e cuniculi in my young bunny

Hiya I think im just really looking for reassurance from someone. Ive begun treating my 15 week old rabbit today for e cuniculi with panacur. She has eye movement from side to side and the vet is pretty sure this is what it is. Im just wondering what the prognosis is for her?? Im I grasping at straws here, is there any way back from e cuniculi or am I just delaying the inevitable????? Shes drinking from a bowl and eating little bits of hay and small amounts of food. If you didnt look closely enough you wouldnt notice her eye, so am really really hoping I have caught it early enough. What is other peoples experience please???
A very sad bunny owner

EC is just a paracite that can be got rid of with a 28 day course of panacur. The damage it causes is reversable if caught early enough. One thing I would say (which I didn't know the first time I had a rabbit treated for EC) you rabbit should be on an anti inflammatory medication to combat the effects of the EC and prevent permanent damage. You need to ask your vet to provide you with this.

Shes due to go back to the vets tomorrow, so i just need to ask for anti inflammatories for her to take alongside the panacur??
Thanks for that xx

Janiejebb

It is a complicated process and takes more than panacur and anti inflammatories.

Panacur is needed for at least 28 days, some carry on for 6 weeks.

Metacam or an alternative is needed to bring the inflammation down in the brain. Some not so rabbit savvy vets are reluctant to prescribe metacam but it is a must.

EC is a parasite and the spores are passed from one bun to another through wee. For that reason you should treat all buns you have as the spores can be passed via your hands, clothes, dustpans and brushes etc. The spores can live for up to 28 days outside of the body, hence the reason for the 28 day dose of panacur and not the 9 day dose that is normally given as a worming treatment.
Also as the bun wee's out the spores they can not only infect others (if you have other buns) but also re-infect themselves - again another reason for the 28 day dose. Keep the bun's hay up off all the floor so it isn't wee'd on and then eaten.

You must try to eradicate the spores too. They can be killed off by simply a one part bleach (ordinary bleach not disinfectant etc) to 9 parts water. The bleach must be in contact with whatever you are cleaning for 30 seconds then thoroughly washed off with clean water. I can't remember the exact instructions I had but it says you should bleach out on days 21 and 28 or something. To be honest I bleached out every few days. For things that can't be bleached or thrown away you should keep your bun away from it for at least 28 days - this is things like carpets and grass areas. Some people steam clean their carpets but I never did, I just kept them away. I did bleach all the other floors though (mine are house rabbits)

Keep your bun eating, tempt her with anything. Check with your vet if the bun isn't eating as soon as you can as they can go down very quickly.

As a word of caution, you say it is EC. How do you know? Has an inner ear infection been ruled out? An inner ear infection isn't always easy to spot with an examination and often a swab of the inner or middle ear by the vet is needed. Many people give their buns antibiotics to help fight this type of infection which also causes headtilt and the eye flickering etc. Again check with your vet.

EC buns can and do make a full recovery. Many don't make it because we as owners think it is best to end their suffering and PTS. I thought Buttercup my bun was fitting but she was rolling as her balance and worldview was all wrong. I would be hysterical and she would be there with a piece of hay in her mouth waiting for the rolling to stop so she could carry on eating!

Don't give up, get the metacam, do the bleaching and keep her eating. A rabbit savvy vet on side is a must too.

Good luck :wave:

For inspiration, ask Bink as recently her Fifi had EC. Lovely, positive story.

My bun Amber had suspected EC two months ago. We caught it very quickly and has made a full recovery. I was devestated at first but with the help of my vet, friends and people on here, we got there. She was treated with the Panacur for 28 days (so was her husbun), baytril for 14 days and Metacam in total for three weeks.

Amber went off her food so i spoon fed her CC and then mashed pellets for nearly two weeks. All of a suden she started eating hard pellets and then on to her normal veg. Buns can feel nauseous with head tilt etc so can be off their food.. I switched to a bowl of water and put food on an upturned bown so she could reach/see it better when she had headtilt.

Just hang in there and stay positive. My vet who did a lot of uni work of EC said that when buts start to improve, they rarely relapse back.

Hope bun is ok soon x

PS metacam is the usual anti inflammatory, some vets use it under a different brand name though