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Head tilt help please

R

redd1800

Warren Scout
Hello

I got a new bunny this evening - a 2 year old un-neutured male, from the adoption section at pets at home.
He has a head tilt.

He has been treated at a good vets in Derry while in the adoption section, and his treatment there has finished. He was given treatment for inner ear infection, and an anti-parasite treatment too, his courses of medication have finished.

Apart from the head tilt, he looks fine. Weight is good, skin and fur condition and eyes and rear all look good. His ears look healthy, and he doesn't appear to have any areas that cause him any discomfort, around his head or anywhere else.

he has a gentle temperment, and is easy to handle, the shop staff seem to have been very good to him.

His history is vague, but not good. A man brought several bunnies into the adoption centre, and said that if they wouldn't take them, he was planning to shoot them! :censored: :censored: All of the group had health problems, which suggests the care given may not have been good, although mine seems to have been the most serious. Shop staff suspect they were used for breeding. A concern is that my bunnies head tilt may have been caused by brutal handling.

Question is, given all above, and the constant head tilt, what do I need to be looking out for? Are there signs that will tell me if he needs further treatment? Is this head tilt likely to be permanent?

Dani
 
Hello :wave: Is the head tilt very evident? Does he seem off balance? Has he had a course of panacur? He could have EC and this will need to be treated by a course of wormer. Do you have any other bunnies?
 
Thanks for the quick reply!

The head tile is very obvious. The angle is natural - its well within the normal bunny range of movement, and he looks like he is moving his head to get a better look at you, but his head remains at roughly that angle. Its like his normal "straight" is 5 to 10 degrees to the right. His balance and mobility are fine, no obvious problems. The vet and pets at home staff gave him a course of wormer/anti parasite treatment. I don't know which brand, but i can find out.

I have another bunny, Nermal, a neutured male, who is approx 5 years old. He was one of a pair until about 3 weeks ago - A dog broke into the run and snatched him during the night :( It has been a tramatic few weeks!!!!! Nermal was heart broken, and it was a real struggle to get him eating again. He has been in my very secure guinea pig shed for most of the last three weeks. I did keep him on his own for the first few days, but he just wouldn't eat. The guinea pig share was a difficult decision as I know there are health and safety implications for the guinea pigs, and its hardly equivalent to bunny company. Fortunately, Nermal is a very sweet natured pet, and displays no aggression with the guinea pigs. And furry company had helped him - his appetite increased very quickly when I placed him in with the guinea pigs. Obviously, this is very much a short term solution for a hugely lonely bunny.

The two bunnies have had no contact yet, the plan is to bond them over the next few weeks.
 
I would separate your other bun from the pigs asap. You can't justify endangering all your pigs because you believe it helps your bunny. I understand why you did this but it doesn't seem like a very good solution and if your rabbit bonds with a pig then you will go through him grieving all over again when you separate him from it.
I'm sorry about your other bunny , that must have been an awful experience.

Has the bunny with head tilt had any bloods taken? Just thinking that if you plan to bond the 2 bunnies you might want to make sure it's not EC. I'm not sure if it's contagious after they've been wormed so I hope somebody more experienced comes along.
 
Hello again

You are right about the bunny/piggie co-habiting arrangement - it is a bad situation. It has been tormenting me over the past lot of days. It has proved benifical for bunny in that he is eating - I have only just started to realise that when I go to them morning and evening, I'm not going to find a bunny that has starved to death through grief. But then I still have the fear of the risk to guinea pigs health. It has been a horrendous three weeks and I hope no-body else ever has to weigh up the decisions I have made.

I have checked up drugs given to new bunny - Panacur for 28 days and baytril, after blood tests. I have done some more reading on EC, and the long treatment with the panacur seems to kill off the disease. I have had longer to observe him - he only arrived at 8pm last night. he is eating and drinking well, mobility looks very normal, he pees and poops as normal, and keeps himself very clean. He also likes lots and lots of attention. And carrots.

The plan is to move Nermal tonight, and put them in cages side by side (in a different place to where either of them is at the minute - totally neutral) for a few days. Nermal's hutch (4 by 4 by 2, double hutch) and run (after changes, will be 4ft by 13 ft) ave been moved, are currently being painted and made super secure!!! and will be ready be Tuesday.

Must take pictures.

Dani
 
Yes pictures of the buns would be nice too :) It seems like he should be ok and the head tilt may well improve but if not then just be aware some bunnies with a permanent head tilt can develop dental problems.

Is your other bun neutered? 2 bucks which aren't neutered are very likely to fight. I would suggest getting them both neutered (if they aren't already) and then start the bonding.
 
My opinion would be to find a good rabbit vet and take him to see them. The panacur is spot on but baytril may not touch an ear infection bad enough to cause head tilt. The vet may want to try stronger antibiotics. Also, if you have the money, it might be worth having x rays done to rule out the brutal handling. :(

Well done for taking him on though. :wave:
 
Thanks for the replies!

