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Rabbit head tilt, ear infection - Update - She's gone

Scrufox86

Warren Scout
Hello all. I took Harmony to the vets last week as she was breathing weird and making a pain noise. The vet said she has a respiratory infection and after asking how she could've gotten it she told me that it could be the hay or an allergy. Well she had some injections and I was given some medication for her (Marbocyl) that she's had in the past for other illnesses. She was fine almost right away after the vet trip, the breathing went back to normal but we still gave the medication for the recommened time from Saturday till today.

Right well anyway I noticed her sister, Buffy (who has never been to the vets for anything other than myxo/vhd injections and her spay, until yesterday) was not quite herself on Wednesday evening and then later that night when feeding she tilted her head and I did panic a bit thinking the worst and it was E.Cuniculi. Well I got her to the vet yesterday and the vet I saw herself has a rabbit and she said hers recently had an ear infection. She told me Buffy has an inner ear infection in her right ear (she was holding that ear down Wednesday evening, I thought nothing of it as I have read it is a sign of contentment or her listening to surroundings). I mentioned about Harmony and wondered if there was a link and she told me that it could be contaminated hay and nothing I did or didn't do and that any rabbit no matter how healthy could still get an infection. I mentioned E.Cuniculi and she told me there is no way to actually diagnose it for a live rabbit, vets can only guess as it is very difficult to diagnose and the only 100% way is post-mortem. She said Buffy isn't showing signs of it as she had other symptoms like a raised temperature which indicates ear infection. Apparently if it is E.Cuniculi then she would not have any other symptoms and just the head tilt.
Today Buffy has been fine while in the run with her two sisters and brother but just before covering the rabbits an hour ago I fed them and she was running around like crazy with the others (their normal behaviour) but as soon as she started eating she started with the head tilt again. She has been fine all day and been given her medication. I am just confused is this supposed to happen when a rabbit has an ear infection or could this be E.Cuniculi? The vet said to give the medication and bring back next week and the appointment is booked already. Buffy is still eating, she has never been off her food. I just need to know if it is normal for the head tilt to still be there considering she was only at the vets yesterday (the head tilt appears to not be permanent though as her head does go back to normal when running like while in the run earlier today).

By the way I am sorry for the long essay I just wanted to make sure I explained everything that happened since last Friday. Any advice would really be appreciated.
 
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Personally I don't think your vet sounds very Rabbit Savvy. EC can present itself in many forms, not just a head tilt.

When a Rabbit has head tilt it is common to treat for EC and Inner Ear Infection, thus covering the two main causes of head tilt.

Contaminated Hay sounds like a bizarre reason to give for an ear infection.

What meds is Buffy on?
 
Hi there
I can understand your concern head tilt is always worrying,

I know this is a long shot but, nevertheless worth mentioning!! I remember years ago when we used to use lead in paint, rabbits chewing the paint was a common cause of torticollis, is there any possibility they have had access to any think containing lead?? Also am not mistaken some toxic plants have have the same affect.

You mentioned it started again when she started eating , it might be worth getting a dental X ray (costly I know ) done as it is possible that a molar root over growing, that is another possible cause ,

I really hope you get to the bottom of this and it is easily resolved
 
Personally I don't think your vet sounds very Rabbit Savvy. EC can present itself in many forms, not just a head tilt.

When a Rabbit has head tilt it is common to treat for EC and Inner Ear Infection, thus covering the two main causes of head tilt.

Contaminated Hay sounds like a bizarre reason to give for an ear infection.

What meds is Buffy on?

Well she said she has a rabbit herself and that her rabbit had the same thing recently. She did say that EC is very difficult to diagnose but that no other symptoms would be present if it were the cause of Buffy's head tilt. The vets I go to are supposed to be rabbit savvy. She checked in her right ear which is the one she had been holding down and confirmed there was an infection. The hay was an example and that linked both Harmony's breathing infection and Buffy's ear infection. The vet gave Buffy Baytril to be given once a day for a week (when we will then be going back to see the same vet for her to check her again).

Hi there
I can understand your concern head tilt is always worrying,

I know this is a long shot but, nevertheless worth mentioning!! I remember years ago when we used to use lead in paint, rabbits chewing the paint was a common cause of torticollis, is there any possibility they have had access to any think containing lead?? Also am not mistaken some toxic plants have have the same affect.

You mentioned it started again when she started eating , it might be worth getting a dental X ray (costly I know ) done as it is possible that a molar root over growing, that is another possible cause ,

I really hope you get to the bottom of this and it is easily resolved

The rabbits aren't anywhere near lead paint... the hutches have metal bars but no paint. It could be possible being teeth issue but the vet checked (well what you can without the x-ray thing) and asked if she was still eating. I said yes because she has not been off her food at all. But molar root problems don't cause head tilts do they? I had a rabbit with molar teeth issues and he didn't get head tilt from the diagnosis till his death. I just wanted to know if anyone else who has had a rabbit with an ear infection can tell me if it is normal for the head tilt to still be present at this stage of the medication as I took her Thursday afternoon to the vets for treatment and I just want to know that Buffy is getting better otherwise I will have to take her back sooner than the planned check up on Wednesday.
 
