Head tilt/rolling rabbit - being treated for EC

Hello all

I need some advice please, even if it's just to tell me to calm down and have patience.

I've posted the following for general advice about panacur
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=186895

But in summary one of my buns is very poorly. She's a nethie, aged approx 8yrs. She's always been a healthy girl and until last Sunday she'd been her normal self, not any quieter, no other signs that she was going to be poorly. Sunday morning she was fine, when I checked them a few hours later she had developed quite a bad head tilt with rolling eyes.

She's been to the vets 3 times this week for steroid injections and she's also on Panacur, Baytril and Metacam (7 days tomorrow).

2 days ago she started to suddenly lay on her side rigid, this lasted for for a few minutes then she'll start rolling over and over until either I put my hand on her or she leans against her partner Dylan.

Our vet doesn't seem overly worried in that she's on a course of treatment and we have to let that start to work but I'm worried sick. My OH is being great and keeps telling me she'll be ok but after losing Flopsy to EC earlier this year (http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=158202&highlight=rykat I'm a nervous wreck.

I'm not thinking of giving up on Bunicula, I will keep fighting as long as she can but I just have a gut feeling she's not going to make it. Everything I've read says that the rolling behaviour of because the brain and nervous system are affected she's trying to right herself as she's disorientated.

Our vet has checked her ears and physically can't find anything wrong so she's being treated for EC.

The bunnies are all in indoor buns and have dog crates with runs attached, but last night I transferred her and Dylan to the "hospital cage" as although it's much too small for normal use it's much better for her and easier for me to get her to give meds.

What else can I do to help her? I'm back at work on Monday and can't take her with me and although OH works form home alot of the time he's not there all the time I'm out.

I would not totally rule out a middle ear infection. This cannot be diagnosed just by looking in the Buns ears, a skull Xray is needed.

What dose of Baytril is she on?

You could ask the Vet about giving Bunicula Stemetil. It can help some Buns cope with the dizziness that occurs during the rolling episodes.

This thread may be of interest to you and may also give you encouragement

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=178735&highlight=zithromax

She needs far stronger anti biotics than Baytril. I would also suggest getting the down ear cultured for infection too.

I'm also not sure whether steroids are advisable here. Normally I believe they are a last gun salute when used in rabbits.

Has she been given any drugs to counteract her motion sickness? some bunnies respond well to them, some don't.

Is she able to move around at all? If not, then rolled towels on either side can help prop her up. Some bunnies can be very happy even if they are rolling. I saw a beautiful video, I'll try and find it for you.

This is a rabbit up for adoption and being advertised on another forum I belong to. The videos might give you hope. http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=43918&forum_id=7

I have a girl who had horrid head tilt and was treated by a less than knowledgable vet. However, when she came to me we treated her with some strong antibiotics and she started to show improvement two days later. She now has a permanent slight residual tilt, but she has stopped rolling and can now do everything other rabbits can do. The difference with that anti biotic was amazing.

Good luck.

Jane beat me to it, but at least we sort of agreed, lol.

Sorry to hear about your rabbit.

Has your vet done a blood test for EC?

One of my foster bunnies (Lola) also got a head tilt last weekend and we took her to the vet on Monday. The vet did a blood test for EC as even though ~50% of rabbits have it, if she came back negative we would be able to rule it our and concentrate on things like an ear infection. I got the results yesterday and Lola does have EC but the panacur seems to be helping as she is cleaning her ears today without wobbling or falling over.

I really hope Bunicula shows some improvement soon too.

Many thanks to everyone for their advice and so sorry I've not been on sooner to post an update.

Bunicula is doing ok, she's no worse which is the main thing. She had another steroid injection yesterday (the last one) and I asked about Stemitil. They have a prescription waiting for me to collect after work so thanks for the suggestion and I'll feed back on her progress It's so upsetting for me and stressful for her and Dylan when she has the rolling episodes.

She's still keeping herself clean and so far is showing no signs of incontinence which I think is positive and she's managing to wash her face and ears before she falls over.

There's a pattern to her "episodes", she scrapes the floor, head goes further over, eyes start flicking, she then either rolls over a couple of times or she goes rigid with her head upside down and between her front legs

I've moved them both into a larger cage as the hospital one was much too small and this one has deeper sides so all the bedding/litter stays in.

The rest of the buns are sulking and do a runner when I go near their crates because they know it's Panacur time. I've tried EVERYTHING to get it down them and nothing works except the "burrito" :lol:

I'm trying to keep positive, now have Trigene so all litter trays/cages are getting cleaned with it.

Will keep you updated and thanks again for the help/advice. I know I only seem to come on here when I need advice, sorry but appreciate any help.

