E.C need help

ok. i posted about this ealier in football girls post. I went out too feed my rabbits and found penny couldn't use her left hind leg. i looked it up on the net and found that it could be E.C. She has been loosing weight gradually for months and she has been inconenant for about 8 months. she has been to the vets about it 3 times. just latley her and two of the others had ear mites. i got them some canural and two were sorted. penny still has them although the ear drops are keeping them at bay. from what i have gatherd the ear infection could be what is causing her imune system too drop low so it cant fight off the parasites that cause E.C and thats why she cant use her leg properly. I took her vet this morning and he wanted to put her to sleep because of how much weight she has lost and she's struggling to walk. I'm annoyed because i've been trying to get her better and i think he should have thought it could be parasites by now. he also says that it cant be e.c because the first sign of that is head tilt. he's given me some panacure andloxicom. i dont wanna lose her. all advice welcome. where to find a decent vet in leicester most of all.

I am sorry to hear that you are going through this with your bunny.

You are absolutely right that your bunny's immune will have been lowered by the mites (although it might be that the mites are as a result of the lowered immune too because many rabbits can have some mites, but succumb to a bigger attack when they are not in rude health).

I am disappointed that your vet said about the head tilt as this is only one of the symptoms and will only be displayed if the parasite attacks in a particular way. Just because a bunny doesn't have a tilt, doesn't mean that it's not having an EC episode. All the other symptoms you describe can be those of EC but of other things too.

I have a bunny currently who is losing weight dreadfully and every day she is with me I count my blessings that she hasn't given up. It could be EC and she is being given a long course of Panacur as we speak, however it could be other things too in her case. Due to her background, we know it could be cancer that spread from her uterine tumor, or it could be a couple of other things. I am working with my vet to try and 'fix her'. She is not ready to be PTS yet and is very bright and eats very well indeed.

I would contact Jill at Honeybunnies Rescue for the details of her vet - that way you will know that your bunny is in good rabbit hands.

You may see a difference as soon as the Panacur starts to work - that would indicate that it might be EC. But it might be worth doing blood tests (not for EC, but for other issues). I guess it just depends on what your bunny's quality of life is like. While she is happy and eating you may consider that you can keep trying for her. Paralysis is a big thing to have to deal with as a carer that is for sure. The problem might be that if it is caused by EC, whilst you can treat the parasite, sometimes the damage to the nerves cause the by the granulomas forming can be irreversible.

A second veterinary opinion would definitley be a place to start.

ty for your post duches. i know jill and i'll ask her. on my way to pets at home to speak to one of there vets now. with all the rabbit rehoming they do i have a feeling they might be the best bet. penny is also eating well and she's been hopping about on the bad leg occasionally. good luck with your bun and thanks again for the advice. i had a feeling the vet was a bit clueless.

I think that your vet does not know what they are talking about.

I have had two Rabbits with EC, the first one (Kermit) had severe head tilt. My second bunny, Inca, had hind leg weakness, no head tilt.

Inca could get about, kinda, but i would find her lying curled round with her legs sticking out to the side covered in poo and pee. Then i would up-right her and she would manage to get about. She was not totally paralysed by the EC, just had very weak back legs. She lost a lot of weight. This was in February this year, she is only now starting to look like she has managed to get a bit of weight about her, but still is 0.4kg less than she was before the EC. (she is only 2.2kg now).

I would honestly take your bun to an alternative vet (i had to change vet when my Kermit got EC as they also wanted to have him PTS). For EC, in my unqualified opinion, i would say you need panacur, steroid injections with a suitable injectible abx to prevent gut problems due to the steroids, or Metacam instead of the steroids (for a good few weeks), but really you do need to see a vet that can properly diagnose your bunny.

Good luck x

penny is just the same way u described inca. the reason i said my vet didnt know what he was talking about was because he said there was no tests for rabbits for ec. also he didnt suggest xrays or anything else other than to pts. he also said if there's no improvement by next week i should pts. thats all alside from the fact he dismissed ec. I've found out more on the internet than from my visit this morning. ive just got back from pets at home. i spoke to a nurse there and gave me some good advice. i'm going to give it a few days to see if there is any improvement then take her there. having said that i dont know how long long it will take for the panacure to start to work. sorry to hear about kermit and inca too btw and thanks for your post.

PM'd you :wave: I hope Penny makes a full recovery xx

I can't add any more advice than that which has already been given. My Darcy had EC head tilt last year and made a full recovery with treatment. I hope your Penny gets better soon.

Don't give up - five vets told me to PTS our beautiful girl bun Buttercup who had EC and ear mites.