Can anyone help?

I went to feed the rabbits today and Buffy did the normal running around the food bowl again with the others and ate as normal. She still has a slight head tilt but she hasn't stopped eating. I haven't given her medication yet as I wanted to see if she would eat. I will go give the medication soon. I also picked her up after she'd eaten to check her for other symptoms and she is not wet underneath and seems normal except the slight head tilt. The tilt doesn't look permanent as she soon puts her head in normal position when she wants to (I always thought that if the head tilt was permanent then it would be tilted all the time whatever the rabbit was doing).

So is this what normally happens with rabbits that have ear infections? Or should I be worrying and take her back to the vets? (before Wednesday)

Please can anyone help?
 
This is normal for a bun with an ear infection. In fact you might need to prepare yourself for her having a tilt for a long time to come. Inner ear infections can be very stubborn :(

My bun Mimi had head tilt due to an inner ear infection. Hers was very severe and she rolled continuously and couldn't walk around atall. She was treated with Marbocyl and Metacam (which is a painkiller and anti inflammatory) and made a full recovery, albeit after 6 weeks of meds and intensive nursing.

Your bun sounds as though she's coping well with the tilt, it's great that she can still get around by herself and is eating well.

Just carry on with the meds and then I'm afraid it's a waiting game.

Good luck :wave:
 
This is normal for a bun with an ear infection. In fact you might need to prepare yourself for her having a tilt for a long time to come. Inner ear infections can be very stubborn :(

My bun Mimi had head tilt due to an inner ear infection. Hers was very severe and she rolled continuously and couldn't walk around atall. She was treated with Marbocyl and Metacam (which is a painkiller and anti inflammatory) and made a full recovery, albeit after 6 weeks of meds and intensive nursing.

Your bun sounds as though she's coping well with the tilt, it's great that she can still get around by herself and is eating well.

Just carry on with the meds and then I'm afraid it's a waiting game.

Good luck :wave:

The vet did say that she was glad I brought her in as soon as I noticed the head tilt as it meant she can be treated sooner. She didn't say that it would be so long with curing it though. But it would explain why she wants to check how she is doing on Wednesday. After my last post I went and gave her the medication. She ran away from one end of the hutch to the other fast enough. She is eating, I haven't seen her drink today yet but she is one of the rabbits that tends to drink when no humans are around. She was drinking yesterday and she was almost her normal self while in the run with her brother and sisters.

Buffy hasn't lost balance or rolled around at all. The funny thing is Harmony was treated with Marbocyl for her breathing infection but Buffy has been given Baytril for the head tilt. She seemed to liven up when I got her out to give the medication just like she did down the vets (she didn't tilt her head at all while seeing the vet so making out i was lying) but when in the hutch there is still a slight one. I will be checking on her throughout the day though. I just wanted to know if it was normal for ear infection rabbits to still be like Buffy is after just two days of medication. I always dread EC when head tilt or urine infections are diagnosed.

Can i ask when your rabbit was at the vets for her ear infection... did the vet mention that it was definitely an ear infection and not EC because of other symptoms like raised temperature? Buffy had a slightly raised temperature so the vet told me that is why it isn't EC as EC would be head tilt without anything else. And did your vet say anything about how long it would take for the head tilt to go away? I don't think my vet said how long it would take just that she should get better with the medication and she wanted to see her in a week.
 
Hiya,
My vet didn't treat Mimi for EC atall. He felt that because he could see the infection in her ear, and as she was showing none of the other symptoms of EC (hind leg weakness etc) that the infection was definitely the cause.

There's no guessing how long your bun will take to recover, some take days, some weeks, some months. Each case is different. The good thing is your bun seems to have a relatively mild case so hopefully she will start showing signs of improvement soon :)
 
Hiya,
My vet didn't treat Mimi for EC atall. He felt that because he could see the infection in her ear, and as she was showing none of the other symptoms of EC (hind leg weakness etc) that the infection was definitely the cause.

