Head Tilt - EC

Hi all, just wanted a bit of reassurance and/or advice please

I had to take Mopsy to the vets monday as he had lost his balance and his head was not straight, our initial thought was that he had had a stroke but after doing some research came across ec. The vet said this as soon as he took him out his carrier, gave him a good prognosis as he said we caught it very early. He gave him 3 injections, I think they were metacam, baytrill and metoclopramide. He has also given me some meds for him (the worming meds) and also the same for the other buns 'just in case' thing is now he wont really eat unless he is offered it and drinking is virtually the same although he will go to the water bowl. He is weeing but not passing any droppings (well 2 - 3). Isnt really that active but I suppose thats expected when you are not very well

We are back at the vets tonight but just wondered if anyone has had any experience of this

Top it all off we lost our little Smokey on Monday aswell so not been a good week

Thanks all :wave:

Sorry to hear about Smokey.

Sounds like your vet is on top of it. My Mischa had it very badly when he was one. He's now four and you'd never know he'd been ill unless you watched him for about a week as sometimes he's slightly looses his balance and is slightly weaker than Mini. He has a dewlap from the time his head was wonky but that's it. They can make recoveries and even if the head doesn't go back they can still live good lives.

Hi, so sorry your poor bun has a headtilt
The most common cause of headtilt in buns is due to an ear infection so has your vet considered this? Sometimes an infection isnt visible on examination because its so deep inside, but even in this case I would recommend treating with strong abx (some vets believe Baytril isnt strong enough as these can be very stubborn infections.)
Earlier in the year my Mimi got head tilt. When I first took her in no infection was present so my vet didnt treather for it :roll: A few days later and it was much worse and the infection had actually become visible. I offen wonder if he had treated with abx straight away it may not have been so bad. Just something to be aware of.
I think the main thing for now though is to get her eating and pooping, as not doing either of these is a very dangerous situation for a bun to be in She may be in stasis due to the pain of her head tilt. I would definatly reccommend keeping her on Metacam until her tilt is under control. It was essential in keeping my Mimi eating and comfortable. I guess your vet will administer all the relevent gut motility drugs if she is indeed in stasis.
Poor girl, sending her and you loads of vibes xxx

Many of us on here (myself included) have had experience of head tilt buns. The thing is that they can often get much much worse before they get better.

My Kermit was terrible when he first got EC. He couldnt stand, would roll continuously eveytime he tried to stand, had severe head tilt, wouldnt eat or drink by himself...the list goes on.

The main thing is that he got better with treatment and love and care. It was a long slog, but we got there, although he was left with a permanant head tilt.

Get your bun back to the vets. He does seem like he is on the right meds anyways, although as gemma said, might need stronger abx. He definately needs to be on a daily dose of Metacam, i would insist on this at the vets.

Vibes for your wee baby, keep us updated and feel free to ask anything, as i said, quite a few of us have had head tilt buns that survive

Kermit said:

My Kermit was terrible when he first got EC. He couldnt stand, would roll continuously eveytime he tried to stand, had severe head tilt, wouldnt eat or drink by himself...the list goes on.

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This was the same with Mischa although he would eat if we handfed him. He loves his food which was really helpful at that time as many rabbits go off their food because basically, they feel sick. Mischa couldn't stand, would roll and he had severe nystagmus (eye-rolling). When he was first ill he was just sitting in the corner, waving his head from side to side and eye-rolling. Any attempt at moving led to him falling over and rolling. The head waving and nystagmus was first to go, then he started getting his balance a little better, then his head started going back into place.

The main things are to make sure they can get comfortable. So an indoor cage with lots of rolled towels for them to rest against. Mischa is very much a schnuggle bun and he would love to lay on my chest with me supporting his head while we watched tele together. I don't really remember that well what Mischa was treated with. I know he had Baytril and Panacur and I think he had steroid injections (this was before I found this place) so the others are a bit more au fait with that side of things.

Thanks so much for your replies

I'm just sorry that a lot of you have been through this aswell

We were told to bring him in from outside so he is now 'living' in the conservatory. Hes got plenty of comfort in there and is warm and dry He can sit to groom and does not tend to fall over, he is not hopping yet though, he tends to run but keeps his balance although he does look wonky poor boy!


The vet did check down his ears (quite far really) and checked all his mouth over aswell he did blink reflex aswell and said it was slow, his one eye does tend to flick from side to side (doesnt blink much) but this 'flicking' has become alot less.

I am hoping that its me being over paranoid and wanting him to get better quickly! I feel he has always been the strongest bun and he had the trauma of losing his partner earlier this year (he now has a new partner) I find it difficult to syringe feed him as he love fuss but not being held.

