Rabbits with a congenital splay-leg
Esther van Praag Ph.D.
|
|
MediRabbit.com is funded solely by the generosity of
donors. Every donation, no matter what the
size, is appreciated and will aid in the continuing research of medical care
and health of rabbits.
Thank
you |
Warning: this page contains pictures that may be
distressing for some persons.
|
A rabbit suffering from this
condition will gradually lose the ability to adduct one to all four limbs.
The condition can affect the fore- and/or hind limbs, causing them to become
twisted, resulting in a double-jointed posture. The rabbit is unable to put
weight on its limbs, and ambulation becomes difficult due to the inability to
adduct the limbs. The severity of the condition ranges from minor to severe,
with paralysis being a possible outcome.
Video from Kim Chilson
There are various causes of splay-leg in rabbits.
This condition is often hereditary, manifesting through the expression of one
or more recessive genes with reduced expressivity. It is also influenced by
environmental factors. Other causes include traumatic or iatrogenic factors.
Some of the contributing factors include does that have few newborns and
overfeed them, or newborns that are in a nest on a slippery surface due to a
lack of bedding.
Clinical signs
Rabbits affected by a congenital or traumatic
splay-leg eat and drink normally, and their health is good. The only clinical
indicators are deformities in the shoulder and hip joints, which result in
incorrect limb positioning. This, in turn, can lead to impaired ambulation,
with the animal moving by wriggling along the ground on its belly or chest.
When a rabbit is seen with splay legs, the first
steps should be to check for physical deformities. X-rays are an effective
method for identifying skeletal deformities, including: ·
pelvic
hypoplasia, with femoral luxation, ·
torsion or
subluxation of the hip, ·
femoral neck anteversion, ·
femoral shaft torsion, ·
distal foreleg curvature, ·
achondroplasia
(growth impairment) of the hip or shoulder joints, ·
syringomyelia
(chronic progressive disease, characterized by the appearance of fluid-filled
pockets in the spinal cord).
Treatment There is
currently no treatment available for splay-leg, so each case should be
evaluated on an individual basis. Rabbits exhibiting minor deformities can
often move around quite well and maintain a satisfactory quality of life. In
certain cases, amputation of the affected limb may be a viable option. In
cases of severe splay-leg affliction in rabbits, the possibility of
euthanasia should be considered. Secondary skin complications may develop in areas
that bear the body's weight. Skin ulceration (sore lesions) and pododermatis are most frequently observed.
Acknowledgement I would like
to express my gratitude to Michel Gruaz (Switzerland), Kate Jenkins (Canada),
Arie van Praag (Switzerland), Megan Matter (USA), and Akira Yamanouchi (VEIN)
for their kind permission to use their pictures. Further
information Arendar GM, Milch RA. Splay-leg - a recessively
inherited form of femoral neck anteversion, femoral shaft torsion and
subluxation of the hip in the laboratory lop rabbit: its possible
relationship to factors involved in so-called "congenital dislocation"
of the hip. Clin Orthop. 1966;44:221-9.
Jirmanova I.
The splayleg disease: a form of congenital glucocorticoid myopathy? Vet Res
Commun. 1983;6(2):91-101. Van Praag E.,
Maurer A., Saarony T. Skin diseases of Rabbit. Geneva, CH:
MediRabbit.com; 2010. |
||||||||||||||||||
e-mail: info@medirabbit.com
