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Head Tilt, Help!

L

LolaOctober

New Kit
I'm a first time bunny owner so hadn't heard of this before so was very very frightened when on Tuesday night Leeloo started dipping her head to the side every few seconds out of the blue. I had no idea what was going on so just made sure she was warm and comfortable until we could rush her to the vets the next morning

We have been given Bayatrill (I think thats how you spell it lol) and Panacur to combat whatever it is she has but i am still very concerned and upset at the very thought of losing her. She is eating, drinking and uusing her littler box so i am hoping this is a good sign but otherwise i don't really know how i should be caring for her, the vet gave us practically no info so i'm not sure if she needs a special diet or special living conditions

Can any one give me any pointers to get her well again as quickly as possible?
 
Sorry I just read on your other thread that your bunny had recently been spayed. Was this discovered before or after the operation?
 
She was spayed around a month ago and seemed completely fine up until tuesday night. The course i have been given is a 9 day course of Panacur.

Is this a good treatment option? I have no idea whether or not i should ask for something else or not
 
LolaOctober said:
She was spayed around a month ago and seemed completely fine up until tuesday night. The course i have been given is a 9 day course of Panacur.

Is this a good treatment option? I have no idea whether or not i should ask for something else or not
Click to expand...

I'm no expert but when Wesley had headtilt he was given an anti inflamatory injection, 28 day course of panacur, and then advised to do a nine day course every three months and baytril. He did stop eating during the course of baytril so you may want to get some recovery food just in case you need it. If you do have any problems I would go back to the vet.
 
Your bunny needs to have panacur for 28 days as the bug she may be carrying is called EC ..the nine day course will not kill the bug.
Please return to your vet and ask for a longer course

Also ask for some probiotics to add to her drinking water..this will help to boost her immune system and replace some of the inbalance caused by antibiotics

Clean her cage regularly and disinfect thoroughly to help rid the EC spores that are shed in urine

She may not have EC but better to treat than to wait and see

Good luck and keep us posted
 
I will thanks so much. The vet gave us 7 days of baytrill and asked to see her again this time next week so i will ask there.

I'm very concerned about her ability to rest as she seems to have a constant 'Tick' so am hoping she can sleep adequately.
 
Just to add..don't be afraid to insist on a longer course as even some vets are under the impression that 9 days is enough..it isn't
The 9 day course is just to worm rabbits..not to treat EC

It may be worth asking for some Metacam whihc is an anti inflammatory painkiller too..will make her feel more comfortable
 
Metacam, a non steroidal anti inflammatory is an essential part of the treatment for headtilt beit caused by infection or EC. With EC the Metacam is needed to try to minimise longterm permanent cell damage caused by the inflammatory response to the EC spores as the spores erupt.
If infection, well earache is painful !!
Your Vet should be prescribing Metacam daily.

I hope your Rabbit recovers soon

xx
 
metacam is needed for anti inflammatry and pain relief. also ec needs a 28day course to treat not 9 days please ensure this is done the 9 days wil lhave no effect. also it could also be due to a middle ear infection so do continue with baytril tho you may need something stronger if it is a middle ear infection. prehaps try a differnet mroe rabbit savvyvet what area are you in maybe we can reccomend someone? x
 
I was also wondering whether the vet had a good look inside her ears in case there is an ear infection, although I would still treat for e.c. regardless. Also dental problems can cause a bunny to tilt their head
 
The vet didn't even examine her (I wasn't there as my partner had to take her) i would have thought he would have had a look but nothing

I also began to worry when my partner informed me that the Vet said 'Well the survival rate is good for this kind of thing, just none of the rabbits i've ever treat have survived' I had to laugh, not fillign us with good feelings there Mr Vet! lol

He did inject her but as any information my fiance receives goes in one ear and out the other i don't know what it was.

Thing is, how can i make orally syringing her the antibiotics easier as its like holding onto an angry snake when she see the syringe!
 
