head tilt HELP!

Hey I'm looking for some advice/help. My 10 week old rabbit has a severe head tilt that the vet thinks has been caused by E.Cuniculi. Her head is so twisted and tilted that its practically upside down?? The vet gave her a steroid injection and panacur which we have given to her everyday, we were told that she had a 50/50 chance of survival and within a few days she was either with us or not, its been a week now and shes still with us but she is NO better what so ever?? I have been giving her food and water by hand as she physically cannot eat or drink by herself, we've brought her indoors as she is basically CONSTANTLY rolling and flinging herself around What can I do for her? I just dont know what else to do?? last night we really thought she had given up but this morning she was still alive and attempting to clean herself for the first time in days but now shes back to how she was.

Please help, what else can i do??

Also her "down" eye is looking terrible, its all red n seems to have cloudy white patches over it, this cant be normal can it??

Hi

Head tilt that early on is a real shame and is almost undoubtedly E. Cuniculli (other causes include ear infection but this seems unlikely in such a young bun).

Panacur attacks the parasite that causes EC but can take several days to start showing any signs of working - the treatment should be given for at least 28 days (some less rabbity vets think it is only 9 days so BE FIRM).

In addition - the rabbit needs metacam - which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory which will help reduce the swellings of the nerves etc which have been caused by the parasite. Metacam is vital in the treatment of the symptoms of EC.

The cloudiness you can see in the eye is almost undoubtedly where the parasite 'burst out' of the lens (and is typical of very young EC buns - who usually got it in vitro from the mum). However the down eye (and the up eye sometimes) may need to have Viscotears (can buy from Boots or from vet0 added to keep eye moist as will be getting dried out.

The use of the steroid (and lack of metacam and also poor prognosis) may suggest that your vet is not as rabbity as might be hoped and if you post a thread entitled 'rabbit specialist vet wanted in XXXX' (wherever you come from) you should get some suggestions for a specialist rabbit vet. Few vets really know their rabbit stuff so this is quote common to have to find a new vet when you get a rabbit!

I have a bun who had exactly the same at 10 weeks and he made an excellent recovery - he was left part blind and part deaf but has been with us happily for 4 years now - though he has to have panacur treatment a couple of times a year to try and keep it under control. he also now has brain damage after another episode a year ago - but is still a happy little soul. I also have older buns who have had tilt from EC (and one from an ear infection0 all of whom have recovered well - but it can take weeks/months to get fully straight again

Good luck and do PM me if you want some more ideas for what to do

PS We always have to point out that we are NOT vets .. and that advice is given on tha understanding.

PS if you find that you feel you cannot carry on try PMing Hugos There - she runs a sanctuary for ill and disabled rabbits and has a lot of experience with this and would be excellent at treating/feeding etc the little one - she is based in Milton keynes but there is always help on hand with lifts.

aww I dnt mind the work as such I just feel dreadful for her and my daughter is only 4 and gets really upset when she sees the bunny rolling etc, she is rolling a hell of a lot!

Yeah, I was thinking about visiting a different vet, the one we saw was sooooo rude! he outright said infront of my daughter "theres a 50/50 chance of survival, in a cpl of days shes either recovered or she's dead" !! As for the panacur we were given a small syringe and told just on tiny notch per day (think theres about 10 days worth). I was also advised to wrap her ears in cotton wool??

Is there anything I can line her cage with? it was lined with woodshvings but shes rolling so much that most of it is outside the cage!

Thanks!!

mmm - yes I would look for different vet ASAP (as you need the metacam and more panacur) - recommendations on here are usually good.

Dont worry about the small amount of Panacur - thats how it is!

Try putting her on something called 'vet bed' (ask in a pet shop)- this will support her and also wick away any wetness due to incontinence at present. Sawdust/woodshavings is very bad for buns generally - though often sold in pet shops. Be wary of hay bedding at present as it may get wrapped round her if the strands of hay are long - though obviously hay is usually the best thing.

Just for the first few days keeping her in a smaller dog cage/crate wedged inbetwen cushions may help.

As she starts to recover she will need more space so she can 'learn' to cope with the fact that the world is not the right way up for her.

She may be left with some head tlt for ever and BEWARE that 'friends' and family may comment on suppossed poor quality of life - in fact head tilt buns usually learn to run around and enjoy life loads even if they remain tilted.

Re Ears in cotton wool - I have never ever heard of this and suspect bun will find this very very worrying and distressing as they rely so much on their ears - I am presuming that she is now indoors as only thing I can remotely guess at re the cotton wool was to try and keep her wramer - even then it is bizarre -

PS may I ask was she a pet shop or breeder bun? If so they should be told as the whole litter (and the mother) will be carriers of EC ad their new owners should be warned.

I feel for you. Definitely try for a rabbit savvy vet, when Mischa had head tilt they also gave him steroids and it wasn't until they stopped the steroids that he started to improve. He also had metacam, Panacur and Baytril (an abx in case it was an ear infection, he was a year old so I bit older).