There's no guessing how long your bun will take to recover, some take days, some weeks, some months. Each case is different. The good thing is your bun seems to have a relatively mild case so hopefully she will start showing signs of improvement soon :)

Thanks for your replies. Yeah my vet said she could see the infection, took temperature and it was a little higher than normal and checked her over for anything else. She did say to me it is definitely not EC but I just worry it is the worst scenario. And Buffy showed no signs of weakness or loss of balance. She did say that if this doesn't work then she would give treatment for EC but that from what she can see it is definitely just an ear infection. She also said that the medication should make her better and the head tilt will go. I have read that once a rabbit gets head tilt that it is often permanent so that is worrying.
Yeah the vet was glad I got her there as soon as possible as she believes it'll give Buffy the best chance to recover. When I picked her up this morning to check for other symptoms she did do some poops as they fell onto my t-shirt and they were definitely from her lol. So she is going to the toilet alright as well as eating. I have still not seen her drink anything yet but of the four siblings she doesn't like humans watching her so she most likely has. I will do the dehydration test one of the vets showed me when I put them out in the run. It has been 2 days since the vet trip so I hope she will improve by Wednesday.

I cannot believe your rabbit was like this for 6 weeks... it must've been really awful for you but so glad your rabbit is alright now. Oh and I noticed in your picture you have Lionheads, 6 of the 7 we have are Lionheads. They are really friendly rabbits, I don't think I would ever get any other breed.
 
Yes I absolutely adore my fuzzy lion heads :love:

I was also concerned Mimi's head tilt would be permenant. Her neck was so twisted and her head was at a 90 degree angle constantly so I really thought it would stay that way. I think one thing that really helped Mimi's head go back to normal was giving her twice daily gentle back and neck massages to loosen up the muscles and help relieve the pain. She loved it and would rest her head in my hand :love:
Very gradually her head returned almost back to a normal angle. She still has a slight residual 5-10 degree tilt, but it's barely noticeable.

I think the fact that your buns head isn't badly tilted means there's a good chance it won't be permenant, particularly if you give her massages as well. Even if it does stay tilted I know of many rabbits on the forum who live a full and happy life with a tilted head. They adapt very well to it. As long as the underlying infection is fully cleared up.

You may find that Baytril isn't strong enough to clear the infection, so if that doesn't work it might be worth speaking to your vet about trying a different one. The head tilt is not a sign that the infection is still present. It can take a while for the head to return to normality once the infection has gone. Mimi was on Marbocyl for 15 days, and it took another 4 weeks after that for her to regain her balance etc. it was a tough time for us both :( seeing her recover when it had at times seemed totally hopeless was worth every minute of it though :D
 
Yes I absolutely adore my fuzzy lion heads :love:

I was also concerned Mimi's head tilt would be permenant. Her neck was so twisted and her head was at a 90 degree angle constantly so I really thought it would stay that way. I think one thing that really helped Mimi's head go back to normal was giving her twice daily gentle back and neck massages to loosen up the muscles and help relieve the pain. She loved it and would rest her head in my hand :love:
Very gradually her head returned almost back to a normal angle. She still has a slight residual 5-10 degree tilt, but it's barely noticeable.

I think the fact that your buns head isn't badly tilted means there's a good chance it won't be permenant, particularly if you give her massages as well. Even if it does stay tilted I know of many rabbits on the forum who live a full and happy life with a tilted head. They adapt very well to it. As long as the underlying infection is fully cleared up.

You may find that Baytril isn't strong enough to clear the infection, so if that doesn't work it might be worth speaking to your vet about trying a different one. The head tilt is not a sign that the infection is still present. It can take a while for the head to return to normality once the infection has gone. Mimi was on Marbocyl for 15 days, and it took another 4 weeks after that for her to regain her balance etc. it was a tough time for us both :( seeing her recover when it had at times seemed totally hopeless was worth every minute of it though :D

Oh well when I put them out in the run earlier today Buffy ran to her corner where she wees. I do put in this plastic thing that was supposed to be for rabbits from pets at home as a hiding thing but it is more a guinea pig thing. Well I turn it over and use it as a litter tray for them. But Buffy doesn't like using it and goes to the corner opposite to wee. Well the wee was normal and she did some poops too. She wasn't quite herself while in the run but I suppose having medication the last few days may be why. She does listen to us when we speak to her and although she has spent time alone in the bed area she was out in the main part of the hutch with her siblings for a while after they'd been in the run together. Harmony kept herself separate from the others when she first came back from the vets. When you mention marbocyl that is what Harmony has been given a few times for Urine infections as well as the breathing infection last week. Maybe Baytril is not as good?

Bit in bold - The head tilt hopefully will go back to normal but as you said If it doesn't and it becomes permanent there is no way I would be throwing her out. The vet seemed confident that a week is all that is needed for Buffy to get better so I am hoping it is. I think that was because I took her so quickly and she said she could be treated early.

