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How much space for a head tilt bun?

alio71

Mama Doe
I have recently taken on a foster with head tilt and have little experience. She is eating, drinking and cleaning herself and is currently living in a pen in my bedroom. How much space should she have? The same as a normal bun or is it better to restrict her a little? Anyone been through similar that have any advice? Thanks :wave:
 
If she is rolling and distressed then likely a smaller space, to make sure she doesn't hurt herself.

If she is able to move around and doesn't roll, then the bigger the better because exercise will help her.
 
Brilliant thank you, she is able to move around without rolling so I will increase her space and get her exercising! :D
 
Is she rolling atall? If so how much/offen?
Can she get around ok or is she disorientated?
:wave:

Not rolling or disorientated just seems to tire easily, sadly she has had the problem since before Christmas but her owner didn't bother to treat her. So we are only on day 3 of treatment. :wave:
 
Brilliant thank you, she is able to move around without rolling so I will increase her space and get her exercising! :D

Awesome. you may have to make adjustments so that she can access all areas, but that will only become clear over time.

She will likely run in circles, but as she gets better they will getr bigger abd bigger.

I love, love, LOVE head tilt bunnies. One day I'd love to have a Sanctuary for them. I'm very jealous you're getting such a wonderful bunny :)
 
Not rolling or disorientated just seems to tire easily, sadly she has had the problem since before Christmas but her owner didn't bother to treat her. So we are only on day 3 of treatment. :wave:

What treatment is she on?
 
What treatment is she on?

She is on Lapizole and had a dexadreson injection on Tues night. I am going to speak to my vet in the morning about metacam and an antibiotic as he said he felt they were unnecessary but I have seen from other threads that it seems to be a standard thing to put her on too. Unfortunately, as it was all a bit of a rush on Tues I didn't see the vet with her myself and he is a good rabbit savvy vet so I want to know why he feels she doesn't need them. So if you have any input or experience that you feel I should mention I'd be really interested to hear them? :D
 
I would ALWAYS cover with an effective antibiotic. Convenia has showed improvement with both of mine is two days, but other good options would be Zithromax and Depocillin.

The only time I personally would consider fenbendazole with head tilt is if the bunny was showing other signs of active EC because, if EC does cause head tilt, its only in the latter stages, when the brain is affected. Someone I know, who has studied EC says that it does not cause head tilt, but does lower the immune system causing a rabbit to be more prone to infection. I.e. you can have EC without head tilt, and head tilt without EC.

I would agree with Metacam although its effect may be minimal because the rabbit has been struggling for a while.
 
Well I am unsure if the dexadreson had any effect as I did not see her until she had received the injection. I don't feel that it has to be honest. What other signs will she be displaying if the EC is active? And if she is in the latter stages what does that mean for her recovery? I have to say I see your attraction to head tilt buns and can feel a failed foster coming on already :lol:
 
Not rolling or disorientated just seems to tire easily, sadly she has had the problem since before Christmas but her owner didn't bother to treat her. So we are only on day 3 of treatment. :wave:

Thats really positive :D In that case I agree with Sky O to keep her in as normal surroundings as possible and kerp her exercising as much as poss.
I would however remove any ramps, steps or high levels within her accomodation for the time being to avoid injuries by falling etc. :wave:
 
Well I am unsure if the dexadreson had any effect as I did not see her until she had received the injection. I don't feel that it has to be honest. What other signs will she be displaying if the EC is active? And if she is in the latter stages what does that mean for her recovery? I have to say I see your attraction to head tilt buns and can feel a failed foster coming on already :lol:

A steroid (which is what I think that is) is contraindicated for head tilt because steroid lowers the immune system further making an infection harder to fight.

You would likely be looking for mobility problems in her back end, maybe extremely skinny (but that could occur in a head tilt bun struggling to eat anyway), bladder issues, incontence, things like that.
 
Thanks Gemmapookie she is just in my bedroom so I will make wires safe and then she can have the room :D

Thanks Sky-O, she is very thin, her spine and hips are very prominent but she is eating really well since she's been here. Pellets although I am soaking these as they seem to run away from her otherwise, veg and she is a big hay eater :love: I will speak to my vet in the morning and get her some antibiotics sorted. Would you recommend I Lapizole my other buns too? With a 28 day course?
 