We went to a fantastic vet in Gloucester - I'd be happy to PM you his contact details as I am sure he would advise you if nothing else.

Buttercup made a full recovery and is enjoying a full happy life - hang in there!

Best wishes
Ruth

thanks binkybun and lilbun. She hasn't been dragging her leg around tonight, she's eaten half a bag of carrots and she's a fighter so there's definatly hope. the things i'm worried about most is the amount of weight she's lost and the fact that she's always lived outdoors in a big area with other rabbits. i think its going to be difficult to try and get her back to health and keep her happy whilest keeping her indoors. if she doesnt start putting the weight back on soon i'll get in touch with the vet you suggested lilbun. thanks again

one of the family said:

Don't give up - five vets told me to PTS our beautiful girl bun Buttercup who had EC and ear mites.

We went to a fantastic vet in Gloucester - I'd be happy to PM you his contact details as I am sure he would advise you if nothing else.

Buttercup made a full recovery and is enjoying a full happy life - hang in there!

Best wishes
Ruth

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before today i had never heard of EC. Before the internet i probably would have taken the vets advice and thought it was for the best. thanks for the posts.

Simon said:

thanks binkybun and lilbun. She hasn't been dragging her leg around tonight, she's eaten half a bag of carrots and she's a fighter so there's definatly hope. the things i'm worried about most is the amount of weight she's lost and the fact that she's always lived outdoors in a big area with other rabbits. i think its going to be difficult to try and get her back to health and keep her happy whilest keeping her indoors. if she doesnt start putting the weight back on soon i'll get in touch with the vet you suggested lilbun. thanks again

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I'm sure she will adapt to being indoors- the warmth will help stop her becoming stiff and will also help her to maintain her weight as rabbits use up a lot of calories keeping warm in winter. It will help if she can have one or more of her companions with her, without that she may become depressed and give up. Avoiding stress is vital for a bunny with suspected E.c.

It would be a good idea to have a blood test to check her kidneys and other organs if she continues to lose weight. E.c can damage the kidneys.

Tippex is being hand fed quite a few extra treats whilst she is poorly. Without this she has a tendancy just to sleep all day. I make sure that she gets plenty of fluid in her food too, as a bun that is feeling weak or finding it difficult to get around won't find it easy to drink enough. Tippex enjoys juicy fresh grass, carrot tops, herbs such as parsley and a little bit of pear as a special treat.

I wouldn't delay seeing a rabbit-savvy vet- the sooner she is started on effective treatment the better her chances of a full recovery are xx

just made an appointment with a vet at pets at home. pennys using her legs much better this morning but she's really urine soaked on her back end and i want them to check for organ damage and give her something to help her to gain weight. i know what u mean about her feeling lonely lilbun but the other rabbits are all beefed up and have there winter coats. id rather just have them together for a couple of hours a day so there bond doesnt break. hopefully. right better get the snow off my car so i can take her. fingers crossed i might get some better news.

Hi simon,

Wish you and your bunny all the best at the vets

footballgirl said:

Hi simon,

Wish you and your bunny all the best at the vets

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thank you. she's been to the vet at pets at home. they dont think its e.c. they gave me some antibiotics and ear wash for her ears and some fiberplex to help her stomach. they said if that along with the panacure doesnt help then they will have to run a blood test and a test for e.c. since i have had her indoors she has been eating and drinking like crazy and she hasnt dragged her back legs at all today so at least thats one good sign. fingers crossed now.

Ec hind leg weakness and Metacam

Our two developed Ec, an did not improve much at all until I asked vet for Metacam (anti inflammatory) to go with the panacur. From what I understand it apparently reduces/prevents the local damage the Ec is having on nerves/brain because it reduces inflammation. It has to be given withfood though-- just like for humans taking Ibuprofen they should have food at same time to prevent damaging gut lining.
Both of our rabbits which were on 56days treatment to fully recover, are now completely better from their hind leg weakness (they were dragging their hindquarters) Good luck, Shebunkin

thanks for your post shebunkin. the vet did give me a painkiller/anti inflammatory but its loxicom rather than metacam. it's a good job the snows keeping me off work as penny has taken alot of looking after this week. she's needed bathing daily, then all her meds. panacure, loxicom, fiberplex and canuaral. i took her out to the other rabbits for half an hour yesterday afternoon when it wasnt so cold and they were all fine. she seems alot better now. she hasn't been dragging her back legs and she didn't wee her self all day yesterday. the wee didn't smell as strong either. she's still very bony though. i need to get her weight back up before she loses her winter coat. i dont want to her to lose the bond she has with the other rabbits. thanks again for the advice. its good to know how the anti inflammatory is helping.