Bunny w/ E.cuniculi

Hi everyone. I am new to this forum and need some advice on how to care and treat my bunny. I will try to make her story short.
I adopted Daisy and Chubs, two giant french lops, three years ago from a lady who didn't want them anymore. They were about 2-3 years old then.
Chubs had some urinary tract problems. My vet diagnosed him w/ E.cuniculi. He was symptom-free until a year ago when he suddenly fell ill and passed away.
Daisy had symptoms on and off but nothing alarming, just some fur loss, bloody urine here and there and occasional eye infections, all subsided and she did generally very good until last week. Suddenly she couldn't walk or even stand anymore, even though she is moving her hind legs, she cannot stand up.
My vet had told me there is no treatment for E.C., just supporive care and antiinflammatories.
Daisy is still eating, but much less than she used to and she has lost some weight. She is drinking a lor of water however.
Today we have an appointment with another vet.
Any advice on treatments and how to care about my paralyzed bunny are greatly appreciated as it seems that my vets in the area don't know all that much about bunnies.

Reti

I'm not a vet but there is a treatment to get rid of E.C. from rabbits and it's called Panacur. The rabbits will always be "EC positive" but treatment with Panacur can stop further damage being done. It doesn't reverse any damage already done, but you might notice improvements if the rabbit can regain health.

Generally a 6 week course of Panacur is advised, talk to the new vet about this. You can order it online a bit cheaper than in the vets and you don't need a prescription.

You should also regularly give them a preventative course of Panacur to stop reoccurances.

Ditto that - I'm very surprised that any vet would say that there is no treatment for EC. :? Panacur isn't even a prescription medicine. It is, however, true to say that there is no absolute cure for EC, both in terms of permanent damage and the likelihood of it rearing its head again. The sooner the Panacur (or Lapizole - it's the same) is administered, the better chance of a good recovery.

:wave: Where are you based, are you in the UK? The others are quite right - panacur is available to treat e.cuniculi, panacur is the brand name, its active ingredient is something called Fenbendazole if you're not in the uk and your vet hasn't heard of panacur. If you are in the UK, if you tell us roughly where you are, someone here might be able to suggest a different vet who is good with bunnies to you.

Good luck!

Thank you so much fo your advice.
The member who refered me to this group told me about Panacur. We do have it here and I hope my vet will give it to me today. Actually I called him yesterday to ask for it, but he wants to see Daisy first.

Another question I have is, how do I best clean her up. She is laying mostly on her side and she gets heavily soiled. I bathe her rear daily but because of the urine seeping on her fur it tends to stay wet and she starts being smelly. I tried baby wipes but they don't really help much. I put diapers on her but somehow she tends to wiggle out of them.

Btw, I am in Miami, Fl.

Reti

Reti said:

Thank you so much fo your advice.
The member who refered me to this group told me about Panacur. We do have it here and I hope my vet will give it to me today. Actually I called him yesterday to ask for it, but he wants to see Daisy first.

Another question I have is, how do I best clean her up. She is laying mostly on her side and she gets heavily soiled. I bathe her rear daily but because of the urine seeping on her fur it tends to stay wet and she starts being smelly. I tried baby wipes but they don't really help much. I put diapers on her but somehow she tends to wiggle out of them.

Btw, I am in Miami, Fl.

Reti

Click to expand...

When you take her to the vet discuss whether it would be best to have her rear shaved or not, that can help you keep it clean even if it isn't pretty

timb0h said:

I'm not a vet but there is a treatment to get rid of E.C. from rabbits and it's called Panacur. The rabbits will always be "EC positive" but treatment with Panacur can stop further damage being done. It doesn't reverse any damage already done, but you might notice improvements if the rabbit can regain health.

Generally a 6 week course of Panacur is advised, talk to the new vet about this. You can order it online a bit cheaper than in the vets and you don't need a prescription.

You should also regularly give them a preventative course of Panacur to stop reoccurances.

Click to expand...

How often should you give Panacur? My rabbit's last dose was at the end of May.

From the manufacturer:

Dosing is recommended 2 - 4 times a year and at times of higher risk, such as when the rabbit is acquired, prior to mating and when mixing with other rabbits.

Click to expand...

timb0h said:

From the manufacturer:

Click to expand...

Thanks. Herbert's probably due another dose then.

I would bed her on vet bed as this helps keep them dry underneth and stop pressure sores forming. It is widely available on ebay, the thicker it is the better it works so buy a good quality one.
I always put an old towel and newspaper under the vet bed to soak up the urine and change it all at least daily

Once you have cleaned and dried her apply vasaline or sudocream ( for nappy rash) to the areas to stop her skin getting urine burn

I hope Daisy starts to feel better soon......fingers crossed.

Sorry for not updating sooner.
I took Daisy to the vet. All he labs (liver, kidney function and blood work) came back normal.
My vet put her on Metacam only, so I had to call another vet to get the Panacur. She has been on it and the Metacam since Wednesday, I haven't seen any improvement in her leg function. And she starts loosing her fur on the side she laying on. Even if I position her on the right side, she flips back to the left, there is nothing I can do about it. The urine leaks underneath her and she constantly damp. Even with the diaper, I am trying to change it every two hours when I am home, it just doesn't work to keep her dry.
My vet suggested diaper rash cream, I am putting it on too. Nothing works.
When am I supposed to see any results from the meds? And how can I make her stay dry?

Reti

When you say all the blood tests were 'Normal' did that include a specific testing for EC Titres?

Has your Rabbit had an Xray of her spine to rule out a spinal fracture/Spinal abscess (causing hind leg paralysis and loss of bladder control) ?

Panacur does not 'cure' EC but it does kill off the spores shed by the protozoal parasite. It is the spores that do the damage (and cause the clinical symptoms) as they penetrate the Central Nervous System/Kidneys etc. It is actually the inflammatory response within the CNS/Kidneys etc that causes the symptoms. So an ant-inflammatory is as an important part of the treatment as Panacur. Antibiotics are also often needed to address any secondary bacterial infection.

With EC the damage done is often permanent, although sometimes improvement in clinical symptoms does occur over a period of time (weeks/months rather than days). The urinary incontinence, if permanent, will require lots of hands on care and really the Bunny would never be able to be left alone-eg whilst you were at work etc.

Some Rabbits can cope with profound disability, others find the 'hands-on' care they need far too stressful. As your Vet has said there is 'no treatment' for EC I think maybe you need to seek out another Vet somewhat more clued up on Rabbit Health issues. If you let us know your approximate geographical location maybe we can help you locate a more Rabbit Savvy Vet.

She had the titers done last year when her mate was sick.
We didn't do an x-ray as I am sure she didn't suffer an unjury as her enclosure is safe, there is no way she could have fallen from anywhere and she has only superwised time out of the cage. When she comes out she never goes anywhere, she just sits at the same spot for hours. She's always been like this, quite a lazy bunny.

I know she is stressed every time she is handled, her breathing gets very laboured. She loves being petted but hates the bathing and diaper change.

Metacam is an antiinflmmatory.

The blood work included WBC and RBC and liver, kidney function tests.
The WBC count was normal, so he ruled out any additional infections.

I am in Miami, Fl.

Thanks for your input.

Reti