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I am confused and concerned :(

ChloeLawless

ChloeLawless

Mama Doe
Paddy is really unsteady on his feet, as if hes drunk :|
we took him to the vets and he was put on a course of panacur for 9 days but so far this isn't doing much, it'll be 9 days thursday he was put on it.

he is still bright and alert and eating, drinking, pooing and weeing and playing with his toys..and has been since we had him, theres no change in him himself at all, hes infact becoming more curious now hes settled.

can anyone shed any light for me? i am going to take him back to the vets on thursday, but they said they'd give him xrays and i wasnt sure if that would suss out the problem? his eyes are bright and responding to movement and light and his ears appear ok but i did wonder if it was perhaps an infection...

any help would be greatfuly received!
 
Firstly 9 days of Panacur will do b*gger all for an active EC infection, it would need to be a minimum of 28 days but personally I would use 6 weeks.
Secondly, has the vet considered vestibular disease at all?
 
This is what my boy is like.
He does also have head tilt, but from time to time he wobbles about like he is drunk.
Maybe early stages of EC, so maybe a longer course of panacur could help?
 
tomhighway said:
This is what my boy is like.
He does also have head tilt, but from time to time he wobbles about like he is drunk.
Maybe early stages of EC, so maybe a longer course of panacur could help?
Click to expand...

thank you :) that is what i was considering.

Sooz, I didnt know that 9 days wouldn't do much good, just going on what the vet (who isnt our usual one) told me, she didn't mention the other disease, i will do some research on that now thank you :)
 
ChloeLawless said:
thank you :) that is what i was considering.

Sooz, I didnt know that 9 days wouldn't do much good, just going on what the vet (who isnt our usual one) told me, she didn't mention the other disease, i will do some research on that now thank you :)
Click to expand...

Vestibular disease is just another phrase for an inner ear infection, which can affect balance. Treatment is usually with antibiotics and sometimes painrelief if required.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=189&A=564&S=1


and in relation to Torticollis (head tilt)
Inner Ear Infection
An inner ear infection may have started with an outer ear infection, which remained unnoticed and untreated and gradually worked its way into the inner ear, or with a middle ear infection, which resulted from an upper respiratory infection. Or it may have arisen from bacteria in the nasal cavity or bloodstream. A radiograph of the head may help determine if the middle ears are affected. Some of the bacteria which have been cultured from ear infections are Staphylococcus sp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pasteurella multocida, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Proteus mirabilis, Streptoccus epidermidis, Bacteroides spp. and Escherichia coli.

Treatment needs to be aggressive and prolonged. If exudate (pus) is found deep in the ear canal, a culture and sensitivity should be done in order to determine the bacterial agent and which antibiotics will be most effective in eliminating the infection. However, if it is impossible to access the bacteria in order to do the culture, many veterinarians will opt to treat with one of the antibiotics usually successful in curing an inner ear infection, such as enrofloxacin, chloramphenicol or penicillin G procaine with benzathaine. If no improvement is noticed after 4 weeks, a change in antibiotic is recommended.

If attempts to clear the infection with antibiotics appear to be failing, the veterinarian may suggest ear surgery to be able to obtain a sample for a culture and sensitivity, to remove exudate, and to provide drainage. Antibiotics need to be withheld for 3 days prior to obtaining a culture. One treatment includes leaving a drain. However, the exudate that rabbits produce is frequently very thick and does not drain.

If the head tilt is extreme, a steroid may be prescribed in an attempt to reduce the inflammation. If the rabbit is not eating or drinking, the doctor may recommend that fluids be administered subcutaneously and food given orally by syringe.

Although middle and inner ear infections reportedly have a poor cure rate, I know many cases of success in getting rabbits through this illness. The "secret" is long term antibiotics, frequently a minimum of 30 days. However it may be necessary for a rabbit to be on antibiotics for 6 months or even for the remaining years of his life. This treatment in conjunction with a loving and supportive environment can provide the rabbit with a good quality of life even if the disease cannot be completely eradicated.
Click to expand...
 
I had a dog that suffered a bout of vestibular disease. He was getting up and being wobbley but the biggest give away was his eyes. they were scanning left to right really fast, no wonder he felt dizzy, it was constant!

He has a short course of treatment and was fine. they thought it could have been due to an inner ear problem, but apparently it's common in older dogs.
 
thanks for the info sooz :)

and your poor dog Lucy!

i do wish they could talk and then tell us what was wrong...at the moment paddy seems more interested in demanding treats in his ball and trying to nudge my hands out of the way when i sort it out for him :lol: its lovely seeing his character come through now, hes still skittish but i feel he is getting to know me and its lovely :love:
 
ChloeLawless said:
thank you :) that is what i was considering.

Sooz, I didnt know that 9 days wouldn't do much good, just going on what the vet (who isnt our usual one) told me, she didn't mention the other disease, i will do some research on that now thank you :)
Click to expand...

My little bam bam got ec two years ago I first noticed her run a bit funny sorted of dragging her behind and body rolling slightly took her to a vet and specialist and was diagnosed with ec. What annoyed me most wad the preventative cure is so simple yet was never mentioned although they do now.

She and thumps who live separate to my other buns are permanently on panacur. In her self she is perfectly well and still minxy, if not still wobbly with her back legs. I hope he is all ok xx
 
thank you :)

i am hoping he'll be ok once he has seen lynn who is our usual vet, shes pretty rabbit savy and got lily through her major problems and our hamster through wet tail so i am confident she will do all she can.

what i do want to know is IF it is ec and it is cleared up will we eventually beable to bond him with lily or will that be out of the question? as the reason we had him was to be friends with lily in the long run :(
 
ChloeLawless said:
what i do want to know is IF it is ec and it is cleared up will we eventually beable to bond him with lily or will that be out of the question? as the reason we had him was to be friends with lily in the long run :(
Click to expand...

Unless you have had Lily titre tested you have no way of knowing if she carries EC already or not, and research has shown 50% of domestic bunnies do.

It is also possible that if Paddy does have EC she may have already been exposed to it, so I would give her a short course of Panacur now too. Personally I don't let fear of EC stop me bonding my bunnies because I have no guarantee they don't all carry it anyway (which is seeming sadly likely in my household).

I would advise a regular Panacur routine for them both however, including a course administered during bonding when stress could induce an active attack. My bunnies all receive a 9 day course twice a year and at times of high risk.....ones with seemingly active infections have 6 week courses.

HTH
 
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