New bunny was a surprise. I have been focusing on getting Nermal eating again, and interested on his surroundings. He has only been fully at himself over the past couple of days. I didn't want to stress him with a new companion too early, and hadn't made any firm plans to find him a new buddy. I knew that I wanted a rescue bunny, and one who wasn't too young or too old, and I knew what rescues I wanted to try. Northern Ireland doesn't have any rabbit specific rescues that I am aware of. We have great dog/cat rescues that also take in rabbits, and the PAH in Derry are very good to their animals.

My partner was in Derry yesterday (we live an hour away) and saw New Bunny. He asked the staff about him, and was offered several other adoptive bunnies, without the head tilt, including one with identical markings. But Bob's a nurse, and I'm a social worker - we both have a want to care and enjoy a challenge. We also have an extremely good vet who knows us well and specialises in small animals. The timing was perfect, and New Bunny was a lovely, but challenging surprise.

PAH have told him that they will pay for any essential vet treatment in the near future, and given us contact details of the vet they use, who we know had a good reputation.

New bunny is not neutured, but Nermal is. The plan is to get New Bunny neutured too. Thanks for the warning about the dental problems, its great to know what to be aware of.

He doesn't seem to have an infection at the minute - no hot spots, discharge, pain, scratching etc. But the plan is to book him in at my vets, as the more I read about this head tilt, the more complicated it seems. Its way out of my comfort zone. Also because we're not absolutely sure of the cause of the head tilt, it just gets more complicated- it may not have been infection, but caused by previous owner.

An x-ray would be very interesting! I have an x-ray of a russian hamster we had a few years ago, it broke its leg. The x-ray is fascinating!

Will try to get some pictures up tomorrow, of both bunnies. Nermal is a lionhead. New bunny looks very like a dutch, but I've only seen black and white dutch rabbits, and he is a toffee color instead of black.

I need suggestions for names too - can't keep calling him new bunny!

Dani
 
redd1800 said:
Thanks for the replies!

New bunny was a surprise. I have been focusing on getting Nermal eating again, and interested on his surroundings. He has only been fully at himself over the past couple of days. I didn't want to stress him with a new companion too early, and hadn't made any firm plans to find him a new buddy. I knew that I wanted a rescue bunny, and one who wasn't too young or too old, and I knew what rescues I wanted to try. Northern Ireland doesn't have any rabbit specific rescues that I am aware of. We have great dog/cat rescues that also take in rabbits, and the PAH in Derry are very good to their animals.

My partner was in Derry yesterday (we live an hour away) and saw New Bunny. He asked the staff about him, and was offered several other adoptive bunnies, without the head tilt, including one with identical markings. But Bob's a nurse, and I'm a social worker - we both have a want to care and enjoy a challenge. We also have an extremely good vet who knows us well and specialises in small animals. The timing was perfect, and New Bunny was a lovely, but challenging surprise.

PAH have told him that they will pay for any essential vet treatment in the near future, and given us contact details of the vet they use, who we know had a good reputation.

New bunny is not neutured, but Nermal is. The plan is to get New Bunny neutured too. Thanks for the warning about the dental problems, its great to know what to be aware of.

He doesn't seem to have an infection at the minute - no hot spots, discharge, pain, scratching etc. But the plan is to book him in at my vets, as the more I read about this head tilt, the more complicated it seems. Its way out of my comfort zone. Also because we're not absolutely sure of the cause of the head tilt, it just gets more complicated- it may not have been infection, but caused by previous owner.

An x-ray would be very interesting! I have an x-ray of a russian hamster we had a few years ago, it broke its leg. The x-ray is fascinating!

Will try to get some pictures up tomorrow, of both bunnies. Nermal is a lionhead. New bunny looks very like a dutch, but I've only seen black and white dutch rabbits, and he is a toffee color instead of black.

I need suggestions for names too - can't keep calling him new bunny!

Dani
Click to expand...

I've no idea about the head tilt I'm afraid but it sounds like you've got your head screwed on right. Hope he's ok.

I just wanted to say that it does sounds like your new bunny is a Dutch - there are several colours but I think black is really the most common.

You could post a pic of him in the stories and photos section and ask for name ideas - you'll get loads of suggestions and possibly some name ideas you love! People on here love pics and helping others choose names :D
 
Some pictures, finally.

This is Nermal, he has been my bunny buddy for almost 5 years.

DSCF4064.jpg




And this is new bunny - Hazelnut. This is "straight" for him.

DSCF4097.jpg


DSCF4100.jpg
 
:love: They are both beautiful!

I love the name Hazel :) He is a dutch but probably has something else in him too. His head tilt doesn't seem to bother him :)
 
Quick update.

Bunny bonding has started, both buns are in cages side by side. I have swapped them over every day, and they spend some time together. Hazel is a very unfussy, and very horny bunny!!! Poor Nermal is not impressed! They aren't fighting, but are very well supervised. And Hazel need plenty of distractions!

Hazel is booked in with my vet to be neutured and given a full check up, on the 23rd.

Dani
 
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