Sorry to hear that your bunny is poorly. I'm afraid I don't know much about this sort of thing, so don't really have any advice to offer, but sending you both lots of good vibes

Rykat said:

There's a pattern to her "episodes", she scrapes the floor, head goes further over, eyes start flicking, she then either rolls over a couple of times or she goes rigid with her head upside down and between her front legs

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That's interesting, because a bun will often make a 'scrape' before going in for a flop and a lie down - my female does this when she goes to bunny flop and roll on her back/side for a snooze. I wonder if Bunicula is losing her balance when she tries to do this and when she tries to clean?? it does sound like Jane said it could possibly be a middle-ear infection rather than EC?? But anything affecting her balance centres neurologically be it infection or parasite/inflammation could do this. I hope she feels better soon

My kermit had head tilt.
Sometimes when he flopped he would sometimes roll right over.
I hope your bunny gets better, there have been quite a few buns that make a complete recovery. Fingers crossed x

I really empathise with you as we went through an awful time with Wilson when he was so poorly The thread that Jacks-Jane added above was about our bunny - so I know where you're coming from & how distressing it can be.

We persevered & thankfully at the moment Wilson is still very happy & enjoying life with his wifey Alice He still has a really bad tilt on his head, which we believe he will always have - however, he manages fine & copes so well bless him. As long as your little girl is eating, drinking, pooing & washing then she sounds like she is battling as hard as what our Wilson did.

Stemetil helped immensely, as well as switching Wilson onto an antibiotic called Zithromax - this isn't licensed for use in animals & is a human drug - however, it has been proved to have worked well in some cases. The 'On The Wonk' link that is in my thread was posted by Bunny Mad Lisa (another forum member) & I found that link, along with the knowledge & support from the guys on RU were an absolute godsend. Wilson was also on steroids as well.

As you might be able to tell from my thread, we just took each day as it came & I too was so upset at having to leave Wilson to go back to work. I confined him to a cage which padded to stop him hurting himself, but left Alice in the bedroom with him free to roam. Eventually I decided they were both becoming too depressed & put them back together, which turned out to be the best thing for Wilson. I still have to confine them to a pen in the bedroom when I'm not home, so he can't hurt himself & when he's outside he has to be in a pen as opposed to being free range.

I also looked up a lot of the threads that Kermit's mum had posted, Kermit & how his mum & dad cared for him - was such an inspiration to us, that we kept battling away for our special boy & were determined to give him every chance to get well again.

Sending lots of vibes for your wee girl & lots of special nose rubs.

If there is anything you want to ask me, feel free to pm me.

when my bunny had headtilt i was offered some fantastic advice that i believe saved my bunnies life from a girl called Katy. she now runs a website www.onthewonk.co.uk which is for bunny parents of headtilt bunnies. there is a forum where you will get all the help and adviece you could wish for,
hope your bunny makes a speedy recovery

A HUGE thank you to everyone who has given me advice, and shared their experiences and sent positive vibes.

Well Buinicula has been on Stemitil for 3 days now and there is a big difference. She's hardly having any rolling episodes, only has one when she's had meds, and her head tilt seems less at times. She's very skinny but is eating/drinking/pooing/weeing/keeping her bum clean and is very alert so I'm taking all those as a good sign that she's still fighting it. I will try to get a picture of Bunicula, a kind of "before" and "after" comparison.

I am reading all the threads suggested, and so sorry that others have had poorly buns the same, it does give me hope and encouragement that she can fight this. Esp. Wilson and Kermit .. how you coped is fantastic.

I'm trying to keep calm even though one of the others is poorly again, Willow had an URI and was on Baytril and it cleared, 3 days ago she started "rattling" again but only when she's stressed (panacur time), she's on Baytril again and she's apart from the rattling she's fine ... why do they do this to us? I've sworn that with 6 dogs, 8 rabbits and a hamster, I'm going to have goldfish in my next life :lol:

Great news, Bunicula is 99% back to normal

Hi all :wave:

Just thought I'd share some fantastic news with you all, our brave little Bunicula is 99% back to normal and has even started to put on weight

All bunnies have now completed their 6 week course of Panacur and she's been off the Baytril and Stemitil for 3 weeks now. She doesn't look like there was anything wrong as her head tilt has gone. Maybe it was an inner ear infection affecting her balance? I don't know, all I know is she's fit and healthy and doing fantastic.

Thanks once again for all the advice and help.

Wonderful news !!

Jack's-Jane said:

Wonderful news !!

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Thanks Jane

Thats great to hear, i love it when head tilt bunnies get better, just shows that they can recover from such terrible illnesses!

Awwww that is wonderful news

That is fantastic news - so pleased to hear it

Well done you & Bunicula xx