Edit - update, I went to give the night time hay and Buffy did not seem too interested. However I know when Harmony was on her medication for the breathing infection that she was a bit off with hay. I did notice her eat a little hay when she thought I wasn't there. However the biggest shock was later on when I gave them their night feed of pellets. She came darting out of the bed area like someone would if their house was on fire. She ate the pellets with the slight head tilt still there. But after I made sure they'd all eaten the night time pellets we gave them some carrot and celery. All 4 siblings were going crazy running around waiting for the plate of veggies. We put the plate up to the hutch and opened one of the doors and Buffy got there first grabbed a carrot with her teeth and ran away with it to eat it. While running the head tilt was gone (her head was like it should be) but when she began eating the tilt came back. The thing I was surprised about was the fact she did want to eat the veggies as well as the pellets. So I am not worrying as much now because I know she is eating and drinking and definitely passing urine and poop. I just hope the vet is right and it is just an ear infection.
 
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Hiya how is Buffy today? :wave:

Try not to worry if she doesn't seem quite herself, ear infections can be very painful and make them feel unwell. Antibiotics can upset their tums on occasion so just keep an eye on her eating and poos.
 
Hiya how is Buffy today? :wave:

Try not to worry if she doesn't seem quite herself, ear infections can be very painful and make them feel unwell. Antibiotics can upset their tums on occasion so just keep an eye on her eating and poos.

Hi. Well she came running like crazy with the others again when I brought out their morning pellets and she ate them. She still has a slight head tilt when eating. When I brought the hay out and put it into the hutch she did start eating some once she'd gotten some peace from the others. I got them to the other side of the hutch to eat while she stayed where she was. She is responding to us when we talk to her, lifting her head up (and looking round if she is facing away from us).

Yeah I know some of the others have been a bit off food due to the medication but once off of it they were right in eating away. Harmony was a bit off the hay for the first few days but she did recover very quickly so was soon back to normal munching away. Buffy hasn't stopped eating pellets or veg though. She has eaten some hay but usually she is like Harmony and eats a lot of it. I am not as worried this morning knowing it is normal what she's doing. Hopefully later today when we put them outside she'll be a bit happier and run around.

Edit - Hello just thought I would say how Buffy was doing since being outside. It is hutch cleaning day today so I put them outside on the grass and Buffy was eating away at the grass and although she did go and lay down for a while in the shade she did move around and seems happy enough despite the infection and medication. I really hope she improves by Wednesday.
 
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Oh no I am not sure this is good... Buffy was fine while outside. Yes she did lay down but all 4 did eventually in the shade. She did get up later on and ran around though so not like she just layed down all droopy. She ate grass too. The thing that was odd was she didn't come running for the pellets like she did in the morning. I got her out of the hutch and brought her indoors to brush her. I syringed some water, one small syringe worth (I think the small syringe is 1ml?) and gave her some wet celery and she ate that. She became more alert while indoors with us. I think we may need a vet trip though. If she is going to refuse to eat the pellets then something else is wrong.

And it was going a bit better earlier today... why does it always happen... I was getting my hopes up.
 
I had to take Buffy to the vets this morning. She didn't come running for her pellets. Her third eye lid on her right eye was showing too. And she just wanted to sit in the bed area.

Right at the vets... Vet checked her over and said that the infection is behind the eye pushing it. He said he is going to try a different thing to baytril, some injections but they need to be every 2 days. We are going back Wednesday anyway as that was already booked from last week so he said to keep that appointment. He at first said to stop the baytril but then said that actually the combination might work together. He did say that although drastic it may be the only option left to remove the right eye. I of course was a bit shocked and upset by that. I want Buffy to get better so if the eye needs removing then I will reluctantly agree. I am just worried about how she'll cope with only one eye and being with her siblings, would that be a problem?

I am so shocked, Thursday the vet seemed confident the baytril would work as I brought her in early but from that to having her right eye removed? It is so confusing. And Buffy has always been fine, never had anything wrong with her since she was born (and her name sort of fitted with that unintentionally).

But hopefully this other medication works and it won't come to eye being removed. I am praying it works. Please work.
 
Erm I am not sure what is supposed to be happening or if this is normal?

Buffy has now been put in the run but she is slipping a little. I thought the medication the vet gave her was supposed to be helping her improve not making her worse. She won't eat. I got a dandelion leaf but she chewed a bit and stopped with it hanging in her mouth. I am very worried but the vet said that the medication should help her and to bring her back on Wednesday as planned form last week. What should I do? Can anyone help?

Edit - Ok so we were just going to rush her to the vets again as she was getting worse not better but she died in my arms before we left the house. I am so upset. Why did this happen? I took her to the vets last week? How did an ear infection turn into her dying? We were even at the vets this morning....
What about the other rabbits, could they get the same thing Buffy did? I am worried more for the others now. I don't want anything happening to them if I can prevent it.
 
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Oh no, I'm so sorry :( What an awful shock. I'm afraid I don't know much about ear infections but hopefully some more knowledgeable people will be along soon. Really sorry.
 
I am so sorry, that's awful.

I think you may have to wait until the morning until someone has an answer for you, I know a lot of the very medically knowledgeable people are normally on in the morning. Hopefully someone will be able to help you.

Sorry again xx
 
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