Charlie's Journey with tilted head

My bun Charlie is 3 years old and nearly 2 month ago he suddenly had a tilted head. It just came without any signs.

He was sitting on his house in the cage and started to 'scan' around, moving his head from left to right really fast and i thought what the hell is wrong. So i looked up 'scanning' on the internet and found already the whole 'tilted head' problem, so i booked an appointment straight away with my vet. While i called, he even fell off his house and i started to panic as it looked really violent. More drama started, and i found that it usually is an ear infection most common, or that ear infection gone deeper.

So i went in and my usual vet wasn't there, but her stand-in and i swear i got angry really quick, because she didn't do anything properly. Not telling me what is wrong with him, she looked into his ears but couldn't see anything, and i had to tell her what i need. So she gave him a steroid injection and i got anitbiotics to give hime twice daily.

First two days were the worst in our life. Charlie did not move, he couldn't eat nor drink nor anything else. I had him in my lap and arm for the whole time, i kept him surrounded by blankets and even covered his eyes, because that seemed to calm him down, because the whole situation really stressed him. I was feeding him and giving him the bottle and everything. Unfortunately he peed on me but that was can he or I do. Then he got a little better in moving, but he started to roll around instead of hopping and it was very violent, my living room looked an absolute mess, as they have wooden shaving and hay as bedding in the cage, and due to the rolling, it just went flying massivly. Also I have their two seperate cage put together without a barrier (it just happend as i bought them seperate, and a brand new one i couldn't afford at the time), and they usually use the right side as their toilet and left side as sleeping and eating place...Well he is not able to hop to the other side, so he started to do his business all over the 'living room' of their cages. It got so bad, that i had to clean him every day by washing him and using some special wiping tissues for bunnies. And i had to change the whole cage nearly on a daily basis. I started to buy puppy training pats and put them on the bottom of the cage to absorb the peeing, which did help a lot!!!
The whole time it was stressful for me and both my babies, i could see that Maggie was feeling helpless as well....

I went two more times to the same vet, i never got proper answers or any help, just more steroid injections and anitbiotic. I looked up online that a probiotic helps as well, but all i could find was a carrot drink that has probiotic in, and both of them loved that drink. Charlie had very little signs of changes and i started to really feel like giving up and i went to look up online again more infos and found stories about other tilted head bunnies who have a good and happy life. So i went to change my vet and the new one was more helpful. they gave me new meds (don't ask me what exactly, i don't remember the name or use >_<< sorry) and i was told if there is no change within the next week, it would be better to release him.
The following week didn't do much, no changes again. So i went in the week after, and i was close to crying and the vet said what i wanna do and i said i can't give up, he's my little baby, so she said she has one more final idea, some tablets i have to give him twice daily, and i swear he started to improve a lot. He moves around better, and just feels more active, even hopping around a little.

Now here comes the thing...he still is not able to move out of the cage himself, if i put him outside, he tries to find balance, usually is ok but he still rolls around and thats like a force of nature, Maggie usually is the one getting a right good kick and i hurt just listening to the rolling. He also still can't get to the other side of the cage as well...He practically still can't do a lot.

Then one of his front teeth is a little crooked, but the vet said i don't need to worry about that, it is still ok, but the last couple days he started to drool....i thought it's because he was just drinking, but now i see him always being wet on the side of his facce that is pointing down...I have a new appointment tomorrow afternoon and i will see what happens....

I forgot to say, i live in Ireland, in a small town...usually my vet is good with my bunnies, but they are usually more into treating farmers animals such as cows, sheep and horses and then cats and dogs! And with this i can clearly see i did not get the treatment i should have gotten and i also feel like I wasted precious time, which makes me feel guilty!!! I don't and can't give up on him, but i still feel like i am doing him more harm them help

(sorry for the long story, it was just something i needed to share and get off my chest, maybe it helps others, too)

Wish me and Charlie luck, maybe someone got a bit of advice for us...

Also i wanted to ask what you guys use for the housing of your bunnies, because the wooden shaving are just a mess, but then just hay would go mad flying too and i can't just have the puppy pads in the bottom as both Maggie and Charlie would shred it...

~ayami

Is he still on the antibiotics? Which antibiotics did the vet prescribe? Also is he on metacam? That is a painkiller and also an anti-inflammatory so it also helps the head tilt not just the discomfort he'll be feeling. It may also be an idea to give panacur which is a wormer and treat E. Cuniculi which can be another potential cause of head tilt.

