pluck and pry apart the gauze and cute red booty sock. Determined bun NOT to have gauze wrap. I can't recall if Sylvia spent time licking her injured toe, now that I think back, I believe she did.

Usually our vet can pinch an area and decipher the pain response.

Look forward to an update on Daisy's toe. So quick and distressing when those unpreventable things happen. Hang in there, Daisy, hope your toe'sy is not too hurtful. And we know that rabbits will hide pain. Mom is looking after you... :hug:

 

[delusional]

Well the vet said pretty much what you guys said - leave it to heal on its own, restrict her from jumping around too much and give her pain killers. So she gave her an injection and gave us some Metacam to give to her.

Flashy - how do you have a stash of Metacam when it's prescription only? I wanted to get some to have on-hand for occasions such as this, but obviously can't get it without a prescription from the vet. Is yours just left over from when somebunny needed it?

 

[Flashy]

I'm glad she is ok

I have a bottle of Metacam here. If I finish it I just ask my vet for another and he prescribes it. We have worked pretty closely together and he seems to trust me to give it in the right circumstances. Maybe you could ask your vet? The worst they could say is no.

 

[delusional]

Thanks - I will ask them about it next time I go.

Here are some pics of her toe as it is at the moment..

I'm posting links because I don't know if some people may find them disturbing:

Broken toe 1
Broken toe 2

 

[irishlops]

poor baby

 

[Flashy]

I saw a couple of buns at the RSPCA with toes like that. The only problem they had was that the nails obviously needed to be cut more regularly because they didn't wear down like the other nails. Hopefully she will heal fine

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Ditto the reply on Flashy's comment for Metacam. If you have several bunners and occasionally come across 1) early stasis or 2) simethicone and minimal metacam need for gassy issue, a trustworthy vet will know you aren't going to abuse a prescribed bottle of Metacam. It is worth asking your vet if you could receive one, along with a few extra administration syringes? We work closely with our vets also.

-- Very important to know your bunns' weight (as close as you can), and have an excellent reference for how much each should receive.

Bunnies seem to get painful maladies on holidays, weekends, whenever the vet clinic isn't a few steps away.

Glad to hear the update on your girl! Head strokes and some pampering days ahead to Daisy.

 

[delusional]

Thanks - I do have a good set of scales, I made a point to invest in some quality baby scales when Ollie was having his weight issues.

I will speak to the vet when we take Daisy back for her check-up.

How long does Metacam keep/how should it be stored?

 

[Flashy]

My bottles last six months after being opened. The leaflet says store in a cool place (but not a cold place), mine just sits on a shelf out of direct sunlight, or in the garage, depending on where I need it. IT's all in the leaflet Did you get given a bottle of it?

 

[delusional]

We did get some yeah, but the vet poured it into a small dispensing bottle for us, because they only had the large size bottles in.

 

[Maureen Las]

I just looked at the pics of her toes

poor baby
how's she doing?

 

[delusional]

Daisy's doing really good now. The painkillers seem to have kicked in and she's not licking her foot anymore. She's not really acting any differently at all. Except for being grumpy because she's not allowed out at the moment.