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Adopting a bunny with Head Tilt...

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honey61

Mama Doe
I am adopting the lovely Joey :love: who had a severe case of EC which has left him with head tilt......
Having no experience of living with a bun with permenant head tilt, I am anxious to learn as much as I can.

I would love to hear from anyone who has.... and of course any advice/tips would be most welcome :D
 
My Kermit had EC and was left with head tilt. He coped fine with it.
He did roll now and again, but corrected himself no bother.

I would say that you have to keep a check on his eyes. His 'down' eye may get runny and his 'up' eye may get dry, but this can be managed with eye drops from the vets if needed.
Kermit's down ear used to get quite waxy, but i just cleaned that myself with a cotton bud (very carefully!)

I didnt have to make many adjustments to kermit's set up. Once he recovered from the EC he was just like any normal bunny, but with an inquisitive look!

Rolled up towels round the sides of the cage can help bunny to rest their tilted head. I also had a bunny bed that had raised sides, Kermit used to love lying in that and resting his head. He also liked resting his head on the coffee table and he LOVED lying in between my legs, as he could rest his head on the side of my thigh, he would lie there for hours! Here are some pics (any excuse!)
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kermit-1.jpg

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It depends on the extent of the tilt and how well he copes with it :wave:
If he is abit wobbly and confusd I would avoid ramps and things he can jump up high onto. As Kermit said you'll also need to keep an eye on his down facing eye as it can easily get damaged and infected. The up eye might need lubricating drops if he is unable to blink enough in that eye. Just watch out fir any soreness. If he has a tendency to roll you'll need to pad out his living area so he cant hurt himself.
As he might be disorientated at first Id keep him in a reasonably small area, then expand gradually as he becomes more confident.
Having said that I know of many buns on here who have a residual tilt from EC or ear infections and still get along great :D The gorgeous Kernit and Bunnyaddict Denises Winston are fab examples of these remarkable bunnies :love:
If it was a while ago that he had the EC chances are he will have adjusted to his wonky world by now and will cope fine :D
Good luck with him and post piccys of him ASAP. Ive got a doft spot for head tilt buns as my Mimi is also one (although her residual tilt is only about 10 degrees.) Thry always look very curious and interested in what youre saying :lol::love:
 
I have no experience of a bun with head tilt but just wanted to wish you all the very best with him. It's really lovely that you're giving him a home, I know he'll have a lovely mummy in you x
 
Just had a look at Joey, his tilt doesn't seem too bad :)
Hopefully it will get totally better.

Honey61, i also just realised that you are the one with the AMAZING bunny set up. Joey is one lucky bunny!
 
I'm afraid I don't have any experience with head tilt but I remember seeing pictures of little Joey and he's absolutely gorgeous, he looks a lot like my little Peanut, scrummy! Good luck and I hope it all goes well for you.
 
Some really good tips & advice as always!!.... Thank You All :D

I agree his head tilt doesn't appear to be that pronounced... & I expect he has made adjustments to living in a wonky world as you say Gemmapookie..... bless him :D

Some handy hints Kermit with regards to padding etc... Thanks :D ... And Kermit :love::love: beautiful bun!!

I have to confess, after losing Roo, we really didn't think we would be able to have another housebun/s..... He was such a very special boy & we miss him dreadfully :cry:
But there was something about Joey.... I think more to do with his history really & the result of the neglect in a bun of such a young age ... it yanked at the heart strings & the rest is history as they say :D
Sadly I know I can't help them all.... but I can make a difference to Joey's life ... & that makes me happy :D

I just wish it was Friday :lol:
 
In the past, I have got down on my knees, turned my head as if I had head tilt, and then viewed the surroundings from a ground level. To see things as a special needs bunny will see them. It's quite enlightening how things can look so different.

All the best of luck. :D
 
Mrs. Bunnykins said:
In the past, I have got down on my knees, turned my head as if I had head tilt, and then viewed the surroundings from a ground level. To see things as a special needs bunny will see them. It's quite enlightening how things can look so different.

All the best of luck. :D
Click to expand...

Brilliant!!...... Now why didn't I think of that?? :roll:
I get on all fours when I bunny proof.... but that didn't occur to me... Thank You :D
 
honey61 said:
Ah thank you! .... but I think we are the lucky ones really :D
Click to expand...

Thats very true :wave:
I adopted Mimi a few weeks after my beautiful Tilly died, as a companion for Timmy. I was grieving and desperately missing Tilly, as was Timmy and my OH, but Mimi was like a ray of sunshine in our lives :love:
Joey will never replace Roo, just as Mimi will never replace Tilly in my heart, but hopefully he will help you heal and give you something to smile about :love:
 
Gemmapookie said:
Thats very true :wave:
I adopted Mimi a few weeks after my beautiful Tilly died, as a companion for Timmy. I was grieving and desperately missing Tilly, as was Timmy and my OH, but Mimi was like a ray of sunshine in our lives :love:
Joey will never replace Roo, just as Mimi will never replace Tilly in my heart, but hopefully he will help you heal and give you something to smile about :love:
Click to expand...

.....Our spirits have lifted already knowing he is coming... :)
 
I am really pleased you have made this decision to adopt a special needs bunny. Because they need extra care they more willingly let you into their world, which is of course a wonderful place to be.:love:
 
Special needs bunnies really do have a way of creeping right into your heart :love:

This was Mischa... (about 2 weeks into some improvement, he had been worse but I'd never thought of taking a photo)

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This is Mischa now...

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=270908

When he was ill he used to enjoy sitting on my chest while we watched tv together. He was a lot more comfortable like this than in his cage.
 
Thats so wonderful of you. I know its been hard with you lossing Roo.

Our new bunny has really come on alot in the last week. From nervous and cowering to coming up to me now. She still doesn't like to be picked up.

Let us know how your new bunny is.

Take care Amanda:wave:
 
Awwwww that's great news - well done for giving a headtilt bunny a fantastic home :D :love:

I've got a huge soft spot for headtilt bunnies - we have our Wilson, who has had headtilt for almost 2 years :love: He lives with his wifey Alice :love:

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And then we also have Angel who is a BARC foster bun & lives with her friend Misty :love: Angel has had headtilt since she was 4-5 months old & is now coming up 1 :love:

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Both bunnies manage absolutely fine - they know no different now, except that the world is wonky :) They bomb about all over the place & Angel has no problem jumping up & down off things :love:

If you've got any questions about headtilt bunnies, feel free to pm me :)

I'm looking forward to hearing how he settles in :D :love:
 
Such Gorgeous Special Buns :love::love::love:
Thank you for sharing them with me :D

Only another 24 hours to wait ... & he'll be home :D:D
 
I'm new to the world of head tilt too. We have had Bonnie for nearly 6 weeks, her head tilt is mild and I am amazed just how well she has adjusted. The only thing that I have noticed is that she has trouble judging gaps and is very cautious when going through a narrow doorway. She was thinking about the stairs today so I can see that given another day or two she'll be tackling them no problem!! :D

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