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people with headtilt bunnies

biscuitblossom

Warren Veteran
I'm curious as to how they manage with a permanent headtilt.

Doris has almost finished a 28 day course of panacur for EC. The headtilt she had on diagnosis was very slight and hard to even see but she was very unsteady on her legs,no rolling ,just a kind of side to side wobble.

A couple of days ago her headtilt became worse ,almost at right angles with one eye looking up .... she is going back to the vets but I really need to be armed with some info on whether her life can be comfortable and managed with a bad tilt.

Anyone got any info on how to help these bunnies cope please?

Her 'lower eye' seems hardly open and feels wet (although she won't let me see it) which is another concern.

Thanks in advance!!
 
A recent bunny who came to me was diagnosed with EC and she had a slight head tilt, however halfway through treatment it became a lot better, the only thing that is left permanently is her right ear remains a bit droopy compared to the left.

A previous bun I had I think had been born with it as she had the cataracts. I got her when she was around 6ish. Suddenly she started getting much worse, despite panacur. She coped really well when it was just the head tilt (and it was similar to what you've described, her left eye almost facing the floor), still managed to eat and binky and her partner (from the same place she came from) really looked after her and sort of guided her around. I made everything as flat as possible and she couldnt see to hop in the litter tray properly so cut some storage boxes in half and she used that fine :)

Also gave her the choice of a water bowl as well as bottle, just in case she couldn't angle herself properly for the bottle, and used a shallow, wide bowl for pellets. she seemed quite happy and used to enjoy the garden :)


I think if it's just the head tilt with no rolling, they cope rather well so fingers crossed
 
Is she on an antibiotic in case of ear infection? Mischa had head tilt at around 90 degrees and he recovered to the point where his head was back to normal so don't give up hope of recovery. I know Kermit had a bunny who got on fine with a permanent tilt.
 
Is she on an antibiotic in case of ear infection? Mischa had head tilt at around 90 degrees and he recovered to the point where his head was back to normal so don't give up hope of recovery. I know Kermit had a bunny who got on fine with a permanent tilt.

Doris had antibiotics initially and has finished the course....one of her ears was a little waxy and looked a bit red but vet didnt think it was enough to have caused her symptoms ,he thought it was more as a result of the headtilt because it was the top ear .

Randomly her head is actually tilted to the opposite direction to what it was initially,its now a right tilt where it was to the left.

Shes eating well and drinking from a bowl but isn't moving around much at all.
 
Yip, my bunny Kermit had a permanant tilt. Initially he was terrible as he rolled so much with it, but he got to manage and coped well. He always did have the occasional roll, but he could right himself no bother.

His down eye was also almost closed over. I had to put eye drops in when it looked sore. Was a nightmare to check it, but I would lie on the floor and hold him slightly up to see it.

You will definately have your ups and downs with a head tilt bunny, but they really can manage to cope with it well. It is amazing really!

Feel free to pm me with any questions :)
 
My 'special needs' bunny, Roger, had the most severe head tilt my rabbit specialist vet had ever seen and his outlook looked very bleak, but I put lots and lots of work into it and he not only made a complete recovery but had no head tilt at all. I think it is fair to say that if you do not work on your bunnies neck/muscles at all, then of course he is going to probably have a permanent head tilt, as everything stiffens up in the wrong place and over time it becomes much harder to undo. I use to spend up to 8hrs a day on Roger over a 5 week period, and a lot of the time was spent with him laying on my legs,but with one leg raised slightly higher, and this helped to make him lie straight with his head not able to tilt back. I also placed little cushions of say lavender that could be warmed in the microwave first under his neck to keep his muscles warmer and so easier to work his neck back into it's correct alignment. I think if you can put the time and the effort in to working on your bunnies neck, that his head tilt can be greatly reduced. Of course if bunnies are left with this condition and especially kept outside their necks are soon going to stiften up as indeed so would ours and you will have a permanent head tilt bunny. They do seem to manage very well but I would rather do physio as such on my bunny to help it back to how it should be. Good luck.
 
I did gentle massage on Mischa's neck too. VERY gentle. And I would help him to move it back into position, again VERY gently.
 
How is Doris??

Thank you for asking :) Been so busy house hunting and sorting things for my daughter to move on monday that I've not had a chance to be on here much.

Doris is no better really ,still not moving about much but shes eating and drinking very well as long as I put it close to her.

Shes loving fusses too :love:

Will try to post a pic in a while if photobucket will behave.
 
Thank you for asking :) Been so busy house hunting and sorting things for my daughter to move on monday that I've not had a chance to be on here much.

Doris is no better really ,still not moving about much but shes eating and drinking very well as long as I put it close to her.

Shes loving fusses too :love:

Will try to post a pic in a while if photobucket will behave.

Sounds like my Kermit was, he would lick my hand even when he was at his most ill and always loved a fuss, it was heart breaking but let me know that he was still fighting.

The fact that she is eating and drinking is showing that she is trying her best to fight through this. It definitely is a long hard slog but when they show the smallest sign of improvement it is simply fantastic.

Fingers crossed she starts to move about in a few days when she has managed to get to terms with her world being at a different angle!
 
She really is much more loving than shes ever been ,although being indoors probably makes a difference I think, bless her .
 
Sounds like my Kermit was, he would lick my hand even when he was at his most ill and always loved a fuss, it was heart breaking but let me know that he was still fighting.

The fact that she is eating and drinking is showing that she is trying her best to fight through this. It definitely is a long hard slog but when they show the smallest sign of improvement it is simply fantastic.

Fingers crossed she starts to move about in a few days when she has managed to get to terms with her world being at a different angle!

Sounds like Mischa too, we got closer when he had head tilt, mainly because he was most comfortable lying on someone so I'd bring him downstairs to watch tv with me.
 
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