UPDATE 7/7/09 Mystery illness, poss middle ear infection? Please read and help!

Hi all, havnt been on here for a while but i know i can count on you for the right advice.
My normally exceptionally healthy mummys boy, Scampi Doodle, fell ill on Friday. He was quiet and not eating and initially thought that as he was in heavy moult he has gastric stasis, which is normally something I can deal with as I syringe feed them and give them lots of syringes of water to soften the tummies, and hey presto this norm works.
However I did notice that he was leaning slightly to one side all this time and thought this must just be a symptom of feeling poorly. But on Monday morning he was still poorly and was making a sound like a Gieger counter, i thought it was his tummy but when I rushed him to vets first thing they discovered he was swollen around the neck area, and the stasis was secondary to whatever else was wrong with him.
He is still at vets on drip, and I have a package of his favourite foods sent there too. He is on steroids and anti biotics and painkillers. The vets have done x ray and tried to take a sample of the swelling.
It potentially could be middle ear infection, which would explain the breathing strangley and the leaning slightly to one side.

This really worries me as the vets are saying that it is not easy to clear, and that he may need an op which will have to be done in a specialist centre.

This has knocked me for 6, as Scampi is the healthiest happiest bunny. I am worried to death. Can anyone share their (hopefully positive) experiences that they have had?

anyone got an ideas? I see this post has had afew views, is everyone else stumped too? My vets are not too sure at the moment either, not until the test results come back.

Aww, sounds awful for you.

I regret that I can't help you though.

Did you tell the vet he'd fallen - might help them in their diagnosis?

Could it be meningitis? My ex's cat had it, she fell off the back of the sofa, then went really weird, her head went lop-sided etc, and we thought she'd damaged herself falling off the back of the sofa, so we took her to the vets and he diagnosed meningitis and said that she'd fallen off the sofa because she was ill, not that the fall had made her ill. Worth considering?

Hi in reponse to first reply, he hasnt fallen so nothing to report to vet on that topic, he is just leaning to one side as I guess his inner ear has affected his balance.

and to the second: No, unlikey to be meningitis. Its more like head tilt which is secondary to the infection he has picked up in his middle ear, which has made his throat swell.

Thanks for replying though, the more ideas and help I get the better.

Has anyone else experienced this sort of problem with their bunny?

GI stasis is often a secondary symptom of another primary problem, unfortunately

It does sound like a serious middle ear infection which may also have caused an abscess to form If this were to be the case then surgical intervention could be needed.
Whilst systemic antibiotics and anti-inflammatories may bring about some relief they are often not curative if there is an actual abscess.

I hope the Vets can help him

Update 6/7/09 Middle Ear Infection

Yes you are right Jacks Jane, he has a middle ear infection, with swollen lymph nodes, (looks like he has mumps poor thing) there is quite a bit of heat to the neck,
Vets did needle samples, and it came back clean for cancer (thank God) and its not quite an abcess yet, but def a collection of bacteria there. Yes the gut stasis was secondary to the infection.
He was kept in vets overnight last week, and went on steroids, anti inflamatorys, and baytril and a drip, poor thing. The vets was amazed how much the lump went down in 24 hours, and after an overnight stay he came home.
My goodness though he was not the same little bunny, he was like a zombie! He on baytril and loxicom (anti inflamatory) and liquid parafin for his poo (or lack of)
Day by day he is getting back to normal, the slightest thing like ear movement and nose movement, is coming back, his appetite is now improved too.
Its now a week on and he is much better in himself, he is doing virtually norm poos now and he is now eating a little more. He still very still though as he normally skips around and gets into mischief!
He went for checkup on sat, and vet happy with his progress. He now got some biolapis for his water.
So he def better, but I think it will be a long course of anti biotics to get rid as vet explained baytril does not penetrate the bacterial growth as well as some anti biotics, but is so safe that would not be able to use any of the others.
Just need to keep fingers crossed now!

Mia said:

Yes you are right Jacks Jane, he has a middle ear infection, with swollen lymph nodes, (looks like he has mumps poor thing) there is quite a bit of heat to the neck,
Vets did needle samples, and it came back clean for cancer (thank God) and its not quite an abcess yet, but def a collection of bacteria there. Yes the gut stasis was secondary to the infection.
He was kept in vets overnight last week, and went on steroids, anti inflamatorys, and baytril and a drip, poor thing. The vets was amazed how much the lump went down in 24 hours, and after an overnight stay he came home.
My goodness though he was not the same little bunny, he was like a zombie! He on baytril and loxicom (anti inflamatory) and liquid parafin for his poo (or lack of)
Day by day he is getting back to normal, the slightest thing like ear movement and nose movement, is coming back, his appetite is now improved too.
Its now a week on and he is much better in himself, he is doing virtually norm poos now and he is now eating a little more. He still very still though as he normally skips around and gets into mischief!
He went for checkup on sat, and vet happy with his progress. He now got some biolapis for his water.
So he def better, but I think it will be a long course of anti biotics to get rid as vet explained baytril does not penetrate the bacterial growth as well as some anti biotics, but is so safe that would not be able to use any of the others.
Just need to keep fingers crossed now!

