Please Note - Medical Advice
Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.
You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.
We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.
Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.
:wave: this is the vet we use! we have never had any issues with this practice:? is it the vets or the nurses?
Its no one in perticular. In Hoppers last hour he developed head tilt and the person who called me said it was a sign of EC, I have just learned that its not a sign.
I don't think the course of action they took could have saved his life as he deteriorated too fast, it has just left me a bit worried and I would like some options.
Thanks
Head tilt is a sign of EC :? Also bad ear infections can cause head tilt.
Recent research seems to find that EC does not cause head tilt. However, it can lower the immune system and make rabbits prone to infections. The large percentage of head tilt cases are due to infection. I am going from what I have been taught by someone who works and researchs extensively with vets and EC/head tilt. I have, however, seen that documented somewhere official but have not been able to find it since I saw it.
If you can find where you found that written I'd be very interested to see it. I have used MRI on a number of head tilt bunnies - some have middle ear disease which is clearly visible on the scan, others have no evidence of infection/other disease visible and have very high E.cuniculi titres at the same time suggesting EC infection alone.
E.cuniculi infects nerve cells and causes some direct damage but most is caused by the immune system's attack on infected cells. If there is new data that contradicts the previous research it would be very interesting to read and very important for future head tilt bunnies.