Will see how we get on at the vets tonight and ask for some abx

Also, do you think it is wise for him and Rosie (his wifeybun) to be apart? I know its good so I can check his motions, but I worry that is stressing him out aswell being on his own

Many Thanks, this is such a great support for bunny owners xx

I would keep him and Rosie together, as you said you dont want to stress him any more than is needed.

The eye flickering is nystygmus, my Kermit also had that really bad, but it did pass over time.

The fact that he is sitting up without falling over is great. Hopefully he just needs something to get his guts moving and some pain killers to get him through this not eating.

Has your vet suggested syringe feeding him if he's not eating enough?

My personal fave 'recipe' is Oxbow Critical Care (seems to taste better than Science Selective CC for some reason), mixed with finely pureed veggie baby food, probiotic, and a little warm water. Feed using a large 50/60ml catheter tipped syringe.

If he isn't drinking, your vet may teach you how to inject fluid under his skin.

Thanks all Such a wealth of knowledge

We have some of that critical care stuff, vet said pineapple juice is a good gut stimulant (not too much though) to mix with it. Have also tried mushing up his pellets as he just turns his nose up at them! Vet said use critical carr as last resort if not eating, I just wanted to get something down him really Have plenty of syringes so thats not a problem

Right best get ready for vets Hate having to stress them out with the journey though

Will let you know how we get on

My Cookie was diagnosed with ec beginning of August. I took him to the vets and he had to be kept in as he'd not been drinking, I had not realised with him being a outdoor bun he was still eating like a horse.
Cookie came home and for 5 weeks he was confined to a small cage with vet bed.
I had to put him in a small area as he could not sit,stand he just lay around and when he did get up he just rolled.
I had to syringe water into him every couple of hours or I would get him drinking out of a bottle( I would put the nozzle to him mouth and he'd drink)
He was lying in his own wee aswell so I had to wipe him down often.
Cookie was put on medication and I saw no change in him apart from not lying in his wee.
After 4/5 weeks I came on here and asked is it time for me to let him go ?
Thank god for this forum because people on here have been through it with their buns, I was told not to give up hope as he was still eating/drinking.
After 5 weeks and 1 day he was beginning to sit up, he was still falling over though.
I then decided to try him in the garden and was shocked he started taking steps
The next day tried him again and he was getting stronger
Third I cried with relief he was skipping around the garden and even managed some binkies..

So if you bun does get any worse which Cookie did there is light at the end of the tunnel..
My little man is happily running around the garden now

Oh I forgot to say I had to seperate him from his wifey bun on vets orders, not because he had ec it was because he was so ill and dehydrated.
I put them back together after 5 weeks and it was like they had never ever been apart.

My Darcy had headtilt last year. Like you we got it really early and he had a full recovery with only a slight tilt left. Once we got the gut moving again I found dandelion really helped with his appetite. He had some and it encouraged him to eat more. Sending vibes xxx

My Lola had terrible EC a year ago but she made a full recovery. We kept her partner Henry with her throughout although he had occasional runs in the garden on his own. He was really supportive and I'm sure it helped her not that she shows her gratitude now as she tends to bully him at dinner time

The partner rabbit will also need panacur though and we also panacured our other pair just in case.

I agree with the recommendation about staying on metacam until the bunny is definitely better.

Good luck :wave:

Hi all, thanks again for your replies

Karen - I'm so pleased that your bun made a full recovery, its such a heartbreaking thing to see when normally they are very healthy.

Binkybun - Glad that your bun recovered from it also

When I got home yesterday, I was very happy that Mops had eaten on his own He had even done some droppings!!! I still took him to the vets though. He has given me some Zantac to help with his guts. All my other bunnies are being treated with the worming stuff aswell so I really havent had much time to relax (have 7 buns in total) The vet also said to put him back with Rosie as the stress of not being with her might be causing him to refuse food aswell.

He had a play in the garden yesterday, he seems to eat when you are not watching him :lol: :lol: Hes still unsteady but can run the length of the garden without it bothering him. We also managed to get some of the critical care in him last night aswell. Vet said its going to take aot of nursing as this will take time and he wont get better overnight.

Thank you for all your help and advice x

Hi All

Did any of you with ec bunnies ever use sea sickness tablets.

Our vet has said this may be helpful for him due to his head tilt?

Thanks

coz said:

Hi All

Did any of you with ec bunnies ever use sea sickness tablets.

Our vet has said this may be helpful for him due to his head tilt?

Thanks

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I have used Stemetil xx

I was lucky and Darcy's tilt was only ever slight so he never rolled or needed sickness tablets. I do believe they have helped other bunnies who do suffer from stumbling and rolling.