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Panacur Dosage

MightyMax

Banned
Hi All :wave:

I have ordered some Panacur for dosing my two buns as a precaution .. on the 9 day course. I read that the syringe is graduated for buns of 2.5 kg bodyweight. (it hasn't arrived yet)

What do you do if your buns weighs about 1kg or just over? Is it possible to reduce the daily dose?

Many thanks :)
 
It is hard to say, Cookie weighed less than the 2.5 but not by all that much and we were told to give her just slightly less that 1 graduation.
May be best to call the vets.
I as well as a lot of people on this forum would also recommend not treating to prevent as such as more recent studies have shown that the 9 day course actually does nothing so probably best to treat for 28 consecutve days once or twice a year.
 
Feed a whole dose. Panacur is not dangerous. They know bunnies come in all sizes and one graduation should be given to all buns up to 2.5kg.
 
Thanks for your replies Rachylou and Stator!

I am interested in the research Rachylou, if you can give me a few pointers where to look. In the 'old days' we always treated longer term with Panacur, so I was very surprised that this has come out with the nine day dosage.

Many thanks
 
There has not been any new papers published re EC and Fenbendazole treatment, although AFAIK there are a couple of Vets who are working on it.

At the RWAF Conference it was apparently Richard Saunders (Bristol Rabbit Clinic) who said that as things currently stand a 'one off' 28 day course of Fenbendazole should be administered. Then only if clinical symptoms of EC develop should Fenbendazole be given again. There is a risk of Fenbendazole immunity if it is given too often and for a short course- ie 9 days.

He also mentioned that it is advisable to bleach clean the Rabbits environment on days 21 and 28 of treatment.

The jury really is still out on both the prevention and the treatment of EC.

Finally, Fenbendazole *might* have a negative impact on the immune system. So questions are being asked as to its use in baby Rabbits or Rabbits already immuno-compromised.

The EC debate will go on for a long time yet !!
 
Thanks, this is really interesting as I've been 'out of the loop' in terms of current rabbit medicine for a wee while.

I went to the RWA shop to see whether they sell the conference notes but can't find them anywhere.

Is it possible to buy them, do you know?

Many thanks....
 
Thanks, this is really interesting as I've been 'out of the loop' in terms of current rabbit medicine for a wee while.

I went to the RWA shop to see whether they sell the conference notes but can't find them anywhere.

Is it possible to buy them, do you know?

Many thanks....

If you call Anne Mitchell she should be able to help :)

Tel RWAF Helpline on 0844 324 6090
 
Yep that's right, the year before last it was Neil Forbes talking about EC. It was the same study he was referring to; his point was that people have made huge assumptions based on this single tiny study (which I think was only 8 rabbits). The study showed that if ec is introduced to buns when they are on a 9 day course of panacur, they don't get it. His point was that the chances of a bun being exposed to ec within that 9 day period are pretty slim and that the study didn't show that a 9 day course was a good preventative measure for exposure at any time other than those 9 days.

His view was that the study showed that a 28 day course was effective at eradicating ec (although this is also under debate) so his recommendation is to do a 28 day course for all new buns with a thorough bleach on days 21 and 28, in an attempt to keep an ec-free environment.

This latest year, Sharon Redrobe again expressed concerns that we are randomely throwing panacur about without really knowing what its long term effects are or indeed if we are going to start seeing resistance because of its overuse. She said she had spoken to the people who did the study and asked them why they used 28 days, and they said "because it's a month". So even that isn't a scientific basis on the life cycle of the organism or anything, they just had to pick a number and they picked that one...

I also seem to recall they said that Richard Saunders submitted his Diploma dissertation on ec in bunnies, so it will be interesting to see if any of that gets published at any point.
 
This is very interesting. I'm still at a loss as to what to do - I gave my two buns the 9 day course last month... my vet sort of is swaying towards the 28 day course, but then says if they come for a routine vet visit, they could pick up the e-cuni (off clothing or equipment) and then would need another course, so how often should you actually do it?:? It's all very confusing!
 
It is obvious that EC is still a mystery. One of my rabbits started showing signs and I immediately put her on a 28 day course of Panacur. She is fine today and I wonder if I actually jumped the gun by diagnosing it as EC. She lives with another rabbit and the second never had any symptoms. Recently a third rabbit exhibited the signs of EC and I ignored them thinking it was not possible that two out of my four would have it when my friends have 90 rabbits among them with no signs of EC. Sadly I waited too long and one day she was falling all over. I started right away with the 28 day course and she has not improved but certainly not gotten worse. Of course I blame myself.
Reading about EC and also ear infection it seems my rabbit is showing just one sign of EC - unsteadiness - yet more signs of ear infection - head shaking, ear scratching and unsteadiness which happens to humans as well with an ear problem. She also has a male friend that she spends hours with but they do not live together.
I am now giving her Penicillin G injections thrice weekly and a 14 day course of Baytril in hopes that if it is an ear infection it will help cure it. It does seem that after her injections she is a happier rabbit so my theory about it being an ear problem may hold true. As far as the vets are concerned I have lost a lot of faith in them. Even so-called rabbit vets seem to be lost at many of the rabbit health mysteries. They have checked the ear and found it fine but its the inner ear which would have the infection.
Anyway as a member of a rabbit rescue team last year (850+ rabbits saved) I have learned a lot about rabbit health. If anyone wants to share anything please let me know.
 
I have both my buns on panacur at the moment while we're waiting for test results. They are both just under 1kg each so my vets have recommended putting the paste into syringes and its 0.1ml daily.
 
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