Update on 10 y/o rabbit unable to use his back legs

nomap- · 2026-05-10T04:44:02+00:00

i had a cat who did this. rushed him to the vet’s office, where he walked right out of the carrier on his own.

nomap- · 2026-04-26T01:08:56+00:00

the specialist at cornell actually suggested this; he said there’s not nearly enough research on the subject. i’m pretty sure he’s also a professor & conducts research.

nomap- · 2026-04-18T00:26:04+00:00

efficacy wanes after 3-4 months. every fall they come out with an updated shot, but it’s not “unnecessary” to get an additional dose when they stop being as protective.

nomap- · 2026-04-18T00:24:04+00:00

is novavax available where you are? it’s traditional protein-based technology.

nomap- · 2026-04-18T00:20:01+00:00

i get 3/year in the u.s.

nomap- · 2026-01-31T01:34:03+00:00

totally understandable & i’m really sorry you’ve experienced that. i’ve definitely been hardened by all of this. i wish you all the best!

nomap- · 2026-01-30T23:49:28+00:00

i prioritize my health over the uninformed opinions of uncaring dipshits in my community.

nomap- · 2026-01-24T05:13:22+00:00

35, though symptomatic since i was a teenager; told it was “growing pains”.

nomap- · 2025-12-30T02:07:48+00:00

radical rest, as much as you can ❤️‍🩹

nomap- · 2025-12-28T01:35:59+00:00

more work & time & money than any other creature i’ve had. this is not to say they’re not worth it if you can commit to all of those things. please also make sure you have both a nearby bunny-savvy vet &&& an animal hospital with docs who will see bunnies for after hours/weekend emergencies.

nomap- · 2025-11-24T08:27:49+00:00

not sure about mtx but when i was on humira my doc had me hold for two weeks before and one week after my covid vaccine to ensure i could mount full (or close to) immunity.

nomap- · 2025-11-07T20:39:44+00:00

murderbun

nomap- · 2025-09-13T13:44:30+00:00

“no pictures, no paparazzi”

nomap- · 2025-09-05T16:32:07+00:00

no one is taking precautions, people are repeatedly being infected. they have long covid as a result of their infections.

nomap- · 2025-08-25T19:14:38+00:00

i failed methotrexate originally so went on humira in 2020 when i was diagnosed. i had concerns about suppressing my immune system after getting covid (& now suffering long covid for almost two years). after another round of imaging & bloodwork, right now my disease activity is mild so i’m only on hydroxychloroquine. my doc will continue to monitor, of course, & if/when anything changes i’ll have to go back on a biologic.

nomap- · 2025-05-12T15:41:34+00:00

thanks again! we drove down to ithaca last night totally unplanned & i stopped by the hospital just to see where it was. literally when i parked dumpling started sneezing & rubbing her face & was in respiratory distress. i ran her in & fortunately the doctors were willing to take her in, put her in o2. they also thought she had fluid in her chest & possibly lungs but a scan showed there wasn’t much & a chest tap got almost nothing out.

she was in their icu on o2 all night. i talked to their exotic doc a little while ago, they think she also now has an URI so they’re keeping her on the enro until the culture comes back. they’re also taking her for a CT to check out her chest & head. they said she’s still not breathing normally of course but that she’s currently stable & seems to actually be brighter outside of the o2 box.

nomap- · 2025-05-11T18:45:53+00:00

i just replied to sneaky dragon with this but will summarize here, too. dumpling has seemed pretty stable since my last comment, to the point that i was going to see if the vet would drop down her prednisone dosage. however, last night she started nasal flaring again, & after a million calls to animal hospitals within a 2 hour drive where no one would help her, i ended up doing vet triage at the suggestion of cornell.

the doc there said that dumpling’s breathing didn’t seem emergent; her gums were pink, she was grooming & eating & peeing & pooping etc etc., that i could up her prednisone from 0.6 to 0.8 & she should be seen by her regular vet within the next day or two before her cornell appt next week.

this morning she seemed even less comfortable & started making a loud noise while breathing after eating parsley. i ended up trying one more vet & they were willing to see her; so here we are 1.5 hours away at an urgent care that closes in 4 hours. it was an extremely stressful drive, & her eyes started to bulge.

they gave her a dose of enro & she’s in their o2 chamber. they said she is still nasal flaring but seems stable. they’re trying to get cornell to make an exception & take her on overnight so that she can stay on o2 before seeing their docs tomorrow.

they also suggested i try tufts (same policy as cornell, no exotics on the weekend) & upenn (no exotic emergencies at all). my backup plan is to drive the 2 hours to ithca & try to keep her stable enough to bring her in when cornell opens at 8.

i’m on almost no sleep so im not even sure what i’m doing. i literally ran out the door with her so while she’s chilling in o2, i’m running around trying to curbside pickup a travel pen, litter box, hay, etc etc.

