Reasons why rabbit hind legs failed and methods of treatment and prevention
A common pathological condition in rabbits is paralysis of the paws, and the hind limbs most often fail. When a rabbit's hind legs fail, there may be several reasons for this: injuries, dysfunction of the nervous system, infectious pathologies, malfunction of the digestive tract, calcium deficiency. If the rabbit is raised for meat, then it is easier to slaughter it, if the pet is decorative, then the treatment is chosen taking into account the cause of the paralysis.
Content
Possible causes and actions to be taken for hind limb paralysis
To properly treat a rabbit, you first need to figure out what caused the paralysis of the hind legs. The owner must remove the sick animal from the livestock, put it in a small cage that restricts body movements that can cause deterioration. Next, you need to check if there are limb fractures or other injuries to the body. If a fracture is detected, then the injured paw should be fixed with a splint.
The sick rabbit must be taken to the veterinary clinic in a well-ventilated carrier. Only a veterinarian prescribes treatment.
Lack of calcium in the body
If the rabbit eats food that contains little calcium, then its body consumes the mineral accumulated in bone tissue. The skeleton becomes weak, unable to maintain muscle mass. Most often, calcium deficiency is observed in rabbits during the lactation period. The female gives a significant part of the calcium with milk to the cubs, which negatively affects the condition of her skeleton. There is a mineral deficiency in milk-feeding rabbits, if the mother does not produce enough milk, or if the rabbit irregularly feeds the offspring.
The first thing to do to normalize your rabbit's calcium content is to change your diet. You need to add calcium-rich foods to it:
- crushed eggshell;
- bone meal;
- a piece of chalk.
Additionally give calcium preparations:
- gluconate (as a dietary supplement);
- glutamate (as an additive);
- borgluconate (as subcutaneous and intramuscular injections);
- gamavite.
Constipation or diarrhea
Disruption of the digestive tract, leading to the failure of the hind legs in a rabbit, occurs when poisoning with poor-quality concentrated feed or poisonous plants. Most often, poisoning, accompanied by the failure of the hind limbs, occurs after the animal has eaten fresh grass, which the owner forgot to wither. Some farmers try to prepare a lot of grass at once, pile it in a pile, but do not know that when lying in it for a long time, useful compounds turn into poisonous ones.
The main sign that the paralysis of the hind legs is caused by poisoning is the massive defeat of animals. Almost all livestock that have consumed poisonous food fall ill.
To eliminate the disease, the rabbits are provided with a quality diet. It includes compound feed with clover and alfalfa to prevent mineral and vitamin deficiencies. Fresh grass is given after having dried it.
Brain inflammation
In rabbits, the hind limbs are often taken away in infectious pathologies that cause brain inflammation:
- encephalitis;
- meningitis;
- encephalomyelitis;
- encephalozoonosis.
Diseases of an infectious nature, in addition to paralysis of the hind legs, are accompanied by distortion of movements, curvature of the neck, and the fall of the animal on its side.
The listed pathologies are dangerous, inflammation of the brain causes an early death of the animal. Therefore, a sick rabbit is immediately shown to the veterinarian. He prescribes antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medicines and immunostimulants.
Listeriosis
A dangerous pathology, due to which the legs of a pregnant rabbit fail, is caused by a microscopic parasite of listeria. Cubs die in the womb, but miscarriage does not always happen, sometimes it is partial. The embryos remaining in the uterus decompose, provoking an inflammatory process that spreads to the hind legs.
The sick rabbit is slaughtered. Treatment is possible, but it is not applied on farms, since the surviving animal becomes a carrier of the infection. In this case, the livestock is replaced, the rabbitry is thoroughly disinfected. Before settling in new rabbits, they are quarantined for 2 weeks. The fur of dead animals is burned. The meat can be consumed, but after 2 hours of cooking. If a decorative pet is sick, then the veterinarian prescribes antibiotics and procedures to restore the sensitivity of the hind limbs.
Trauma
Rabbits' legs are often injured after falling, fights, and unsuccessful body movements inside a cramped cage. Paralysis of the hind legs is the result of damage to either the spinal column or the brain.
In the first case, the transmission of impulses along the vertebral nerves in the limb is interrupted. This cannot be fixed. The pet will remain crippled. In the second case, the transmission of signals from areas of the brain responsible for motor activity is interrupted. The rabbit's legs are not only taken away, but coordination is also impaired.
If a rabbit has only one paw that is motionless, then most likely it has only a fracture. X-rays are required to confirm the diagnosis. In case of paralysis of the hind legs caused by damage to the spine or brain, the veterinarian prescribes anti-inflammatory medications, analgesics, physiotherapy procedures. The owner will have to massage the rabbit and purchase a wheelchair for the animals.
Disruption of the central nervous system
Dysfunction of the nervous system becomes a consequence of stress, severe fright, as a result, the hind limbs of the rabbit fail.
Rabbits are extremely shy animals. Paralyzing fear can cause them:
- transportation;
- noisy renovation work;
- sudden inclusion of intense light;
- approaching another pet;
- painful veterinary procedures;
- lifting by the ears or scruff.
If the nervous system malfunctions, the veterinarian will prescribe a massage to restore the muscles. It is not difficult to carry it out: you need to hold the animal on its back with one hand, and with the other, bend and straighten one and the other hind paws with smooth movements.
Ornamental pets are often given acupuncture and hardware procedures to restore numb muscles.
Other possible causes
Less often, a rabbit's legs fail for the following reasons:
- Pododermatitis - ulceration and trauma to the soles of the paws due to unsanitary conditions or thin litter on a slatted floor.
- Deficiency of B-group vitamins provokes nervous pathologies, accompanied by impaired transmission of impulses to the hind limbs.
- Oxygen deficiency as a result of pulmonary pathologies leads to a disruption in the blood supply to the hind legs, due to which the muscles weaken.
- The toxins released into the bloodstream during coccidiosis, pasteurellosis, and other severe infectious diseases cause disruption of the brain and muscle weakening.
Preventive actions
To prevent paralysis of the hind limbs in rabbits, measures are taken to prevent infectious lesions, and optimal living conditions are created in the rabbitry.
Necessary preventive measures:
- Keeping purchased rabbits in a 2-week quarantine.
- Regular cleaning and disinfection of the rabbitry. Destruction of infectious rats and mice.
- Vaccination of pets against listeriosis in a region with an unfavorable epidemic situation.
- Purchase of quality feed. Balancing the diet, including dry concentrates. Reducing portions of root vegetables.
- Disposal of the remains of last year's hay. Procurement of compound feed, grass and grain food for a short time.
- Supplementing the diet with legumes containing high concentrations of protein and minerals.
- Timely removal of manure.
- Careful handling of rabbits during transport and relocation.
- Arrangement of cages so that animals cannot be injured.
Can a rabbit live with paw paralysis?
Survival depends on the cause of hind limb failure and the body's stamina. A weak animal with an infectious lesion dies after a few days, a strong injured rabbit can live for several years as a disabled person. Often, with a frivolous pathology and high-quality care, the animal recovers, returns to a full life.
