Not a happy bunny!

Wills and felix had their vhd jabs yesterday, they found the whole thing stressfull and have been very lethargic ever since, but eating drinking, weeing and pooing, but no bunny 500, no binkys. Lots of snoozing.
we went to a bbq at the friends we got the buns from, i checked out their mum and dad and they seem ok, talked to them about the free jab scheme. They then told me that they got their rabbits from another couple that were there, i had assumed they got them from a pet shop. I spoke to the couple and they told me they found my babies grandparents in a pub car park they asked if my rabbits had cloudy eyes, as theirs do, and most of their babies have (!) they then said they had heard all about me and my funny ways, and how i had spent a fortune on stuff for 2 rabbits, and how they live in the house (ha flippin ha). Seems these rabbits are in stacked small hutches, so depressing talking to them.
We left early, i had had enough and a down pour of rain was the perfect excuse.
Now comes the worst bit: got home and neither bun runs to greet us, but when we go in the lounge felix slowly comes towards us and she isnt weight bearing on her front right leg. Picked her up and had a look, nothing visibly wrong, and she let me feel it without showing any discomfort. By this time yasi is crying and im in a right flap. Called the emergency vet and he said it could be they have had a fight- i very much doubt that, or felix has done a big jump and landed badly- i doubt that too, she and willow are so lethargic, or when she had her jab, the needle hit a nerve. He told me if i took her in they would just put her on cage rest. She is eating and drinking well, so he told me to see how she is monday. I would take her in now if i thought it would help, i dont care about the money, (they are insured anyhow) but i think it would stress her and wills out, and the vet has advised me not too. If they arent going to do anything, she is better off here. Oh i feel pants poor felix. Anyone else experianced this?

Sounds to me that Felix's leg is due to her vaccination and as long as she doesn't go mad around the house she should be ok in a couple of days. We had the same problem with one of our buns a few years ago when he had his VHD jab that same night he went lame and was like that for about 3-4 days.

Hope Felix is better soon sending her 'leg healing' Vibes xxxxxx

Keep us updated.

I'd call the vet and ask whether they think this is a common reaction or whether you should bring them in for monitoring.

From what you've said, it does sound like just a bad reaction to the vaccine, and as long as they're eating and drinking and pooing they should probably be OK, but being paranoid I'd probably call the vet anyway.

Sounds as if your vet used 'Cylap' VHD vaccination. The leg limp is a fairly common problem with Cyplap, as are lumps at the point of entry, scabs & loss of fur. The contra-indications are well known...
"Up to 50% of animals will show palpable reactions which consist of swelling measuring up to 2 cm in diameter, redness and in some cases hair loss. The swelling subsides within 2-3 weeks without further treatment. Up to 50% of animals will show transient moderate pyrexia appearing within one day of vaccination and lasting for up to 3 days. Following vaccination animals may exhibit transient forelimb lameness which normally resolves within 48 hours." Source

There was a report made n Cylap a while back which makes for quite shocking reading, Clicky which you may want to show to your vet.

Anivac is now the recommended HVD vac, as it is not suspended in Mineral oil, which is the problem with Cylap. There is also Lapinject, but have a look at the news page of Hopping Mad, it's all covered in there ( Clicky ) and let your vet know that you would like them to order in Anivac for future vac's.

The leg should return to normal in a couple of days, keep an eye out for swelling and scabbing. Sorry to hear this, I really hope Cylap gets taken off the market sometime.

Oh my gosh.
Im sooo cross. Your absolutley right jay, the have had that its written in their vaccine certificates. And now u repeat this back to me, i realise i have already read this, and as it didnt apply at the time it got lost in bunny reading over load. How stupid do i feel for spending my time looking up everything under the sun but not re-visiting vhd jabs
Well, thanks so much for this, i will print it all off and take it to the vets, and also complain to the company direct. I am so cross and upset, and sat here with felix licking my ankle whilst stood on 3 legs i really couldnt feel any worse than if i had injured that leg myself.

We had the same lameness problem with Daisy when he had Cyclap VHD.
We rushed him to the emergency vet at a cost of £140 to be told there was nothing wrong. They made no mention of the link between lameness and Cyclap...even when I asked if it could be due to the day befores vac.

I insist on having Lapinject now, although i had to pay for five doses.

Ah katie. Im so p'd off. The emergency vet actually told me not to take her in, maybe they knew and thats why. I even quized yasi, asking her a few times if there was any chance she picked felix up, and felix jumped out of her arms from a height, did her friend pick her up, did she leave her friend in the lounge alone with them at any time while i was in the garden. She is so fab with them, i really shouldnt have grilled her. I have read her jays reply and appologised, poor little love.

That's weird Chewy never had this problem.
He also never had his jabs on the leg, always on the scruff.
But anyway, I'm sorry to hear that your bun is poorly it's such a shame. I also hope Cyclap will be off the market soon if there are so many bad side effects...

