This bunny was presented to us unable to use his left front leg. After an exam by one of our doctors it was determined that the leg might be broken.  A radiograph revealed the extent of the injury. Luckily this front leg fracture in a rabbit did not need surgery.

Our friend is nice and cozy just before his radiograph

To learn more about rabbits in general, and to help prevent a fracture like this in your rabbit, visit the House Rabbit Society website.




You can see his fracture/dislocation near the L marker 

A special lightweight but strong plastic splint with foam padding is custom sized for his leg

Several layers of cotton padding are used to hold the leg stable yet keep him comfortable 

It looks heavy but it is actually light. This much cotton is needed to stabilize the fracture.

Once the final cotton wrap is applied and checked for comfort an outside wrap is applied to keep the cotton in place and also keep it clean

Looks like we ran out of “bunny” wrap and had to use “rooster” wrap for the outside bandage

Our friend is good to go and feeling much less pain now that the fracture has been stabilized and the leg is comfortably in the splint

This bunny will need up to 2 months of healing for the fracture to heal. It needs to rest during that time and use the leg sparingly so the fracture can heal. The splint lets him walk on it comfortably, which is an important part of the healing process. Without using the leg slightly the bone has less of a tendency to heal due to the effectiveness of the splint. If this does not heal surgery might be needed. We will keep you posted.

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