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Runt has a head roll! Help.

halfpenny

Wise Old Thumper
I went down to check on the rabbits, and immediately know something was wrong- Runt has a nystagmus and his head is flicking from side to side, he hasn't gone to his food. He was fine at bedtmie but we did have a thunder storm last night ( if that could be relevant).
He will come to the vet with me but I just wasnt to know what to ask for- baytril, panacur, fibreplex- should I ask for a steroid inject as these are used commonly for ear infections and should I get a blood sample to confirm or get on with the treatment first and then do a sample later if no improvement.
 
My Vet would probably prescribe Baytril, Panacur and Metacam in the first instance. Or she might go in with Depocillin straight away. She would only use a steroid as a 'one off' if the neurological symptoms were severe as Rabbits are VERY sensitive to the adverse s/e of steroids (immunosuppression and GI ulceration)

Blood testing for EC will only prove exposure to the parasite. With active clinical symptoms I (personal unqualified opinion) would not put the poorly Rabbit through the stress of blood sampling but would cover all bases by treating for both bacterial infection (otitis media) and EC.

Sending vibes xx
 
Thanks Jane, I was thinking the same thing about the blood test- once I stopped panicing so much. I 'll tell the vet what I need and see how we go from there. He is obviously a bit disorentated and Xena is very confused. He was eating the last time I looked. I hardly slept last night worrying about the animals outdoor with the storm. I have Candy in for x-rays etc and it looks like I will lose one of the new hens this morning because she has severe breathing problems.:cry:
 
Thanks Jane, I was thinking the same thing about the blood test- once I stopped panicing so much. I 'll tell the vet what I need and see how we go from there. He is obviously a bit disorentated and Xena is very confused. He was eating the last time I looked. I hardly slept last night worrying about the animals outdoor with the storm. I have Candy in for x-rays etc and it looks like I will lose one of the new hens this morning because she has severe breathing problems.:cry:

Oh goodness :cry:

Sending mega vibes for them all xx
 
Oh, not good for you this morning!

My two buns (Kermit & Inca) with EC had Baytril, Panacur & a steroid injection, the steroids later changed to Metacam with Inca.
If your Runt has Nystygmus then his eye might get quite dried out. I found this with Kermit. I had to put eye drops in just to keep them lubricated. I also had to put different eye drops in his 'down' eye, as it was getting quite gunky.

Vibes from me xx
 
Just back from the vet, he looked up the RWAF info on rabbits and it was suggesting steriods in conjunction with panancur was the way to treat E.C, so runt is on baytril, panacur and has had a steriod injection. I've put him bake in the run with Xena to recover but will set a cage up for inside so we can keep a better eye on him. I have started Xena on panacur too. We are hoping we have caught it quickly and may hopefully reduce the risk of any after effects.
I was shocked to realise Runt is now 4, I still think of him as a baby, probably because he came in as an 8 weeks old with his brothers. I was even more shocked to realise Jessica was 7.
 
No advice as don't know anything about this, just vibes that they respond to the treatment and the stress starts to lift from around you a bit ((Hugs))x
 
The vet tried a last ditch attempt with the hen, she was given baytril and a steriod- I'd given her betamox and metacam yesterday, but we decided to risk the steriod/ metcam overlap. Neither of us are sure if it was the right thing to do, but she has gone downhill so quickly you hope she can come back up. My gut feeling is that we will lose her but will maybe be surprised.
Nothing really showed up on Candy' x-rays, the vet is running blood again now and sending off for a sample to get a more acurate thyroid test done. She has lost weight though, so it looks like it is her IBD (or a diffuse tumor) and she may have to go onto steriods long term.
 
My Dominic has head tilt at the moment. He is currently on steriods (injectable), zithromax (the antibiotic azithromycin), panacur, and Stemetil (prochlorperazine, an anti-sickness drug used for vertigo).

Dana Krempels the rabbit expert says on her website that by far the most common cause of head tilt is inner ear infection...so definitely treat for that, even in the absence of other symptoms.

Some useful websites:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/tilt.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-8/head-tilt.html

http://www.onthewonk.com/
 
Thanks for that.

Runt got a voren injection, I think it usually lasts a couple of days- how often are you injecting Dominic.
Hops he recovers well.
 
Hope Runt is feeling better soon. Basil is just getting over EC he was given Panacur, Baytril and Metacam. The symptoms of this disease are so scary, I went into complete panic when Basil first got it.
 
Thanks for that.

Runt got a voren injection, I think it usually lasts a couple of days- how often are you injecting Dominic.
Hops he recovers well.

The steroids are every 2/3 days...but I don't think it's advisable to keep them on steroids for too long, so I think we'll have to stop soon. Dom's hardly rolling at all now anyway, wheras last week he was waking me up every hour or so in the night when he started rolling.
 
The steroids are every 2/3 days...but I don't think it's advisable to keep them on steroids for too long, so I think we'll have to stop soon. Dom's hardly rolling at all now anyway, wheras last week he was waking me up every hour or so in the night when he started rolling.

Runt isn't rolling, but is unsteady on his feet and having seen how quickly Smokey went downhill I know this may happen. Thankfully, other than this, Runt is very healthy. We had to call it a day with Smokey because he had breathing problems as well and the head tilt was just too much for his fragile system. He fought so hard too, it was so unfair!:cry:
 
My mimis head tilt was preceded by nystagmus. She was treated with steroids for a few days then when her head tilt started on Marbocyl for an inner ear infection. My vet was adamant that it wasnt EC as her temperature was ok and she had no othersigns of it. The marbocyl worked very well, alongside Meclozine (stemetil) and metacam.

Sending loads of vibes that she doesnt develop head tilt or start rolling xxxxxxxx
 
Runt is looking better today- still not himself but his eyes are fine and he is more stable on his feet. Could he be recovering so quickly- with either problem and could he go downhill as quickly while getting treatment. I am now wondering if he ran into something during the thunderstorm- he was in their small indoor run, but he could still have run into the wall?

Sadley the hen died as I was gtting ready to take her in to be PTS, she deteriorated again over the course of the afternoon.:(
 
Oh, not good for you this morning!

My two buns (Kermit & Inca) with EC had Baytril, Panacur & a steroid injection, the steroids later changed to Metacam with Inca.
If your Runt has Nystygmus then his eye might get quite dried out. I found this with Kermit. I had to put eye drops in just to keep them lubricated. I also had to put different eye drops in his 'down' eye, as it was getting quite gunky.

Vibes from me xx

Sorry to hear about the hen. :(

We had to give Mischa drops as well in his down eye. His head tilt meant his head was at 90 degrees so his down eye was very close to the floor. I hope little bun pulls through, I really do. And look after yourself, it can take quite a toll. We found Mischa was happiest just sitting on my chest watching TV with me. Was the only place he could get comfortable.
 
Runt is looking much brighter today- he still looks a bit 'spaced out', but was straight into his food this morning and less wobbly on his legs. I actually left him in his indoor run and I'm putting in a snuggle pad at night in case he feels cold. I decided not to move him because I wanted to avoid stressing him. Funnily Xena has become quite aggressive again, she has been fine for a long ime but has strarted to attack my hand again, poolr girl is protecting her man because she knows he's not right.
 
So so glad runt is feeling abit better :D I think ur idea about him having ran into something during the storm and suffered head trauma sounds quite likely. Im so relieved for you both that it hasnt tirned into a head tilt, yaaaay!

Lots more improvement vibes, and bless Xena protecting him . When i was medicating mimi during her head tilt timmy would always try to grab the syringe off us and run off with it :lol::love:
 
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