Yet another problem with another one of the bunnies :( Advice please?

[RebeccaJC]

This is the third bunny to come down with a problem. One of the bunnies had pneumonia.. another has splay leg but thankfully it doesn't suffer.. it just looks cute and now we went in to check on the bunnies and its back legs have completely given in on it. Its not splay leg. We don't know what's wrong with it. When we lay him on his back his back legs shake like mad.. which we've never noticed with rabbits before.. it seems out of place one of them too.. twisted.. and when he hops he suddenly collapses and ends up lain on his back unable to move but he can hop maybe 2-3 times before that happens then he manages to get back up again but then only manages to hop another 2-3 times before he collapses onto his back again. We have rung the vet and they have told us to keep him hydrated and if still an issue in the morning to take him in tomorrow. Does anyone have any ideas what's wrong? the bunnies are 8 weeks old now.. this little one was meant to go to a loving new home on Monday .. really hope the problem can be fixed and isn't serious .. poor thing..

 

[RebeccaJC]

Just another quick update.. its legs are now shaking when moving and hes not able to move as much as he was before.. his legs just give in and he lies there :/

 

[HototMama]

it might be best to have a vet put him to sleep. unless you find a family willing to care for his condition.

 

[HototMama]

or building something like this,

 

[RebeccaJC]

The bunny with splay legs fine its just this bunny that seems to shake and unable to move suddenly.. not sure whats wrong with him

 

[HototMama]

most all of my rabbits back legs shake when i lay them on their backs. but i am not sure about the other thing. i would consider not breeding your rabbits again as there seems to be lots of genetic problems that you do not want to pass on to their babies.

 

[JBun]

It's possible it's an injury, but with 2 rabbits having hind limb problems, I think you should consider the good possibility that they may both have e. cuniculi. I believe I mentioned this when you posted about your last rabbit.

If this is the case, the sooner they are treated for this, the greater chance they have of recovering without permanent disabilities. The longer they go without proper treatment, the more likely this will remain permanent. Treatment for EC is usually at least a 30 day course of Panacur(fenbendazole), as well as metacam to help bring down the inflammation caused by the cell damage from the spores. Both medications are essential. Sometimes an antibiotic like baytril will also be given to cover the possibility of infection.

If it's more than just the hind limbs and this bunnies whole body seems weak and shaky, it could possible have to do with a nutrient deficiency, like low potassium.

This really needs vet attention immediately.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/paresis.html
http://www.woodward-vets.co.uk/information/Encephalitozoon%20cuniculi.pdf

 

[RebeccaJC]

I didn't breed the rabbits. It was an unexpected/surprise litter.. it has nothing to do with me. I will be breeding again but it'll be a completely different pairing (I am looking to breed as I have enjoyed having the baby rabbits) I am worried because the last owner had three rabbits. Two girls and a boy all the same age and I asked her when i found out Mindy had given birth (I had her for 4-5 weeks when she gave birth unexpectedly) if the male and female with brother and sister.. she assured me they were NOT brother and sister but with all the health problems I am not too confident in that. But surely she wouldn't lie to me? I like to think she wouldn't but all the problems occurring i am not so sure.

The bunny I posted about a few days ago has splay leg and is perfectly healthy. Just looks like he's swimming. Bless him lol as far as I am aware that cannot be cured?

Its the second bunny I posted about in here I am concerned about. His legs aren't splaying. He just seems to be suffering with weakness and just drags his leg/collapses onto his back. I have already rung out of hours vets and they cannot see him till tomorrow but if he's no better tomorrow morning he'll be there first thing and hopefully it'll be something that can be easily fixed just wanted to post here to see if anyone had any ideas at all as to what the problem might be. Its just occurred out of nowhere. He was perfectly healthy this morning.

 

[RebeccaJC]

Also thank you for the links and for all the information & replies!

 

[squidpop]

It is curable and you want to treat soon before it gets worse.
E. cuniculi is a protozoa parasite and its really a very common illness. The protozoa can travel to the spinal cord or the brain and depending on where it lands there will be full or partial paralysis. The protozoa causes inflammation and that is part of what causes the paralysis. The panacur will kill the protozoa and the metacam will stop the inflammation.

 

[RebeccaJC]

It isn't what you thought it was. It isn't a parasite which I didn't suspect to be honest as I thought it was a spinal injury. We have taken him to the vets and she says it is a spinal injury not genetic and most likely caused by trauma. The mummy rabbit started getting rough with them the beginning of this week (we have separated them now. I think its because they are now eight weeks so just rabbits to her now as she's been such a loving tender mum. But started to mount them and so forth) so we think she may have damaged his spine. The vet said all they can do is give him a steroid injection and hope for the best. If he improves within 3-4 days we can carry on giving him the steroid injections however if no signs of improvement. It sounds as if we have to consider putting the poor little fella to sleep which I really don't want to have to do