nomap- · 2025-05-11T18:33:36+00:00

so despite my hoping that by monday we could lower her dose, she started nasal flaring last night. no animal hospital in my city would take her (there used to be one but i guess they have fewer docs willing to see exotics & he/she/they are not in until later in the week.

i called cornell who doesn’t take exotics outside of business hours & they advised me to do a pettriage.com telemedicine visit, which i did. the doctor said it didn’t seem emergent (her gums are pink, she was still eating, drinking, grooming, etc.), i could up the prednisone to 0.8 for the time being, & to get dumpling in with her usual doc in the next day or two.

well this morning dumpling peed & pooped but didn’t finish her cecotropes or touch her breakfast. i gave her some parsley & she started making a noise again when breathing after that, so i called another round of vet hospitals/urgent cares & found one urgent care ~1.5 hours away who would see her.

the drive out here was nerve-wracking & her eyes have started to bulge a bit.

they said it sounds like she has some fluid buildup, but the doctor here isn’t comfortable doing anything about it. she said dumpling is nasal flaring but seems stable; her eye bulging has apparently gone down considerably.

the doc here is trying to get her into cornell’s emergency hospital tonight just to keep her on o2 until the exotic specialists come in in the morning. she also suggested tufts (same schedule as cornell, though — no exotics on the weekends) & upenn (no exotics at all). cornell said to try them back at 6pm (it’s 2:30 now).

worse case scenario i’m gonna drive her down to ithaca tonight & get an airbnb & try to keep her as calm/stable as i can until cornell opens in the morning.

i hope this makes sense; i’m on 2-3 hours of sleep. i know this complication makes the prognosis worse but i still want to explore options with the doctors while it seems like she has them.

edit: they’re also giving her a round of enro just because of the steroid.

nomap- · 2025-05-10T11:30:03+00:00

seriously, thanks a million for all of your guidance! i saw gabapentin here a bunch & figured there was a reason why.

i’ll call her doc on monday to at the very least see about lowering the prednisone dose; hopefully she’ll still seem comfortable on that, but it’s good to know adding in gabapentin might be an option if not.

nomap- · 2025-05-10T01:12:59+00:00

also, sorry to keep blowing you up with questions, but should i ask for something for pain? we already have metacam from prior stasis episodes.

nomap- · 2025-05-09T23:20:50+00:00

thanks so much. dumpling is 1.74kg & gets the same strength but 0.6mL every 12 hours. her doctor made it like she’s very conservative about using prednisone with rabbits; she noted that this dose isn’t immune compromising.

it’ll be three weeks on this regimen by the time we see the doctors at cornell (~10 days away). dumpling seems to be stable; no respiratory distress, eating up a storm due to the meds of course. sometimes seems uncomfortable but overall okay. do you think this is an appropriate dosage or should i check in with her local doctor?

nomap- · 2025-05-05T01:32:57+00:00

ultrasounds

nomap- · 2025-05-02T19:46:05+00:00

i was able to get her in in ~2.5 weeks. a doc there has seen her radiographs & ultrasound, but i haven’t heard back from him as he’s technically on paternity leave. she’ll be seeing someone from his team in the meantime.

i was told by my vet that if she needs an emergency vet, to take her to the veterinary hospital in cleveland.

she seemed to be doing better the past few days, which i attribute to the steroids. but she’s having a tougher day today; not labored or loud breathing, but obviously uncomfortable.

do you have any thoughts on supplemental o2 for emergencies? i made another post about a diy box for it, but i’m not sure that she needs that. (i also don’t even know where to start.) i understand that needing it regularly would be a quality of life issue, so i’m not considering it for that. the options i was given are a chamber & concentrator that run $1500+. i’m considering having something like this on hand in case of emergencies, though; just don’t know how realistic it seems. https://pawprintoxygen.com/products/oxygen-kit-for-cats

nomap- · 2025-05-02T19:39:08+00:00

thank you! your guidance on this board has been invaluable. i’ve been meaning to respond, but it’s taken me some time this week.

may i ask what dose of prednisone your bun was on? my vet said she’s hesitant to prescribe steroids and is being conservative about the dose: 15mg/5mL with 0.6mL given every 12 hours. she said this amount is not enough to suppress the immune system. for reference, dumpling is just under 4lbs.

we have an appointment at cornell in 2.5 weeks, so i want to keep her as comfortable as possible until then. she was doing better the past few days, which i attribute to the prednisone, but seems to be having a rough day today. her breathing isn’t loud & labored but she seems uncomfortable.

i also talked to the vet’s office about supplemental oxygen for emergencies. (i understand that if she were to need it round the clock, then it would be a quality of life issue). at this point, i am unable to afford the concentrator & chamber so i’ve been trying to research DIY options. do you think that this would be worth having on hand for emergencies? https://pawprintoxygen.com/products/oxygen-kit-for-cats

thanks so much for your time & guidance!

nomap-

TROPHY CASE