Help.ec bunny

My friend has rang me.Her grand daughter has a bunny being treated for E.C and has head tilt.
Bunny has meds.
Hes been showing signs of improvement but tonight is lying down,and somersaulting, then hes up and running about.
The lass thinks hes dying when hes lying down....but then he gets mobile again.
Any advice?? Ive had no experience with EC and im trying to advise.....has seen vet.

bump..i want to give her a ring if i can...

I am afraid that she might be in for a hard slog treatment wise. Bunnies can get worse before better with EC.

Rolling is very common with head tilt, it does look more distressing to us than it probably is for the bunny. The fact that he is managing to run about is good. Hopefully this means that bun is on the way out of this.

Try not to lift bunny up as it can disorientate them and cause them to roll when put back down. Also pad out the buns living area so if they do roll then they are not gonna hurt themselves.

Kermit said:

I am afraid that she might be in for a hard slog treatment wise. Bunnies can get worse before better with EC.

Rolling is very common with head tilt, it does look more distressing to us than it probably is for the bunny. The fact that he is managing to run about is good. Hopefully this means that bun is on the way out of this.

Try not to lift bunny up as it can disorientate them and cause them to roll when put back down. Also pad out the buns living area so if they do roll then they are not gonna hurt themselves.

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Thankyou.Have put this as my status on FB and had the same advice.Shes putting him in a padded carrier and returning to vets in the morning.
He may need a steroid to shrink the granuloma thats causing the brain to misfunction....
Paws crossed hes gonna be ok.

Let me know how he gets on. EC is so horrible

Will do.Thankyou.xx

Sorry, didn't see this yesterday.

Your friend needs to be warned that things often get worse before they get better as Kermit said. Progress can be very slow and gradually- months rather than days or weeks in some cases. There will be good days and bad days.

Tippex responded very well to steroid injections but bunny will need to be watched closely as the immunosuppresive effects can lead to over problems.
I would prefer treatment to cover all bases so fenbendazole and an effective antibiotic e.g. penicillin injections (instead of or in addition to the usual baytril). Once the steroid treatment is finished it would be advisable to switch to an NSAID such as metacam (vets won't normally give both together).

They will need to make sure the down-eye doesn't get injured during rolling or dry out. The vet may be able to prescribe lubricating drops to help prevent this.
Bunny will need help with eating and most importantly getting enough fluid as it is hard for a bunny to drink with a head tilt. I would suggest they offer lots of moist juicy wild greens (grass, sow thistle, dandilions, fruit leaves, herbs etc) plus a little bit of pear/apple if bunny can tolerate it without getting a runny bum). Sub-cut fluids are helpful short-term while the bunny adapts.

Anti seasickness drugs such as meclozine seem to help som bunnies.

The environment will need to be made safe so no ramps etc. Bunny may be best confined to a relatively small area whilst the rolling stage continues.

Advise them to keep stress to a minimum as this will make the rolling worse.

I hope bunny makes a full recovery xx

I can't really add much to what has already been said, other than to say there is hope.

Gypsy had head tilt last year. She rolled around everywhere and it was horrific to watch at one point I thought I was going to loose her as she went all floppy and lifeless

After taking panacur for 28 days, metacam for 2 weeks along with baytril and regular syringe feeds for a few days she picked up. Every bun is different. For some it can take a long time to recover, other just weeks. I was very very lucky with Gypsy. She is still here nearly a year later.

There is hope Xxx

Theyre testing him for EC to make sure it is EC, THEN he can have the steroids.
I think another vet may be worth consulting.What do you think??

yvette said:

Theyre testing him for EC to make sure it is EC, THEN he can have the steroids.
I think another vet may be worth consulting.What do you think??

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Whether it is EC or not, if he has head tilt then he should be getting the steroids!

EC tests are just a waste of money imo. They are also prone to false readings. Just treat for the problem, simple!

Vet change methinks.

Kermit said:

Whether it is EC or not, if he has head tilt then he should be getting the steroids!

EC tests are just a waste of money imo. They are also prone to false readings. Just treat for the problem, simple!

Vet change methinks.

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Theyre wasting precious time when this bunny could be getting the treatment he needs and recovering.
Grrrr.

yvette said:

Theyre wasting precious time when this bunny could be getting the treatment he needs and recovering.
Grrrr.

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Vets are often relucant to use steroids in rabbits due to the immuno-suppressive effects- they are often used as a last resort only as they can make it harder for the rabbit to fight off infection. But yes, a second opinion wouldn't hurt. I would be reluctant to wait for E.c. results in this case and they can only definitively diagnose E.c. by post mortem as far as I am aware.

A second opinion is gonna cost 60 quid...so shes gone back to the vets who prescribed the panacur.The vets waiting for the results are her normal vets..the vets who gave the panacur are the emergency vets she went to.
I suggested Seers Croft who want to charge the 60 for the 2nd opinion...
Ive just told her to fight for her bunny to get any meds he needs.Waiting 2 weeks for blood results is precious time wasted.

If no steroids then Metacam should be given imo.

Mum took bun to vets.Bun has got baytril,metacam and the panacur.Vet said if hes not better by THURS this week its PTS.
I said its too soon.
Shes over dosed bun on baytril.Has been advised to give Zantac but has no script..vet didnt tell her how much on syringe to give.Said 0,6 mum gas given enough for a 50k dog....
We ARE going to save this bunny.....

yvette said:

Mum took bun to vets.Bun has got baytril,metacam and the panacur.Vet said if hes not better by THURS this week its PTS.
I said its too soon.
Shes over dosed bun on baytril.Has been advised to give Zantac but has no script..vet didnt tell her how much on syringe to give.Said 0,6 mum gas given enough for a 50k dog....
We ARE going to save this bunny.....

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:shock: Oh my- you've got your work cut out there! I think the vet should have supplied an appropriate-sized syringe and demonstrated how much to give though.
Thursday is way to soon to PTS in my opinion.
I don't suppose there is any way you could look after the bun for them for a few weeks to help with the meds?

lilbun said:

:shock: Oh my- you've got your work cut out there! I think the vet should have supplied an appropriate-sized syringe and demonstrated how much to give though.
Thursday is way to soon to PTS in my opinion.
I don't suppose there is any way you could look after the bun for them for a few weeks to help with the meds?

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Im too far away.over 200 miles..

Theyve gone to the vets.Its too risky to syringe fluids as bun is sleepy and he will choke.
They could lose him cos of this over dose