Some rabbits are born with a condition known as "splay-leg," in which the
front legs, hind legs or all four legs splay out to the side like little
seal flippers. Although most experts believe that the condition is
congenital (possibly due to genetics resulting in weak connective tissue),
it can be exacerbated by environmental conditions, such as
being raised on a slippery floor that gives no traction.
A 100% cotton, textured bathmat surface for
playing and exercising as soon as babies come out of the nest may help
reduce the incidence of splay-leg.
The brace itself consists of nothing more than
Diagrams below show how to brace a bunny's front legs.
Here's what a front-leg brace looks like, from top view and from a somewhat
oblique view:
Bunnies are not fond of having their back legs braced, and they will
struggle. But again, they do tend to get used to it within a few hours,
and start to learn to hop.
Here are a couple of drawings showing how the
back leg braces should be attached:
Caveat lector: I have never tried to use these braces on a rabbit with all four
legs splayed, so I am not certain how well this would work. It might be
worth a try. If the bunny seems very stressed, it would probably be best
to do one set of legs at a time, perhaps starting with the front, allowing bun to become accustomed to the encumbrance, and then doing the back a few days later.
The cure should not be worse than the disorder!
Bunnies we have braced this way sometimes need to be re-wrapped every week or so. Be sure to monitor the braces for soiling, and replace them if they are wet or dirty.
Each time the braces are changed, allow the bunny a few minutes to walk on a surface with good traction, to check progress. It can take several weeks before the cartilage and muscles strengthen and grow to produce more normal posture, but it will work. Patience is the key to a full lifetime of better mobility.
It's possible the bunny will simply not tolerate the braces, and tear them off or act very stressed and unhappy. If this is the case, wait ten minutes to see if bun adjusts, but don't torture a truly unhappy bunny by forcing the braces. Splayleg bunnies can be perfectly happy with a little extra care and cleaning.
For those adult buns who do tolerate bracing, we've found that a strapping system without corks or any hard parts works best. (More details to be posted soon, including a video. But for now, I hope this helps.)
Here is a diagram of how we have successfully braced an adult splayleg bunny's feet.
Instructions:
2. Roll the fur into two soft pads, each about 1" in diameter.
3. Tack the pads to the outside (distal) side of the foot with micropore paper tape. (Not too tight!)
4. Wrap a length of soft, 1" stretch gauze around the foot where you have padded it.
5. Wrap a 1" wide strip of Vetwrap around the gauze to hold it in place. (Choose your own fashionable color! You'll probably have to cut this to size, as it comes in 4" wide rolls.)
6. Now the tricky part. Cut a piece of water-proof athletic/adhesive tape (Johnson & Johnson is best, as other brands are now made in China and not sticky enough! But who knows how long before J&J joins the outsourcing bandwagon.) about 15 - 20" long.
7. Wrap a loop around one foot, and then create a "bridge" of tape to the other foot. Make a loop around the other foot, and bring the tape back over the bridge, tacking the two sticky sides of the tape to each other.
8. You will have to determine how close the feet can be tied, depending on how stiff the bunny's hips are. But check to be sure the knees are not knocking together, and that bun can move easily, even if the legs are still a little abnormally far apart.
9. Presto! Put bunny down and watch closely to be sure he's not distressed. If the legs are too close, you might have to do it again until you get it just right.
Good luck!
Bracing Baby Rabbits with Splayed Legs
Splay-leg bunnies can usually move about with a flopping
motion, and we do know of completely happy adult "splay-leg" bunnies who
can race around the house effortlessly. However, because these bunnies can
develop other health problems related to their abnormal posture, it isn't a bad idea to try to correct
the problem when it is first detected, in very young babies about 3-8 weeks
of age. Whatever the cause of the problem (nature or nurture), in some
cases it can be corrected if the babies are fitted with simple, home-made
leg braces, as illustrated below.
Bracing an Adult Rabbit with Splayed Legs
Adult rabbits whose legs are already fixed in the splayed position may not be very amenable to bracing. It can hurt to force the legs into a normal position. So if bracing is tried at all, it should be done very gradually, not pulling the legs together too closely all at once. Do no more than the bunny will tolerate without ripping off the braces.
1. Obtain a nice, thick pad of clean, soft fur from a previous grooming of the bunny (or another bunny).
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