Is he indoors in a cage? You might find he can get more comfortable with rolled up towels round the edges. I found with Mischa that he was most comfortable in my arms. He would lay on my chest with me while I watched tv and he would be able to keep upright this way.

I have had a head tilt bunny before. Sounds like your bun was just like mine, my Kermit's head was really bad at first. As previously said, you need daily Metacam and panacur and antibiotics to last at least 4 weeks, possibly 6 weeks.

My Kermit did not show any signs of improvement for a few weeks in relation to the tilt, but he did continue to eat and drink, so that was good.

My boy was left with a permanent head tilt, and did roll a bit, but he learned to cope very well.

well I took Rose to a completely diifferent vet today and this time she was checked over much more thoroughly and the vet was much nicer and explained things a bit. They have replaced the panacur withsomething else, (begins with L but cant remember) its a 28day course and gave us some eye drops. Vet says we have done a brill job and for such a severe case they expected her to be ALOT weaker than she is.

She is indoors in an indoor rabbit cage which ive lined the edges with rolled up towels and we have replace the wood shavings with soft pet blankets which i wil change daily for now.

The vet has asked that i take her back on friday so they can see how shes doing in order to decide whether she is in need of other drugs but they say they dnt want to pump her with meds if they dont need to. They r a bit worried about her "down" eye tho looks like she may have to lose it!

well I took Rose to a completely diifferent vet today and this time she was checked over much more thoroughly and the vet was much nicer and explained things a bit. They have replaced the panacur withsomething else, (begins with L but cant remember) its a 28day course and gave us some eye drops. Vet says we have done a brill job and for such a severe case they expected her to be ALOT weaker than she is.

She is indoors in an indoor rabbit cage which ive lined the edges with rolled up towels and we have replace the wood shavings with soft pet blankets which i wil change daily for now.

The vet has asked that i take her back on friday so they can see how shes doing in order to decide whether she is in need of other drugs but they say they dnt want to pump her with meds if they dont need to. They r a bit worried about her "down" eye tho looks like she may have to lose it!

That will be Lapizole - same as panacur really . . but some buns take it better so some vets prefer it.

Did you get metacam?

Glad the vet was much kinder and nicer all round.

Good Luck!

yeah thats the one! No metacam as of yet, I did ask about it but they dnt seem to think its that important. I also asked about pain relief but they are adament that Rose isnt in pain, they say its not a painful thing for the rabbits at all? looks painful to me!

no its not painful - BUT the metacam is an anti inflammatory and really will help with the tilt and therefore with the rolling.

I cannot stress this enough - they may wish to contact a referral rabbit vet such as Frances Harcourt Brown (they should have heard of her as she is the foremost rabbit vet) OR one the other rabbit referral vets.

PLEASE be strong in asking for this for the sake of your bun.

I had to ask my vet for it when my bun had head tilt as he was unaware of the importance. It was definitely worth it as she recovered with a permanent tilt but fit and happy. She was rolling all the time and I thought I would lose her at one stage. But luckily she had the appetite of a horse and ate her way back.lol
How often do you panacur your head tilt buns after their illness please?

I would insist on the Metacam if possible.

Regarding the down eye, my Kermit's was in a bit of a state, but he didn't have to use it. I think he was left with slight vision in it. I had eye drops for both his eyes. An antibiotic one for the down eye, and artificial tears for the up eye (as it is open a lot and gets dry and dusty being up).

You are doing a fab job. I know it seems like a long hard struggle, but believe me, when bun shows the smallest little progress it will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside

Vibes for continued improvement x

I agree that Metacam is a must. If your vet insists its not painful for a bun, ask him to hold his head at a right angle for even an hour and see how his neck feels

Sending lots of Get Well soon wishes for Rose xxx

Kermit said:

I would insist on the Metacam if possible.

Regarding the down eye, my Kermit's was in a bit of a state, but he didn't have to use it. I think he was left with slight vision in it. I had eye drops for both his eyes. An antibiotic one for the down eye, and artificial tears for the up eye (as it is open a lot and gets dry and dusty being up).

You are doing a fab job. I know it seems like a long hard struggle, but believe me, when bun shows the smallest little progress it will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside

Vibes for continued improvement x

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Just for follow on from Kermit, we also had drops for Mischa's eyes but I can't remember which one's I'm afraid.

I think you still need to be open to the possibility that this still 'could' be a middle ear infection and strong antibiotics may also be needed.

Stemetil or similar can help with any dizziness experienced from the tilt and associated disruption to balance.

prettylupin said:

I think you still need to be open to the possibility that this still 'could' be a middle ear infection and strong antibiotics may also be needed.

Stemetil or similar can help with any dizziness experienced from the tilt and associated disruption to balance.

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The bun is still a bit young for strong abx I think . . . but vet will know hopefully!

parsnipbun said:

The bun is still a bit young for strong abx I think . . . but vet will know hopefully!

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I agree re. the abx and yes vet best for this. BUT I would not rule out a middle ear infection at 10wks :?