Thanks Gemmapookie she is just in my bedroom so I will make wires safe and then she can have the room :D

Thanks Sky-O, she is very thin, her spine and hips are very prominent but she is eating really well since she's been here. Pellets although I am soaking these as they seem to run away from her otherwise, veg and she is a big hay eater :love: I will speak to my vet in the morning and get her some antibiotics sorted. Would you recommend I Lapizole my other buns too? With a 28 day course?

If she has been struggling to eat then its likely she would be skinny, so that may be not an indication. Not sure if you've ever had earache, but if you have, it can really hurt when you eat, so she will have been unlikely to eat in the very early stages of the illness. The soaked pellets is an awesome idea for her :D you can also try pulverising fresh foods too.
 
:thumb: Thanks Sky-O. Did you think I should be treating my other buns too? They are separate and I am being careful but would you cover them just in case?
 
:thumb: Thanks Sky-O. Did you think I should be treating my other buns too? They are separate and I am being careful but would you cover them just in case?

I'm not sure I would be the best person to ask. My view differs from the view of many other people on here. I personally have not and currently would not treat my bunnies with Fenbendazole if another got head tilt. In fact, maybe have a read of this thread Lily made recently. I wrote quite a lot on that. http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=263056

That said, strict quarantine is smart and sensible.
 
I never think it hurts to have different opinions based on experience, I am grateful to you for sharing these. I've read what you say on the other thread and it gives me lots of angles to be chatting to the vet tomorrow. I am lucky that he is approachable and usually pretty clued up or if not happy to go and research topics for you. I will mention what you have said and the antibiotic you've used and see what he thinks. Cheers for all your help and info I'll let you know what he thinks tomorrow :D
 
I never think it hurts to have different opinions based on experience, I am grateful to you for sharing these. I've read what you say on the other thread and it gives me lots of angles to be chatting to the vet tomorrow. I am lucky that he is approachable and usually pretty clued up or if not happy to go and research topics for you. I will mention what you have said and the antibiotic you've used and see what he thinks. Cheers for all your help and info I'll let you know what he thinks tomorrow :D

You're very welcome. Please do let me know, and also let me know if you need any more advice/info or anything.

For when she does start to improve, neck massages and gentle physio could make the world of difference as well. :)
 
It's sounds like this bunny has found her way into an excellent home :D. It would be lovely to see a picture of her.

Although steroid use is risky in rabbits because it affects the rabbits immune system and can leave her prone to infection, they are very effective at reducing inflammation and can sometimes bring about a dramatic improvement in the tilt. Repeated doses are not advisable though, except in a life or death situation.
NSAIDs such as metacam should not be given at the same time as steroids, which is most likely why your vet didn't prescribe them at the time. She may be able to have them once the effects of the steroid has begun to wear off.

Just to put another perspective, my specialist vet usually advises to treat for e.c. as well as ear infection in cases of head tilt, as e.c. can strike whilst the bunny is weakened by the infection. My head tilt bunny does have a history of probably e.c. though. i would personally treat all in contact bunny for 28 days with fenbenazole. I have heard about the risk of bone marrow suppression from fenbendazole in some species but haven't come across it in rabbits as yet.

I agree with Sky-O that physio and massage is very beneficial for bunnies with head tilt, as is encouraging them to move about

I hope your bunny responds well to treatment xx
 
It's sounds like this bunny has found her way into an excellent home :D. It would be lovely to see a picture of her.

Although steroid use is risky in rabbits because it affects the rabbits immune system and can leave her prone to infection, they are very effective at reducing inflammation and can sometimes bring about a dramatic improvement in the tilt. Repeated doses are not advisable though, except in a life or death situation.
NSAIDs such as metacam should not be given at the same time as steroids, which is most likely why your vet didn't prescribe them at the time. She may be able to have them once the effects of the steroid has begun to wear off.

Just to put another perspective, my specialist vet usually advises to treat for e.c. as well as ear infection in cases of head tilt, as e.c. can strike whilst the bunny is weakened by the infection. My head tilt bunny does have a history of probably e.c. though. i would personally treat all in contact bunny for 28 days with fenbenazole. I have heard about the risk of bone marrow suppression from fenbendazole in some species but haven't come across it in rabbits as yet.

I agree with Sky-O that physio and massage is very beneficial for bunnies with head tilt, as is encouraging them to move about

I hope your bunny responds well to treatment xx


Thanks for your input, much appreciated :D The vet has now put her on some antibiotics and she will have the metacam once the steroid has worn off. I have given her extra space and a massage tonight so will be doing that everyday :D

Here are some pics of her, hope you like her :wave:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=263805
 
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