E Cuniculi - So Many Questions, it really sucks!!

My poor little Bruce was diagnosed as having E Cuniculi last Sunday. My wife found him in the corner of of his hutch with his head flicking back and forth and not being able to walk. The vet diagnosed him when looking at him but did no further test. We were given a 28 day course of Panacur and we he started to improve so well. We were initially syringe feeding him critical care but within a day he was eating it off a spoon and walking around carefully. He has continued to improve and can get about with a bit of a head tilt but is only earning pellets very occasionally. He eats as much veg as we give him. He doesn't seem to drink himself so we are trying to give him water by syringe. The other complicating factor is his girlfriend bun who had visitation rights so not to unbond them!! We even allowed him some time in the garden over the weekend and he was so happy.

Over the past couple of days he has gone backwards to the point where every time we pick him up to try and water and meds him his head rolls completely over and when put down starts to roll. Heart breaking!! We put him out in the garden tonight to cheer him up but he started circling and then rolled. It scared him so much!

I have so many questions:

- Is a set back expected?
- We are on day 9 of treatment, do things still improve beyond this?
- Can rabbits in his situation sleep? He doesn't ever seem to sleep at the moment!
- What do we do about the fact that he doesn't seem to drink?

The final complication is that I go away over the weekend for a week on business and my wife is also away but no bunny boarding will take him if he can't feed himself.

I'm so stressed and tired from it all and Bruce is clearly getting depressed being kept secluded all the time away from Tilly.

Any comments or guidance in general is appreciated.

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone

Only a very quick reply from me for now (sorry). Have you only been given Panacur? As I understand it, an anti inflammatory (Metacam) should be used alongside the Panacur.

Might the vets take him in while you are away? Most vets normally provide this service if the rabbit needs special treatment, I think.

Hiya, and welcome to the forum :wave: although sorry it has to be under such circumstances

I watched my beloved bunny die from EC - the full story is here if you wish to read my experience as it's quite a long story.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?397670-Dexter-lt-3

To summarise, my Dexy was given Metacam injections for two days, then Metacam drops to be syringed into his mouth daily with Panacur and an antibiotic.

Dex was on Panacur for 28 days and he responded really well to the treatment. He didn't relapse during his attack, but deteriorated three months later and that's when we were unable to save him

Please note, this doesn't mean that your bunny will suffer the same fate. I have heard of other buns on here who have an EC attack and recover and never relapse. My Dexy was the runt of his litter and had had a rough start in life as a result so perhaps that counted against him.

If your bunny can't move, you have to take the food and water to him. DO NOT let him get hungry or dehydrated as this will make him worse. As I put in my tribute thread, I believe he deteriorated so much on that Sunday was because I wasn't there on the Saturday to take care of him. Does your bun drink from a bottle or bowl? I used to hold Dexter's bottle next to him so he could drink even though he was paralysed. I put his food next to him so he didn't have to move.

Also, don't let your bun's muscles waste away through lack of use - I used to exercise Dexy's hind legs in the evening for that reason. If he soils himself, you also need to be aware of urine burns. I used to have to bath Dex on a daily basis to keep him clean and unsoiled.

Can you put him and his girlfriend near each other that they can see and "talk" to each other, but not so they infect each other? It's passed by the urine spores. Dexter was a single bunny, but my ex also had a single bunny who lived in the same room, but on the other side and he wasn't infected at all.

Also be aware that if and when your bun recovers, you should give him the Panacur preventative course every three months to try and prevent a relapse. Anything you think is not right, take him back to the vets. Doesn't matter how trivial, trust your instinct. If you think he's not right, take him. Far better to be safe than sorry. My ex told me to wait for the three months to be up to give him Panacur when I noticed him deteriorating again after two months. Like a fool, I did. It probably cost him his life and I have to live with that everyday.

That's a good point that SarahP mentioned re the vets. If they don't take him, whereabouts in the country are you? Perhaps some kind person could care for him whilst you are away? A friend or family member, or even someone on here?

If you have any other questions, PM me. I'm not a vet or an EC expert by any means, but having watched Dexy suffer like he did, I have a personal interest in EC and I read as much as I possibly can about it.

I'm so sorry to hear Bruce is poorly.

I have very recent experience of a severe EC episode.