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So pleased to hear your bunny is making a recovery and feeling a bit better
Not sure what your vet said about Baytril being only safe antibiotic for rabbits is true though? There are plenty of different antibiotics that can be used safely in rabbits :? If his poos are still a bit small or slow I would prefer to give Fibreplex rather than biolapis as the fibre combined with a probiotic can help the guts quite well. Also the liquid paraffin? :? It can help but I would have thought a gut motility agent would be more appropriate in this case seeing as he had full blown stasis? Just my opinion though.
I hope he continues to get better
(I see you are in Hedge End! I can recommend a good vet in Fareham if you ever get stuck )

Daisy has been under Bristol Vet Hospital since September and she is on permanent 3mls of Baytril, half a 200 mg metrodiazanole tablet and a high dose of metacam daily. She has a very bad ear infection and the medication has held it to give her time this summer. She is a 4 kilo rabbit.

Raine:thats a long time to be on baytril etc, is your bunny getting better?


another update:
The swelling on his lymph nodes/throat area has gone down considerably over the past two days, the flap/pouch of skin is still there but when you press the swelling gently there is nothing in it. His appetite is much improved though strangely he is still not really touching his daily small ration of supa rabbit excel, which he norm loves.

Yes my friend mentioned fibreplex as well, might ask for that next time i go in for checkup. He's no longer on liquid parafin. He was given a gut motility drug when he was in overnight, but I cant administer those at home as they are needle only.

What does suprise me though is his lack of mobility, he still doesnt really move and when he does its like someone has tied his back legs together so he moves them very stiffly? Not sure what that is all about. I am hoping its just due to the fact that he has been practically "bedridden" for past week and lost 5g in weight in the space of a week.

Mia said:

Raine:thats a long time to be on baytril etc, is your bunny getting better?


another update:
The swelling on his lymph nodes/throat area has gone down considerably over the past two days, the flap/pouch of skin is still there but when you press the swelling gently there is nothing in it. His appetite is much improved though strangely he is still not really touching his daily small ration of supa rabbit excel, which he norm loves.

Yes my friend mentioned fibreplex as well, might ask for that next time i go in for checkup. He's no longer on liquid parafin. He was given a gut motility drug when he was in overnight, but I cant administer those at home as they are needle only.

What does suprise me though is his lack of mobility, he still doesnt really move and when he does its like someone has tied his back legs together so he moves them very stiffly? Not sure what that is all about. I am hoping its just due to the fact that he has been practically "bedridden" for past week and lost 5g in weight in the space of a week.

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Metclopramide as Maxolon is a paediatric solution that can be given orally as a gut stimulant at home. As can Zantac as a hind-gut motility agent if needed.
Perhaps he has lost some muscle mass too from inactivity? I would encourage him to exercise as often as possible. There could be neurological involvement too? Hope he feels better and regains weight soon

prettylupin said:

Metclopramide as Maxolon is a paediatric solution that can be given orally as a gut stimulant at home. As can Zantac as a hind-gut motility agent if needed.
Perhaps he has lost some muscle mass too from inactivity? I would encourage him to exercise as often as possible. There could be neurological involvement too? Hope he feels better and regains weight soon

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Wow, thats interesting pretty Lupin, had no idea that rabbits could have a pediatric solution but it makes sense. Where do you get it from? vets or pharmacy? and how do you measure out? How does zantac work as I have some at home (how much to give etc)

Mia said:

Wow, thats interesting pretty Lupin, had no idea that rabbits could have a pediatric solution but it makes sense. Where do you get it from? vets or pharmacy? and how do you measure out? How does zantac work as I have some at home (how much to give etc)

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Both are prescription only from your vet, and you would need a dose calculated on your bun's weight and depending on the solution strength although the Maxolon is a standard paediatric solution, not sure about the Zantac strength? You will need to talk to your vet about using both in your bun. They may feel if his poo output is normal it isn't necessary to use a gut motility agent now, but this depends on every case and some buns are given these to pre-empt an episode or as a maintenance dose if ongoing problems.

Mia said:

Raine:thats a long time to be on baytril etc, is your bunny getting better?


another update:
The swelling on his lymph nodes/throat area has gone down considerably over the past two days, the flap/pouch of skin is still there but when you press the swelling gently there is nothing in it. His appetite is much improved though strangely he is still not really touching his daily small ration of supa rabbit excel, which he norm loves.

Yes my friend mentioned fibreplex as well, might ask for that next time i go in for checkup. He's no longer on liquid parafin. He was given a gut motility drug when he was in overnight, but I cant administer those at home as they are needle only.

What does suprise me though is his lack of mobility, he still doesnt really move and when he does its like someone has tied his back legs together so he moves them very stiffly? Not sure what that is all about. I am hoping its just due to the fact that he has been practically "bedridden" for past week and lost 5g in weight in the space of a week.

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there is a gut motility agent called metoclopramide that we use at work for gut stasis bunnies, it is available as a tablet and an injection, may be worth asking about if he is going to need it again? you have to give pretty small doses (usually between 1/4 and 1/10 of a tablet) but at least it's easier than an injection!

Loz said:

there is a gut motility agent called metoclopramide that we use at work for gut stasis bunnies, it is available as a tablet and an injection, may be worth asking about if he is going to need it again? you have to give pretty small doses (usually between 1/4 and 1/10 of a tablet) but at least it's easier than an injection!

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Maxolon is Metoclopromide

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/lifestyle/healthfitness/health_advice/netdoctor/archive/100003399.html

Jack's-Jane said:

Maxolon is Metoclopromide

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/lifestyle/healthfitness/health_advice/netdoctor/archive/100003399.html

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Yeah, I should probably read the rest of the thread before posting a reply, huh? lol.

Sorry I missed your question. Daisy has other health problems besides her quite severe ear infection. She has been on the regime since August. It bought her the additional time. The ear infection would never have been cured but the medication has held it from deteriorating further and to have gained another 12 months.