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Persistent Rabbit Head Tilt, what do I do?

lryancr

New Kit
Hello everyone. My beloved rabbit, Mr. Peaches, has had a persistent head tilt for several months now. Back in early March, I took him to the vet with a severe head tilt in which his head was literally tilted about 80 degrees. He lost all of his balance, wasn't eating or pooping, and wasn't normal at all. The vet prescribed Baytril for his treatment. Within a week, his abnormal behavior was gone and he was almost back to normal. Within two weeks, he was 80% better, eating and running like normal, back on his balance, but his head was still slightly tilted.

I took him back to the vet for a follow up visit after this. An examination showed that he had some debris in his ear due to a middle ear infection. The doctor prescribed Orbax. I gave that to him for 20 days. His head was still tilted. I received a refill of the Orbax last week and have been giving it to him persistently, but his head remains tilted.

I've been giving Orbax to my rabbit for about a combined 30 days, and started with Baytril for the other 20. After the first treatment, I waited a week and a half to take Mr. Peaches to the vet due to work, but still after that he's been getting medicine continuously for 30 days. His head is still tilted about 15 degrees.

What I want to know is how can I alleviate this head tilt completely? I want Mr. Peaches to be happy and back to normal. Can I do anything about the debris lodged in my rabbit's ear? In a little more than a week, I will run out of medicine and will have to return to the vet. What am I supposed to do/ask then? Thanks for the help everyone!
 
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Sometimes a head tilt from a middle ear infection will be permanent, even when the actual infection has cleared. The Vet could attempt to flush out the debris under GA, this can help but sometimes it is not possible to do because the tympanic membrane has ruptured.

Has your Rabbit also received a daily non steroidal anti inflammatory, eg Metacam ? This is important as not only are ear infections painful it is inflammation that actually causes the tilting head. So reducing inflammation may reduce the severity of the tilt.

If the tilt has been present for some time then other problems can develop, including eye problems, Dental problems and problems with muscle spasms in the neck. So it is very important that your Rabbit is monitored by the Vet on a regular basis.

Even if a head tilt is a permanent condition Rabbits can cope well and they can still enjoy a good quality of life. But as I have said it is important that a Vet is always involved in the monitoring of the condition and of any secondary problems that may subsequently develop.
 
I don't think I can add much to Jane's advice but as she says, rabbits can sometimes be left with a permanent head tilt after an acute infection. As long as the bunny is eating, drinking and pooping, and looking happy in himself, he should be ok. My Marbles has a minor head tilt (about 10 degrees) after a severe infection in February/March this year. It is worse in particular positions but she's very happy and coping well.

I took her to a rabbit specialist at the time who told me that the infection itself is likely to return at some point so she needs a lot of close monitoring. I was in a similar position to you in that she was still having treatment a couple of months later and was fine in herself but still had a minor tilt. The specialist told me we just needed to take a leap of faith and stop her medication, monitoring her very closely for any signs of deterioration. Thankfully though that didn't happen and she is now doing well off of her medications.

I would wait until you have a couple of days of the medicine left and then give your vet a call to see what they suggest. I expect at some point you might just have to try stopping the medication but the vet will decide when is the right time to do that.

There are some members on here who have bunnies with quite severe head tilt who cope very well.
 
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