Barney had EC and now has Head Tilt

I am after support and advice from anyone out there who has experience with rabbits with EC and bad Head Tilt.

Poor little Barney is only 7 months old and has been through such a lot. When he was about 3 months old he injured a back foot. It swelled up to twice its normal size and the vet suspected that he may have broken one of his metatarsals. Fortunately, it seemed to heal very quickly, and he was soon hopping around again as if nothing had happened.

However, about a week later I noticed that he was looking a little wobbly on his legs again, so took him back to the vets. The vet suspected that he had the early signs of E.C. and he was started on a 28 day course of Panacur.

Whilst on the treatment, he unfortunately got much worse before he suddenly started to get better (after about 9 days). By the end of the 28 days though, he was still a little wobbly on his legs and still had mild head tilt. He was then due to be neutered, but the vet decided it was too much of a risk so soon after treatment, and asked us to wait another month to see how he got on.

Things seemed to be going really well until towards the end of that month. His head tilt suddenly started to get worse, he started running round and round in circles when excited, and kept falling over all of the time. So it was straight back to the vets.

He was put back on another course of Panacur, as well as given steroids and antibiotics, in an attempt to cover all the possible angles i.e. E.C. and/or ear infections. That was a month ago and although he has improved slightly, he head tilt and dizziness is still quite bad.

Now Barney is a foster bun who we are trying to find a home for, but we are unable to do so in his current state. Normally all our rabbits are spayed or neutered, but I am worried about risking a GA. Certainly the vet does not sound very confident and keeps saying to leave it another month to see how he gets on.

Is there anyone out there who can offer help or advice? Is it safe to get him neutered or not? Should we risk a GA? If we leave him un-neutered, can he still be bonded with another bun? Should we be considering the unthinkable PTS? Can anyone help?

Hello

I certainly dont think he should be neutered at the moment.
My Vet now believes that a 28 day course of Panacur is not long enough to treat an active EC. She recommends a *minimum* of 6 weeks, maybe longer

Is Barney having any anti-inflammatories still? The steroids will have had an anti-inflammatory effect but the use of steroids longterm is not without significant risks.

I have had EC Buns on *Stemetil* to help with the dizziness. It has been helpful.

Bonding an entire Buck is going to be tricky. A spayed Doe may get pestered too much and a neutered Buck would probably result in a fight
Perhaps he could be homed as a Special Needs single Housebun :?

Please PM me if the Rescue is having to make any tough decisions re PTS.

Janex

I think you are right .. definately a special needs single house bun.

I have added the photo below to show you all how handsome he is, as well as a link to some film footage on Youtube. The film actually shows him at his best ... when he is eating!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_FncXejjsk

Oh my he is so handsome!!
I am sure he would thrive as a single Housebun with people who are at home most of the day

I know of a Bun with a much *worse* headtilt and he has coped perfectly well for SEVEN YEARS !!

Janex

Jack's-Jane said:

Please PM me if the Rescue is having to make any tough decisions re PTS.

Click to expand...

Lucy does not put to sleep her buns unless there is a real need for it.

I definitely wouldn't neuter him. It was spaying mine that brought out the active EC in the first place (stress on the body of an op). I also agree that 28 days is not long enough for Panacur.

Hi,

He is so lovely.

Caroline at the Rabbit Residence rescue has a bun with bad head tilt. You could contact her to see if she has any advice. Her bun is a permanent resident and has a partner. It is easier to contact her by mobile. The number is on her website.

This is the link.www.rabbitresidence.org.uk

This has made me feel really weird. I have his brothers Duggie and Ollie. The last time I watched them on YouTube it was to the 'bunny hop' song. He is the image of Duggie down to the white paw and white hairs in the coat. So sad.

Duggie & Ollie

jpp said:

This has made me feel really weird. I have his brothers Duggie and Ollie. The last time I watched them on YouTube it was to the 'bunny hop' song. He is the image of Duggie down to the white paw and white hairs in the coat. So sad.

Click to expand...

Hiya JPP!

I am so pleased to hear from you! I fostered all four boys for a short while and shot the video you are talking about. I am so pleased that they have now gone to a good home. We had to split the boys when they started to get too big for one hutch, and so Duggie and Ollie went to another foster mum.

Duggie was by far the biggest of the four with huge ears that were adorable. Ollie was the little mischief maker who was always escaping, digging and binking around the most. Two adorable little boys that I really missed when they went. If you want a copy of the video and some photos, PM me and I can always send you a DVD with them all on.

Barney was the smallest of all the four brothers, in fact he was the runt of the whole litter. He fell ill after we split them into two pairs and they had been apart for a while so your bunnies should be fine. All of the rabbits were treated with a full 28 day course of Panacur as a precaution, but only Barney's treatment failed, probably because of his foot injury and a suppressed immune system.

I am happy to report that Jasper is also still with me and unaffected. The only down side is that they are both all alone and in separate hutches. We had to split them because we can not neuter Barney and they were fighting all the time. Jasper is still looking for a home, but he is so cute (just like Ollie) that I am sure his turn will come soon.