I know how horrible it is watching them struggle to get around with head tilt what are you housing him in at the moment? Personally I would ditch the wood shavings, I never found them very absorbent, just messy, and there are now potentially some health benefits to not using them. If he's in an indoor cage you could just use towels, rolling some up and put them along the sides will help too to give him some stability and a softer edge to lean against. I use lots of sheets of newspaper and then a big segment of hay in litter trays and find this masses better than wood shavings.

The drooling may be down to some paralysis but it could also potentially be his teeth. Is he still eating plenty of hay? Head tilt bunnies often loose their appetite due to feeling sick from the dizziness. I know some head tilt bunny owners have found a drug called stemetil to be helpful in reducing the dizziness, unfortunately I didn't know about it when my bunny got head tilt so I have no experience with it myself.

Hello

It does sound as though Charlie may have some problems with his back teeth now too. He does need to be re-examined by a 'Rabbit Savvy' Vet ASAP.

Steroids should only be used in exceptional cases in Rabbits as whilst steroids are efficient anti-inflammatories (so can reduces symptoms such as head tilt) they do have significant adverse side effects to which Rabbits are very sensitive. One side effect is immuno-suppression which is not at all helpful if the Rabbit is already trying to fight a bacterial infection. Bacterial middle ear infections can cause head-tilt/rolling etc as can Encephalitozoon Cuniculi.

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Corticost/Cortico.htm


Generally it is preferable to use a non steroidal anti-inflammatory such as Meloxicam (AKA Metacam/Loxicom/Meloxydil)

Your Rabbit should definitely still be on antibiotics, is he ? Whilst recovery from a severe case of Head-tilt is possible it can take months and months of ongoing treatment.

These links may be of interest to you

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/head_tilt.htm

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...N3ISKU&sig=AHIEtbR1V0Bkgl46nxoM3IZVX7iM5Uaz_Q


Finally, what part of Ireland are you in ? We have a couple of regular RU members from Ireland, 'Luna' and 'nickybunny1' maybe you could PM them to see if they know of a Rabbit Savvy Vet near you or at least within reasonable commuting distance. A farm Vet is probably not going to have the necessary expertise to treat a Rabbit with Head-tilt.

This is a link to Luna's profile

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/search.php?searchid=4940966


and this is nickybunny1 http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/member.php?26579-nickybunny1

If you click on the links you will be able to access the PM facility to each of them

Sending lots of vibes for Charlie, I hope you manage to find a rabbit savvy vet for him :thumb:

Charlie's in very kind hands with you, and I pray for the best outcome for him.

I have used panacur and metacam for head tilt bunnies, with varying degrees of success.

Good luck and many healing vibes for you both

lots of goo advice from jane there , sending Charlie lots of get well vibes x

Thank you all for your advice and good vibes they seem to reach Charlie very quick

Jack's-Jane said:

It does sound as though Charlie may have some problems with his back teeth now too. He does need to be re-examined by a 'Rabbit Savvy' Vet ASAP.

Steroids should only be used in exceptional cases in Rabbits as whilst steroids are efficient anti-inflammatories (so can reduces symptoms such as head tilt) they do have significant adverse side effects to which Rabbits are very sensitive. One side effect is immuno-suppression which is not at all helpful if the Rabbit is already trying to fight a bacterial infection. Bacterial middle ear infections can cause head-tilt/rolling etc as can Encephalitozoon Cuniculi.

Generally it is preferable to use a non steroidal anti-inflammatory such as Meloxicam (AKA Metacam/Loxicom/Meloxydil)

Your Rabbit should definitely still be on antibiotics, is he ? Whilst recovery from a severe case of Head-tilt is possible it can take months and months of ongoing treatment.

Finally, what part of Ireland are you in ? We have a couple of regular RU members from Ireland, 'Luna' and 'nickybunny1' maybe you could PM them to see if they know of a Rabbit Savvy Vet near you or at least within reasonable commuting distance. A farm Vet is probably not going to have the necessary expertise to treat a Rabbit with Head-tilt.

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Thanks for the tips, i never even heard of a Rabbit Savvy Vet, but i will make sure to PM both Luna nd nickybunny1 as i could really need some help from other owners in ireland (i live in west of ireland)

He is still on antibiotics, yes, and i know i was told it will take a long time with the treatment, when i researched it, i saw some owners talk about something up to 6 month :shock:

And my vet said his one tooth is a little crooked, but not worrysome yet, and she said his drooling might be due to something else (urgh i really forgot what the word was she used, some gland that might be infected by the virus) but i will watch this anyway!

MightyMax said:

Charlie's in very kind hands with you, and I pray for the best outcome for him.

I have used panacur and metacam for head tilt bunnies, with varying degrees of success.

