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Why is Ziggy doing this?

bunnylover177

Alpha Buck
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:?:? He'll sit like this for 30 seconds at a time and then repeat it a few times. He is most likely to do it when he is relaxed. He even does it lying down on his side with his feet off the ground. We've had him checked out by our rabbit savvy vet and x-rayed - nothing showed up. Teeth fine, nothing stuck in his coat. He had ear 'abscesses' removed and an ear canel resection done a few years ago so his ears should be OK - he doesn't scratch at them. The next step would be a CAT scan but that involves hours of travel, anesthetic and since he is otherwise perfectly OK we are reluctant to put him through it.
 
One of my rabbit does something similar...he puts his head back similar to Ziggy and it goes round in circles...he even does it when he lays down sometimes. To be honest I never thought about getting it checked I just thought it was a weird rabbit thing like when they suddenly twitch. All four of my rabbits do strange twitching and odd positions. One of mine sits there and kind of flicks his head back a bit every couple of seconds. They sometimes remind me of how you imagine mental patients to be...haha.

Anyway the only thing that may be worth doing is a test for e-cuniculi as it can cause neurological problems but they usually have seizures as well.
 
Looks like 'Star Gazing Syndrome' to me which usually indicates some sort of neurological (brain) problem. Given the history of ear abscesses it could be related to that
 
Thanks everyone - this is really helpful. Jane do you know if there is any treatment likely for this kind of thing if it is brain damage? Given that the next thing my vet has suggested is a CAT scan which would involve at least a 4 hour drive, more time waiting around and another anaesthetic would it be worth doing? I'll discuss your ideas with my vet next week. If he is having breathing problems it would only be when he is relaxed as he does plenty of binkying and racing around.
 
Thanks everyone - this is really helpful. Jane do you know if there is any treatment likely for this kind of thing if it is brain damage? Given that the next thing my vet has suggested is a CAT scan which would involve at least a 4 hour drive, more time waiting around and another anaesthetic would it be worth doing? I'll discuss your ideas with my vet next week. If he is having breathing problems it would only be when he is relaxed as he does plenty of binkying and racing around.

I think treatment would depend on the exact cause, it is possible for a brain abscess to occur. It could also possibly be damage by EC

Did it start after his abx treatment for his ear problems finished ?


Whilst a CAT scan may (or may not!!) give a more precise diagnosis I would want to know if it would also be likely to provide a basis for any treatment.

I guess a blood test might give some info as to whether there is any infection/inflammation going on. If so then maybe another course of abx and anti-inflammatories to see if symptoms resolve :?
 
Did it start after his abx treatment for his ear problems finished ?


No, not immediately. There were 3-4 months between finishing the antibiotics and starting this. I'll get the vet to do an EC test and a check for infection. Thanks a lot.
 
I just found another thread

"Thank you to Jane from Fifi whose sore hocks have amazingly never returned after a few weeks of bandaging her foot thanks to the great instructions and pictures from Jane.
Thanks from Ziggy whose strange star gazing looks like it has gone after Jane suggestsed ecuniculi and a course of panacur."

Glad Ziggy made a recovery - how long did it take before you saw improvements?
 
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