A set back is very very common and often the rabbit can get dramatically worse before any improvement. Cleo was ok for the first 8 days, she had a head tilt and was a bit wobbly but was getting around fine. On day 9 we found her collapsed.
For the next 6 weeks or so she could not stand up at all, her head was upside down and she rolled uncontrollably.
Improvements were very slow. She slowly learnt to stand again with something to lean on, then learnt to move around with support, then stand unsupported then she finally learnt to hop again.
With severe EC you can be talking a recovery time of months rather than days or weeks.
Cleo fell ill at the end of April, and it wasn't until August that we could start thinking that this could have a happy ending. Now, she is great. She is totally normal apart from her head tilt and being a bit slower. She has the odd tumble but nothing much.

Rabbits with head tilt can sleep, and need to get some rest as being poorly and constantly rolling is so tiring. If your bun can't stop rolling you can prop him up with something like rolled up towels so he doesn't fall.

As for the drinking, if he won't take it by syringe try putting his bottle to his mouth, or a very shallow saucer. Soak his veg in water and offer pellets mashed up in plenty of water. If you are still concerned about his intake your vet can give fluids. The last thing he needs is to be dehydrated as it'll make him feel twice as bad.

While he's so poorly I'd keep him in a confined space, which is well padded so he can't hurt himself. He'll be incredibly dizzy and any wide area will make him very disorientated.

Metacam is essential for an anti inflammatory as the spores cause inflammation in the brain which causes the symptoms. My vet also used a course of strong antibiotic for 2 weeks. The vet can also try a medication to improve the dizziness such as stemetil, meclizine or metaclopramide injections. Stemetil did not agree with Cleo, it made her sedated to the point of barely being bothered to eat but I've read other buns have done great on it. We couldn't get hold of meclizine but the metaclop injections helped her.

Please keep us updated, and ask away if you have any questions.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...Cleo-s-Diary-A-battle-with-EC-UD-11th-October

This is Cleo's story.

Some brilliant advice has been given, especially regarding the metacam.

If his wifey bun has visitation rights then did the vet give you panacur for her as well? I think that it is important to treat both buns to stop infection just being passed back and forth between them. Plus if she does have it you need to treat it before any symptoms surface!

I hope he feels better soon. Don't give up, I've never personally experienced EC but have heard that relapses are common and so don't give up, he can get through this!

briefly -

yes they often get worse before getting better

yes they can get completely better (I have one at present who was uncontrollably rolling 6 weeks ago - now you would never now, I have also had ones in the past that after one awful attack never get it again)

As everyone says, water is very very imp, as is an anti-inflamatory such as metacam (meloxivet etc)

Where are you??? you should be able to find someone on here who can help while you are away

Hele said:

If his wifey bun has visitation rights then did the vet give you panacur for her as well? I think that it is important to treat both buns to stop infection just being passed back and forth between them. Plus if she does have it you need to treat it before any symptoms surface!

Click to expand...

Ah yes, that's a very good point. It might even explain the relapse.

I can't add to the advice you've been given, but just wanted to say I'm sorry you're having to deal with this.
I had it with Truffle last year - we caught her very early with the anti-inflammatory and hers was only a very mild case, but I remember how stressful and upsetting it is.
I would note that it did seem more distressing to us than to her at times.
She has also made a full recovery.

Thanks to all these replies. First steps tomorrow are to speak to a better vet and get the anti inflammatory medication as we were only given Panacur. We are treating Tilly as well with a nine day course of Panacur. She is showing no signs.

We are in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Hopefully I can find a vet who can take him whilst Tilly goes to her normal bunny boarding.

His head tilt has got really bad tonight, fingers crossed it gets better.

Bruce the Brave can hopefully fight on.


Sent from my iPhone

You'd need to treat Tilly with a 28 day course of Panacur too, not just 9 days.

If you start a separate thread to ask the question, someone might be able to recommend a good vet near you.

I'm sorry to say that things moved really fast tonight, he deteriorated significantly and started fitting constantly so we had to put Bruce to sleep. Thank you all for the advice and I'm just sorry it was too late for him. RIP Brucie.

I'm so sorry

I'm so sorry you lost him Binky free at the bridge Bruce

I'm so sorry you lost him.

Please do continue treating Tilly, just in case.

Thinking of you both x

I'm so sorry you lost him EC is such a terrible disease. Hope you're happy at the bridge, Bruce.

I'm so sorry for your loss. x

Sweet dreams Bruce.

If you feel like you can, we have a section called Rainbow Bridge for tributes. Some people find this very comforting.

Hugs. xx

I'm so sorry Binky free Bruce xx

I am so sorry to hear that you lost your rabbit. x