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Head tilt bun

bluelop

Warren Scout
Hi, my bun developed head tilt over 4 weeks ago and with your advice got metacam to go with Baytril and panacur. She was really bad rolling a lot with head almost touching the floor. Well she has started improving a lot and can now keep standing without rolling and also can turn around in her own way without falling over. Her appetite has stayed good throughout and she seems happy. Her head has improved also slightly and she can now eat some oats out of a bowl whereas before I had to hand feed her with everything. The question I was hoping you could answer for me is how long should I keep her on the medication. She has a small amount of Baytril left and I know the panacur is for 28 days. Did you stop the panacur after 28 days and how about Baytril how long did you continue with that. Its just that I have to take her back this week for a check up and need to know what you found worked. In case the vet says stop the medicine.He stopped the metacam last week. Was that right or did you continue it with your head tilt bun. Any advice appreciated.X
 
Hi :wave:
First of all a huge well done on getting your bun through this horrible illness. It really does sound like she is on the recovery run now :D:D:D

What did your vet diagnose as being the cause of her head tilt? When my Mimi had head tilt she was only on antibiotics for 2 weeks, but she was on a much stronger antibiotic than Baytril. She wasnt on Panacur as she was diagnosed with an inner ear infection rather than it being EC related.

My bet is that your vet will keep her on the antibiotics until the Panacur has finished.

Mimi started to recover around 5 weeks after first showing symptoms, and
after those initial good signs she seemed to get better pretty fast. She regained balance a little every day and her head slowly returned to normal. She is now a very happy healthy bun other than being abit wobbly sometimes, and lives a totally normal life :love: Im wishing this for your bun aswell :wave:
 
With Tilly she was on antibiotics for over three months. When we started it we saw amazing improvement on day 2 after the injection. She kept improving and improving and gaining new skills and then she plateaued and gained no more, so we kept her on it for another month after that, so solidify. She then needed to go back on about 6 months later for a short while.
 
Thanks for your replies. Well one vet said in his experience it is most likely to be EC.The second vet said in his experience its usually ear infection. So not much faith in either really. Just so pleased we have signs of improvement at last. As I know you have all found there are times when we have been in tears with worry over them. It is tough to see them rolling about and not feel guilt as to whether they are suffering. Its only been due to her massive appetite that has kept me positive. x
 
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Not sure whereabouts in Essex you are, but I have a vet in Ipswich who has treated both my head tilt bunnies fantasticaly and they have evolved a good regime for treating bunnies with head tilt. If you're close by and struggling with your vet then I would happily recommend my vet because he has been awesome for both my Tilly and Rosie, when she also tilted.
 
Hi Bluelop :wave:
I'm so very pleased to hear your little bun has made progress - well done for hanging in there as I know how difficult it is to see them so ill - I know we questioned whether or not we were being cruel keeping Buttercup when she was at her worst but I am so glad we did!

It is difficult to know what to suggest - if it's head tilt caused by a ear infection then antibiotics take precedence but if it's caused by EC then I believe she should still be on metacam. You should finish the 28 day course of panacur anyway but that is treating EC related issues. If you have any other buns they too should have the 28 day course of panacur too.

My understanding of the metacam is that apart from it being a painkiller, it is also an anti inflamatory. If it is EC this anti inflamatory helps to reduce inflamation in the brain caused by EC and so limit neurological problems.
With Buttercup (who was treated for EC) we continued the metacam for weeks after she began to make improvements simply becuase she WAS making progress.

The vet we used in Quedgely, Gloucester is a very rabbit savvy vet and used by many others on RU. I felt able to trust his judgement completely. It is harder for you if you are uncertain of your vet's advice. Are you any where near Sky o's vet as that could be an option?

Whatever happens, I would suggest you bleach your cages / hutches etc to hopefully eradicate EC spores - these can live up to 30 days outside of the body so in effect can be absorbed again and reinfest / reinfect your bun again. The bleach (and yes it must be bleach not antiseptic stuff or disinfectant as I first thoughwas best :oops:) should be diluted as one part bleach to nine parts water. It should be left on the surface for a minimum of 30 seconds and then rinsed off with clean water.

You have done so well to get her this far. like your bun Buttercup never really lost her apetite although at her worst we had to hand feed her too.

Buttercup has made an excellent recovery - but I can honestly say it felt like going through hell when she was going through this. I'm so very pleased your little bun is on the road to recovery.
Best wishes
Ruth
 
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