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Head tilt...do buns always improve?

abbymarysmokey

Wise Old Thumper
How long will it be before I should expect to see improvement in Pootle?

Do buns always improve over time (i.e. regain balance enough to stand on their own)?

My vet says Pootle's neck is less rigid today and can be moved from it's tilted position, whereas yesterday and the day before her neck felt stiff and her head seemed to be stuck in position. Is this a good sign? I don't know whether it means she's improving or just that she's loosing her strength or something :?
 
When dave arrived here he had no balance and continually rolled, after a few days on treatment the rolling episodes stopped :) His head tilt has not improved in itself at all but he gets around just fine. He is always bouncing about and trying to climb things although he ends up loosing his balance.

As long as the bunny is able to cope and learn to adjust with the tilt I think thats the main thing, but I am sure the tilt itself can also improve in time.

I hope Pootle is heading in the right direction, she is such a lovely girl :)
 
all bunnies vary sooo much! my bunny was ill for about 3 months in total but was in a bad state for the first 2 months. She has only a very slight tilt now. I have seen bunnies with permenant tilted heads but manage life very well!
try not to worry and be patient it will take time and you may not see any improvement for a while...but any improvemnet however slight is good.
the fact your bunny is eating well is a very good sign and i do hope she starts to improve soon. Zithromax worked wonders on my bunny and i hope it does for pootle too!
i know its distressing to watch her like this but you have to hang in there and carry on the good work your doing!!
 
When dave arrived here he had no balance and continually rolled, after a few days on treatment the rolling episodes stopped :) His head tilt has not improved in itself at all but he gets around just fine. He is always bouncing about and trying to climb things although he ends up loosing his balance.

As long as the bunny is able to cope and learn to adjust with the tilt I think thats the main thing, but I am sure the tilt itself can also improve in time.

I hope Pootle is heading in the right direction, she is such a lovely girl :)

:love::love::love:
 
I know Walter didn't have a severe headtilt, but he's totally back to normal now. Thought I'd show some piccies of him for you :) (any excuse :roll:)

The first day we noticed him looking a bit wonky:
IMG_0525.jpg


A couple of days later after he'd started some antibiotics:
IMG_0545.jpg


Probably at about his worst:
IMG_0622.jpg


A week or so ago:
IMG_0751.jpg


He probably got worse (or didn't get better) for about the first 8 weeks, but gradually got better after that. Though he was on Depocillin injections which the vet said could need up to 12 weeks to take effect.

I hope Pootle is feeling better soon :)
 
The bun I had here for 2 weeks started with it a few days in - by the end of week 2 he was still very wobbly, but his head was normal again:D
 
With Wilson Amy it was a good 6 weeks before we saw any real improvement with Wilson - which was after his course of Zithromax. We found that by putting Wilson back with his girlie Alice, was the best thing we could have done as she has been instrumental in helping to nurse him for us.

I can't say if Pootle's neck feeling less rigid is a good sign I'm afraid because I don't know - but what I can say is that our Wilson's head hasn't recovered at all from the angle it was. That said it does not stop our little man one bit - he does everything a normal bun does, but just with a wonky view of the world :) This is how he looks now - also below is the original thread about his illness - warning though it is very long :oops:

There were times I was convinced he wouldn't make it through, but he battled so hard - he continued to eat, drink, poo & wash throughout his illness - which made me realise he wasn't ready to give up quite just yet.

Lots & lots more vibes for little Pootle - we're willing her better xxx

DSCF4140.jpg


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

Denise, could Wilson stand up on his own? (it's not clear from the thread you've linked to). The thing that really worries me about Pootle is that she doesn't seem to be able to support herself enough to stand up at all yet. I don't know if this is normal or whether her age is really counting against her? :(
 
He can now with no problems but it took him 6 six weeks confined to a cage to be able to manage it properly. I would say this is more normal than Pootle's age being against her.

He was in a cage for all this time on his own, which I padded out with vet bed, towels, small pillows etc. I left Alice in their bedroom with him, so they could still be together, but he couldn't come to harm. He was having awful rolling episodes & would roll & effectively spin over & over again :( Stemetil (human anti-sickness drug) helped with this & he was given this twice a day (again I can't remember for how long :oops:). Apparently keeping them in a room that is darkened can also help with the inbalance that they feel from the headtilt - I kept the blinds closed for the first few weeks to help.

I know it's heartbreaking to see buns go through headtilt & I admit I was convinced many times that Wilson wouldn't be ok, but he battled to hard bless him. I really hope that the Zithromax helps soon & that Pootle is able to fight in the same way.

I'm in all night if you want to chat further Amy if it would help? I can pm you my number if you like or pm me yours & I'll ring you.
 
my bunny couldn't stand for quite sometime and would lie on her side most of the time. She would get so dizzy if she tried standing and i think she prefered to lie down. After the zithro she started getting up and eventually moved around more and more. She was about 6 and half when she got it and is now 8! Sadly not all bunnies recover fully but i hope you are as lucky as me! I do wish you both well and if you need any info please pm me and as i said before www.onthewonk.co.uk are fab and helped me alot!

this is her 3 weeks in

headtilt3weeks.jpg


after treatment started on the zithro
headtilt2-5weeks.jpg




and now!!!
s4.jpg
 
Bunny mad Lisa: your bunny is gorgeous :love:
I wish I'd taked some pictures of Tippex Porkychicken when she was suffering from E.c. but at the time it seemed such a long shot that she would survive xx
 
Bunny mad Lisa: your bunny is gorgeous
I wish I'd taked some pictures of Tippex Porkychicken when she was suffering from E.c. but at the time it seemed such a long shot that she would survive xx

she is gorgeous and i am so very proud of her!
I honestly didn't like taking the picture of her when she was at her worst...it didn't seem right and did upset me but i knew that whatever happened to her the picture would help other owners. She appears on the RWA's leaflet for E.C!! so it worked!
 
Only just feeling up to updating this thread.

Unfortunately I had to have Pootle put to sleep because she was getting weaker and weaker. Binky free little girl xx :cry:

Thank you to everyone who posted in support or to help
 
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