Loss of balance, slight head tilt.

I just can't get lucky with my pets. Seem the more I love them and the more I take care of them, the more they get sick

This morning, Billy was perfectly fine, ran around as usual, ate all his food, etc. He took his long afternoon nap as always too. And the some more. He seemed really sleepy, so I decided to poke him a bit, to make him move (he slept all afternoon under a chair he loves)...and thats when I saw it. He was all wobbly, and clearly had balance issues, and when he made any sudden moves (like he wanted to just start running as usual) would tumble a bit and fall. And after close examination, he has a veeeery slight head tilt to the left.

What freaked me out the most was that Mandy was acting the same way the day she died. Sure, it was from something else (strokes) but seeing the same behavior on Billy pretty much killed me inside.

Rang my vet (its Sunday evening) and she didn't pick up the phone. Texted me back that she was in bed with flu, to call her tomorrow for an appointment.

Now, this all sounds to me like an ear infection, hopefully not EC. So I already gave him meloxicam, a dosis of abendazole (what I had, can't seem to find fenbendazole anywhere in the emergency vets, so I will need to wait till tomorrow to see if I can get any at all), and a first dosis of Baytril...so to cover all the bases.

And while I will be taking him to the vet tomorrow (maybe switch him to a stronger AB)...what is the prognosis for this stuff? I am honestly terrified, even having a hard time typing this cause my hands are shaking.

Rabbits can recover from Head Tilt/loss of balance whether due to a bacterial ear infection or EC. But the road to recovery can be very long, sometimes months. The Rabbit can get a lot worse before things stabalise and then hopefully improve. They can have episodes of rolling or even seizures.

Good nursing care is essential as well as ongoing appropriate medication. Assisted feeding may be necessary if the Rabbit is anorexic, although the majority do appear to continue to eat once the initial phase has settled.

These links may be useful:

E.C.
Info:
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00d...tozoonosis.htm
http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resou.../ecuniculi.htm
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q...3IZVX7iM5Uaz_Q
Useful threads:
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/sh...d.php?t=272916
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/sh...d.php?t=215679

Head tilt
Info:
http://www.onthewonk.com/?p=1.Home&trk=menu:Home
http://www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html
Useful threads:
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/sh...d.php?t=291164
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/sh...d.php?t=247291
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/sh...d.php?t=227533

Good luck xx

Thanks for the links JJ.

Last night before I left him he didn't look too interested in food (although he did eat his apple and carrot like a maniac), but it seemed the vegetables didn't draw his attention as much.

It's 5 am now, and I always get up at 7 to let him out of the cage, so hopefully, things will be the same or better, I don't think my poor heart can handle seeing him getting worse. I'll post some updates after he's up.

Haven't been able to sleep, and while thinking, I remembered he was scratching his left ear a lot two days ago and shaking his head. Since he stopped doing it, I didn't think much of it...now I make the link to the quite possible ear infection.

I need a hug

Cant really add anything to what Jacks-Jane has put,
But I had an EC bun who recovered fully (apart from a slight head tilt which still to this day a year on is getting better slowly) Fingers crossed for your bun

Good luck at the Vet and ((((((((((((((((((Hugs))))))))))))))))

I was just with him. He didn't eat at all, and there are no poops in his cage as a result. He is in high spirits apparently, he wants to run jump and do all sort of things, but he keeps falling over. This cheered me up a bit, as last night he looked like a zombie...and I was afraid I would find a dead rabbit this morning.

I am going to check and see if I can find any med for his nausea (I know I saw someone on this forum talk about one, I need to make a search). Maybe that will get him to eat again.

Back from the vet. Yap, she suspects inner ear infection too. I am to continue the treatment I started yesterday, both the Baytril and the EC wormer, just in case.
Billy is running around, and bit slower than usual, but running...which is quite awesome. He only ate his apple, and nothing else, but he then stopped to eat cardboard for like 10 minutes straight...that rabbit

He is in high spirits, so hopefully we get him to eat normally soon

UPDATE: He started eating some greens (specially lettuce and endives), and passed like 15 small poops during the night (which is good considering the night before he didn't poop or eat anything at all). I caught him eating a cecotroph this morning, so thats something great. After a long chat with my vet, we decided to swap him over to Azithromizin. It did wonder's for Mandy and her pneumonia/ear infection, so we are going to steamroll Billy's infection with this (I showed the "on the wonk" diary to her, and she gave in ). The head tilt remains the same, so does the wobbliness.

He can run quite fast, but has problems grooming, specially when scratching himself, as he needs to have one foot up, and that messes with his balance.

Will post more updates as things develop. Crossing my fingers here

Fingers crossed you have caught this early, which does seem to be the case.

Hope he will respond well to the abx xx

UPDATE2: PROGRESS!!!

Some of the wobbliness is gone, and he can move a bit better now. He also doesn't get as dizzy as before when I have to pick him up to give him his meds. Started eating some pellets now too. Not many, but its a start. A few extra poops in the cage too, better sized.

The head tilt is still present, but only in some postures. If he is sitting down or resting, you can barely notice it. You can see it quite clearly if he flops or when you are petting him on the neck (seems he gets relaxed and his neck tilts a bit more as a result).

I am giving him 1 dose of metoclopramide a day for his nauseas, which is what made him eat more pretty much all day. Sadly I wasn't able to find Prochlorperazine in my country. It was here till 2010, but was replaced by a much safer drug then, and if it still exists somewhere, its not made available to public.

He is more active and now seeks the attention of other humans for some cuddles and kisses, which is a major improvement, since two days ago he was like "DON'T TOUCH ME, LEAVE ME ALONE".

Great news, I hope he continues to recover well

UPDATE3: EVEN MORE PROGRESS!

All the wobbliness is finally gone, he can walk and run perfectly now. He is even trying to binky again, but his balance is still not good enough for that, so we get a few stumbles here and there. I cut him off his meloxicam on Saturday, and no ill effects showed up (that was an 8 day meloxicam run, didn't wanted to keep him on it if it wasn't needed). I am also starting to cut him off the metoclopramide today. This one will be the tricky one, as is the one that controls his nausea. Since he regained most of his balance, I am hoping the nausea would be gone too...so I will be keeping a close eye on him.

His head tilt is still the same (very subtle, but present), and you can see him scratching the ear of the affected side quite a bit, so I am to continue the antibiotic for a month, twice a week, until its all finally dead.

He is eating and pooping like a lion, so we are on the clear on that

He has made an incredible amount of progress in just a week, so I am hoping this will have a happy ending for all of us

That's wonderful news

Sounds like a superstar bunny managing to fight through this. You have done so well finding it quick and treating

FINAL UPDATE, ONE MONTH LATER: Fully cured!!!

All the remains of the head tilt is gone, and his balance is fully restored. I removed his ABX one week ago, and no issues whatsoever, and today is the final dosis of Abendazole.
He is back to his old antics, of speed running all over the house, binkies and the like. And added to that, he is eating and pooping plenty.

Big scare there, but thankfully with a happy ending

I'll see to add my story to "onthewonk.com" so it can be of help to someone else =P

Cheers!