Can you try and find a rabbit savvy vet?

First thing I would do is get her back to the vet and ask them to check for ear mites, as it be be very simple to solve.

However it does sound like E.C, have a search on here and Google for more info on it.

She needs to receive the correct dosage of Panacur for her weight (1 graduation per 2.5kg) for at least 28 days.

You will need to make up a 10% bleach solution to clean her area and especially food/water bowls and litter trays on days 21 and 28 in particular. Usual disinfectant will NOT kill the parasite. It is also best to chuck out any toys etc that cannot be cleaned.

It is very common for rabbits to pick up EC during an operation OR for a carrier to become active after an op as their immune system is low.

You should not need to retreat with Panacur after the 28 days course (with active cases I would always do 6 weeks to be on the safe side), unless symtoms persist or recur.

As the others have mentioned she will also need Metacam on a daily basis to prevent damage in her brain and kidneys and she should also be on Baytril so that if this is a inner ear or urine infection this can be cleared up.

Hope she gets better soon, it's not nice :(
 
LolaOctober said:
Thing is, how can i make orally syringing her the antibiotics easier as its like holding onto an angry snake when she see the syringe!
Click to expand...

I would mash up some of her favourite food and put the medicine in that, only mash up a little otherwise she might not eat it all ;)
 
LolaOctober said:
Thing is, how can i make orally syringing her the antibiotics easier as its like holding onto an angry snake when she see the syringe!
Click to expand...

If she won't take meds on/in food, and you have to do it with syringe, it is defo a 2 man job.
1 to hold rabbit, 1 to give med.
Wrap bunny in towel helps to contain the wriggling. Settle bun on your lapor against your arm so it can't reverse. Go in the side of mouth in the gap between front and back teeth. Squirt in gently - hopefully bun will swallow. (Some defiant buns just let it trickle out again :roll:)

Sending vibes for poorly bun, hope she gets well soon.
 
Thanks so much you lot.
We do wrap her in a towel and my partner squirts while i wrestle lol. Shes just deceptivly strong for a little bunny, She is very good at just letting her mouth go slack and letting it dribble out so we hold chin up a little when we take the syringe out, it seems to help (I feel absolutely terrible about it afterward, she is a very huffy bunny and knows how to make me feel guilty)

I do hope she is on the right dosage as she is a very small bunny (1.8kg) so we hope we're not over medicating her and doing her any harm

The problem with our vets is that it isn't the one vet, in the 3 visits we've had we've seen 3 different ones! 1 of them is very very good with rabbits and the other 2 i'm not so sure of.

BTW is the website VETUK good as we were going to order her panacur from there as its much cheaper than getting it from the vet
 
LolaOctober said:
Thanks so much you lot.
We do wrap her in a towel and my partner squirts while i wrestle lol. Shes just deceptivly strong for a little bunny, She is very good at just letting her mouth go slack and letting it dribble out so we hold chin up a little when we take the syringe out, it seems to help (I feel absolutely terrible about it afterward, she is a very huffy bunny and knows how to make me feel guilty)

I do hope she is on the right dosage as she is a very small bunny (1.8kg) so we hope we're not over medicating her and doing her any harm

The problem with our vets is that it isn't the one vet, in the 3 visits we've had we've seen 3 different ones! 1 of them is very very good with rabbits and the other 2 i'm not so sure of.

BTW is the website VETUK good as we were going to order her panacur from there as its much cheaper than getting it from the vet
Click to expand...

I've just ordered something from VetUK and found it very reasonable and got an email to see my order has been despatched today :)

£3.48 for rabbit panacur is very good!
 
Lspacehopper said:
I've just ordered something from VetUK and found it very reasonable and got an email to see my order has been despatched today :)

£3.48 for rabbit panacur is very good!
Click to expand...



Thanks so much, I'll put my order in now for another few weeks worth and then i can ask the vet to make sure i have enough baytrill to last
 
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