The injection site is in the scruff, so if the develop swelling etc it will be there, but it the actual chemical can cause lameness in the front legs, see jays reply above x

Lottie wrote:That's weird Chewy never had this problem.
He also never had his jabs on the leg, always on the scruff.
But anyway, I'm sorry to hear that your bun is poorly it's such a shame. I also hope Cyclap will be off the market soon if there are so many bad side effects...

It doesn't affect every bun, but around 50% are affected in some way, more serious side effects affect less.

Oh dear, I hope she gets better soon! Mine are due to have their VHD next week, I shall have to remember to ring up on Monday and ask about this. This is Thistles first time as every time I planned to book him in before he got ill and seeing as he is so prone to getting anything he can I'm worried he'll get the bad side affects. Is anivac reccommended over lapinject?

Anivac is the vaccine to ask for. You may need to contact your vet and ask them to order it in before your appointment. That is what I did.

Lapinject comes in a bottle with enough for 5 rabbits, and has to be used once the bottle is opened. That works out quite pricey for one or two buns. Anivac comes in a pack of 10 vials, so the vet can use the rest with other customers quite easily and you only get charged for the amount of vaccine you use.

My rabbits had Cylap vaccinations for a couple of years before I heard of the infamous cylap limp and other problems. I decided that we would use Anivac from now on. My vets were shocked to see the at the leaflet with Cylap had been changed to show that up to 50% of rabbits experience some kind of symptom which I think is absolutely dreadful. This product should not be used on rabbits at all.

I hope that Felix and Willow are back to their normal cheeky selves soon. Don't blame yourself, you are a fabulously caring bunny mum.

Thanks so much nicki, really needed to hear that today x
It would have been good to have had a run through of possible side effects with the vet, its not a mistake i will make again, all i can do is give all this info to the vet, complain to the manufacturer and kick up mary hell in the most productive and informed way i can ( in other words what i feel like doing is having a nuclear paddy bringing out the gutter mouth ha ha, yet i know that will get me and felix no where). I bought them a fleece bed whilst i popped into tesco's, reckon that will make up for it?! ;-) As lovely as my vets are, im going to go with the one the local rescue uses. I dont want the worry over things i should be able to take for granted, though saying that instead of spending my time reading about things that might happen, i need to concentrate on things they have comming up, like the spays.
Felix still isnt using that leg and they are still just snoozing and eating, but i dont think the leg hurts as she doesnt mind it being touched. Yasi is reading to them now and they laying on the bristley mat- seems the fleece bed is not a hit, oh well ;-)

Jay wrote:Sounds as if your vet used 'Cylap' VHD vaccination. The leg limp is a fairly common problem with Cyplap, as are lumps at the point of entry, scabs & loss of fur. The contra-indications are well known...
"Up to 50% of animals will show palpable reactions which consist of swelling measuring up to 2 cm in diameter, redness and in some cases hair loss. The swelling subsides within 2-3 weeks without further treatment. Up to 50% of animals will show transient moderate pyrexia appearing within one day of vaccination and lasting for up to 3 days. Following vaccination animals may exhibit transient forelimb lameness which normally resolves within 48 hours." Source

There was a report made n Cylap a while back which makes for quite shocking reading, Clicky which you may want to show to your vet.

Anivac is now the recommended HVD vac, as it is not suspended in Mineral oil, which is the problem with Cylap. There is also Lapinject, but have a look at the news page of Hopping Mad, it's all covered in there ( Clicky ) and let your vet know that you would like them to order in Anivac for future vac's.

The leg should return to normal in a couple of days, keep an eye out for swelling and scabbing. Sorry to hear this, I really hope Cylap gets taken off the market sometime.

I mentioned bad reactions to Cylap to our vet and was told usually it's down to a bad batch, I have printed this report out and I shall certainly be showing it to the vet. They use Cylap

Doesnt it just make u cross maysie, look at the knowledge u and hubby have, and the lengths u have, and continue to go to for the bunnies- when it comes to vaccines we shouldnt have to worry, 50% of rabbits, thats disgusting. Willow isnt great either, they are constantly yawning.
Hows ruby today anyway? X

Felix&Willow wrote:Doesnt it just make u cross maysie, look at the knowledge u and hubby have, and the lengths u have, and continue to go to for the bunnies- when it comes to vaccines we shouldnt have to worry, 50% of rabbits, thats disgusting. Willow isnt great either, they are constantly yawning.
Hows ruby today anyway? X

We have our buns vaccinated to try and protect them from deadly diseases and so to read the report I find this very upsetting and frightening and yes it does make me very cross indeed. 50% of rabbits is shocking

Ruby is ok, the swelling is going down nicely on her operation site and she is sat all the time next to the partition with Charlie on the other side so I am hoping they will bond again when she is completely healed. I will be so happy when they do.

Topping up the Vibes for Felix and Willow xxxxxx

We have had a 'bunny 500' and a binky from willow, looks like she is on the mend Just need a happy four legged felix now please x

Anivac is the cheaper option of the 3, so i don't know why vets aren't using it now - only thing I can think of is that they haven't heard about it yet?