Very sick Rabbit! HELP!!! (freaking out)

Hello,

I am very new and would very much need your help, i absolutely freaking out!
(INFO) my rabbit is a male, and is around 9 years old, he lives in his pen on his own outside and has done since he was 1 years old.

I went out to feed him today and realised his head has a major twist on it, he can't put it straight and when he walks he falls, but i can't tell which foot(s) are causing it. One of his eyes are runny and he can't stand up. I have done a lot of research today and all that is coming up is either 'Wry Neck' or a stroke. I have only heard of a stroke and i know that is very serious.

As he is 9 years old i know that once i take him to the vets they will want to put him too sleep, as will my parents (I'm only 18 ) and i can't do that to him, he still has a massive appetite and still drinks his water, but i have noticed he isn't as grumpy. up until 2 weeks ago i wasn't able to go near him with out him having a sniff and making sure I'm not being a nuisance, but now, he just looks at what I'm doing and does nothing.

I want him to be with me as long as possible, any help on what you think it is? or what the best cause of treatment is?
Or even if your rabbit has had this, does it get worse?

Thank you
Katie

hmm. I'm not expert enough to offer advice but I hope someone will be along soon. would your parents be willing to take your bunny to the vet?

It could be an inner ear infection that can cause the head to turn to the side if it is antibiotics will help but he needs to see a vet ASAP

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I'm sorry your bunny sounds poorly. It sound like EC or head tilt to me, but I'm not an expert either. Really you need to get him to the vet, they may be able to help him but if not and he does have to be put to sleep then it's for the best for your rabbit. I know it's not what you want but he may be in pain and I'm sure as a loving mum to him you wouldn't want that.
I'm sorry but he must see a vet as soon as you can. let us know how you get on x

Yes, i will be taking him to the vets tomorrow, and i hope it is an ear infection as that sounds minor and treatable! hopefully have some news tomorrow!

it could be a number of things so you really need to get the vet to take a look at him. they won't necessarily say to have him put to sleep. it depends what it is and the treatment needed. whereabouts are you? hopefully someone can recommend a good rabbit/exotics vet. :wave:

I live in manchester, there is a good vets not too far away that i usually take him to, he always has a yearly check up and normally everything is in working order.

katiecroft said:

I live in manchester, there is a good vets not too far away that i usually take him to, he always has a yearly check up and normally everything is in working order.

Click to expand...

do you go to ashleigh vets? if so, they have their own out of hours team now. ring the normal number and it will give you the mobile number of the vet on call. you ring to explain the emergency and they can prepare for your arrival then.

I would expect the vets to give him a course of metacam, a 28 day course of panacur and a course of antibiotics. He will need to be brought inside so you can nurse him and make sure he is eating and pooing/peeing as well as keep him warm.

If he is not eating, he needs to go an emergency vet today.

Sending him lots of vibes.

i normally go to RT Jones in Urmston, i work funny shifts so i finish with at 9:40am tomorrow, so as soon as i finish i am rushing him down there! its not to far away and hopefully the drive won't stress him out:-(

Nine isn't that old for a rabbit these days: I know that not too long ago people were lucky to have their rabbit reach four but fortunately we now know much more about diet - the importance of hay and the decrease in pellet feeding. It is no longer acceptable for them to be stuck in a hutch at the bottom of the garden, treated as second class pets of very little importance, so with this improvement in care they are living much longer. Good luck at the vet.

katiecroft said:

i normally go to RT Jones in Urmston, i work funny shifts so i finish with at 9:40am tomorrow, so as soon as i finish i am rushing him down there! its not to far away and hopefully the drive won't stress him out:-(

Click to expand...

i would switch to a rabbit/exotics vet to get the best treatment for him. especially with something like this. ashleigh vets are about 10-15mins from your vet and are the best in manchester. very experienced in rabbits especially. 40% of the exotics they see are rabbits. if you do decide to go, then aidan is fantastic. they have two other exotics vets aswell but aidan is highly recommended. good luck for your rabbit x

Sending vibes for your bunny at the Vets tomorrow. 9 is a good age but it doesn't mean it has to be the end for him, so hopefully it is just something minor that he will recover from.

He's having a hop around the house at the moment, he is very unsteady on his feet but its not stopping him, i have just pulled out a very large piece of wax out of his ear, it is around 2-3 1/2cm long, could this be a sign of an ear infection? as someone mentioned before? :-(

Hello, I hope your bunny is doing ok?
I just wanted to say I highly recommend you use the vet that has been recommended on here, getting your little one to an experienced rabbit vet is likely to have a massive impact on the outcome for your bun, best of luck xx

I will look into Ashleigh Vets, i want the best for my bun! Ive popped him back into his pen for now as he ended up stood at the door wanting to go out. (He knows the way around the house and is allowed to hop in and out whenever he likes) I'm going to monitor his food intake carefully today an see how much he eats, if he isn't eating too well I'm going to get some baby food for him tomorrow (i did this with a previous rabbit advised by the vet as she had a mouth abscess)

Hopefully this will be something minor but from the symptoms he's got compared to what I've been reading about, it sounds like something to do with the inner ear, and it sounds like it can be very hard to treat sometimes.

Thank you for all the advice and well wishes, i will will keep you posted.

I hope the vet can help. Sending lots of vibes xx

I agree with Vegan Bunny - I would expect a course of antibiotics (eg baytril - in case of ear infection), 28 day panacur (in case of EC parasite) and anti-inflammatory / pain relief (eg metacam) for as long as needed - depending on what the vet finds.

If he is eating normally, weeing / pooing normally and moving around Ok (even if unsteady or rolling due to poor balance), then the medications should show some improvement in a week, but you will probably be looking at much longer for a full recovery - depending on what the possible problem is. Even surgery in a 9 year old rabbit should be OK. Just keep up with the nursing, monitoring input / output, and medication. If he becomes less mobile, he may need access to a heat pad as well.

Please post an update.

Update!

hi guys,

I took my rabbit to the vets yesterday and he (the vet) explained to me that its something called Torticollis, he's put him on a 5 day worming treatment but he said that if i don't start to see improvements in the next few days he advises it would be best to put him to sleep. Its breaking my heart as all i want is my grumpy old man back, but i don't want to keep him alive if this is causing a lot of pain or discomfort.

As of his age the vet also said the chances of him recovering are slim so be prepared for the worse, just incase.

Thank you,
Katie

I hope the meds work and he makes a full recovery soon.