drooling, tilted head.. poorly bunny

hi i'm after some help in diagnosing whats up my stanley, our 4 year old giant continental. he was eaten fine 2 days ago, let him out into the garden (house rabbit) and noticed his bed was dripping wet, assumed it was wee but when i went to bring him in i noticed he was dripping from his mouth. so kept a close eye on him and realised he's not eaten any of his pellets and only a small nibble of hay. so we then booked a vet's appointment for today (3:20pm) the only thing he would eat was rice crispies he was drinking as normal.
woke up this morning to find very small amounts of poo and even then they were lemon shaped, his litter tray is normally full off 1 night. then around 12:30 i noticed he was tilting his head to the left slightly at which point we rushed him to the vets where they looked in his mouth and decided there was nothing wrong with his teeth, he was then giving pain killers and 2 other injections (sorry but i cant remember what they were due to worrying so much) and told to feed him on anything he will eat. he's since had grapes, a few bites of a small carrot and some cereal but nothing compared to what he would of eaten last week. his head seems to be tilting more and he's soaking on his chest and feet due to drooling... we know its bad as he's just turned down a rich tea biscuit
He's due back at the vet on monday but would really like to get him looked at asap. has anyone else had this happen to there rabbit???


thanks in advance

Am sure someone will be along shortly with more detailed information/ideas, but I think this could be EC, particularly because of the head tilt.

Poor bunny does not sound at all well

Actually, I am surprised the vet did not prescribe him Panacur (for EC), just as a precaution.

just googled ec and that doesn't sound good at all thanks for the reply

Hiya, Head Tilt can be caused by a number of reasons. I have had a head tilt bunny in the past, my wee Kermit.

Kermit had EC. I am no vet, but I would think that the fact that your bun has been drooling would suggest a tooth issue, sometimes a tooth issue can't be seen until under GA for a thorough check.

Do you have any critical care food to try to feed him with? Sometimes some soft food is good if it is a tooth issue. You can also try soaking his normal pellets to a mush and try feeding him those. Try grating the carrot so it is easy to eat.

If it is EC that he has then yes, it is a serious thing, but Rabbits can recover from it. It can be a tough illness to fight through to be honest but bunnies are tough wee cookies.

I would take bun back to the vets in the morning if he is no better and if he is not eating any better.

I am sorry to hear your bun is feeling so unwell.

I would say the most important thing is to find a rabbit savvy vet. You need to ascertain what is causing the problem. If it is his teeth, that would explain the dribbling but then again this happens with EC too. When you go back to the vet ask about getting his teeth looked at again but also his ears fully checked for any ear infection causing the head tilt (though saying that the infection can't always be seen) so antibiotics might be needed for that. I would also ask for metacam as pain relief as this will help if it is an infection and also if it is EC it will help with the pain and the neurological swelling caused by the parasite. This is really important to minimise any long term damage. Metacam was dosed correctly won't hurt your bun anyway and it sounds like the bun is in pain so this is a must. Also if it is EC a 28 day dose of panacur is needed. If it isn't EC, the panacur won't hurt the bun, it's just like a wormer, but if it is EC it could really help to save the bun's life.

EC is horrible but can be overcome with patience, good vet care and TLC. I can't stress enough though the need for a rabbit savvy vet.

Good luck, keep us posted :wave:

thanks very much for the replies.
unfortunately today stan was put under anaesthetic to check his teeth properly and never came back around.
very sad times but atleast we know he is not suffering.
thanks again

Sorry to hear about Stan, Binky Free precious...

Hugs for you too, its horrible....

Fee xxx

angelica p said:

thanks very much for the replies.
unfortunately today stan was put under anaesthetic to check his teeth properly and never came back around.
very sad times but atleast we know he is not suffering.
thanks again

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I am very sorry you lost him. I would complain to the vets. A bunny that was as poorly as Stan should have NEVER been put under a GA unless it was the last resort.

Aw, that's awful. Why was the bun given anesthetic as he was so unwell?

I am so sorry you lost Stan. RIP little man xx

I am very sorry for your loss

I'm very sorry

Sleep tight Stan xx

I'm so sorry

Rest easy Stan xxx

Oh no that's awful, so sorry for your loss.xx

I am so sorry xx

I'm so sorry for your loss Binky free Stan xx

I know exactly how you must be feeling, I'm so sorry for your loss. Rest in fluffy peace lovely bunny. xxxxxx

I'm so sorry Binky free Stanley xx

I'm so sorry