Good luck and many healing vibes for you both

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Elena said:

Is he still on the antibiotics? Which antibiotics did the vet prescribe? Also is he on metacam? That is a painkiller and also an anti-inflammatory so it also helps the head tilt not just the discomfort he'll be feeling. It may also be an idea to give panacur which is a wormer and treat E. Cuniculi which can be another potential cause of head tilt.

I know how horrible it is watching them struggle to get around with head tilt what are you housing him in at the moment? Personally I would ditch the wood shavings, I never found them very absorbent, just messy, and there are now potentially some health benefits to not using them. If he's in an indoor cage you could just use towels, rolling some up and put them along the sides will help too to give him some stability and a softer edge to lean against. I use lots of sheets of newspaper and then a big segment of hay in litter trays and find this masses better than wood shavings.

The drooling may be down to some paralysis but it could also potentially be his teeth. Is he still eating plenty of hay? Head tilt bunnies often loose their appetite due to feeling sick from the dizziness. I know some head tilt bunny owners have found a drug called stemetil to be helpful in reducing the dizziness, unfortunately I didn't know about it when my bunny got head tilt so I have no experience with it myself.

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Thank you both, yeah he is getting metacam now (and it is painful to watch, you just don't know what to do, if he's in pain or anything.......)

Charlie got at the first vet Baytril Antibiotics (twice daily at home), and an Steroid injection at the vet (which he got twice within two weeks)
Then i demanded to get more antibiotics as i didn't get anything else from my then-vet and i couldn't do anything else (i know it sounds horrible >__< )
And after 1.5 month, i decided to visit the other vet, They gave me metacam and a new steroid injection. After another week i went back in, and there was still no real sign of recovery, and my vet said she does have one last med we can try, if that still doesn't work, then....well...no need to say it i hope..

Thats when i got Pred 5, thats what's written on the sheet. It seems it's an steroid as well.
My vet is very happy with the progress, as he is finally moving around more. So we keep going with the Pred 5 and i also just looked, the other meds i got is called Eunoxil i think (handwriting, can't properly read it)
She also said we might be able to step away soon from the antibiotics, i only have to give it to him once daily, which before was twice daily for nearly 2 month.
Oh and i was told by her to look for a Vitamin D supplement. I got one for babies about 3 weeks ago, which came with a syringe packed as well, and he does take it *lol*


Charlie is a bit of a weird eater. He doesn't eat hay or grass, and he only got into eating dandelion and carrots a year ago, and yes i did have always hay provided, he just never touched it. I believe it's because he is from a petstore and that was not a professional place, when i bought him, there was literally only wooden shaving in his cage, some pellet food and a water bottle hanging...I did give him all there was on a food list i got, but her eats mostly salad (butthead lettuce his favourite) then apples, broccoli and cauliflower. Both him and Maggie have moments when they are really picky, where i do make sure i give them different food (you know, so they don't get sick of always getting just one thing every day

And dunno how to discribe the housing..
I had Charlie first, and 6 month later i got Maggie.
I was told to keep my bunnies seperate before putting them together, you know, if they get along and become mates and all....

And instead of buying one of those huge two story cages that i'd love to get, i just put both cages together, with each having one side of the cage open, so they can use the whole lot. They soon started to use the right part as their litter, and left side of the cage is resting and food place.
I should take a pic and show it, so it's more understandable >_< . It is just too prize intense for me to get a complete new cage.
Anyway, the issue now is, Charlie is not able to hop over the barrier created by the cages put together, to move to the litter part, so he is using the whole left side as litter now. First i just had no idea what to do, it was soo messy i can't even write it, it was bad. I found these pads that is usually used for puppy dogs lol, and it is better now for the mess. Just the shaving is flying around.
And i am having a feeling, Maggie's 'potty training' got thrown out the window too

Is the newspaper good for their paws? I always thought the shaving is more comfortable for them, but a total mess for me, even before Charlie got sick.
If i use newspaper, i believe Maggie would eat it up...And what kind of towels? Like normal towels we use for drying hands (sorry, i wanna find a way to make a better home)
I am only concerned if i would use newspaper, Charlie peeing and pooping around, it would be more messy where i would have to give him a bath on a daily basis :shock:

(i think i got way too many question, but have finally found a place where i get answers)

Normal towels are fine, just make sure he's not eating them! Maybe pad underneath with newspaper for extra absorbency and change the towels out often.

Definitely try and find a rabbit savvy vet, they are invaluable as vet training requires such a tiny amount on small animals.

If he doesn't eat much hay then there is a real possibility he may have spurs in his back teeth. These are impossible to see without an otoscope and even then the vet can't see the entire tooth. It's only under anaesthetic that they can all be seen. Could it be that he's not eating hay because you're providing lots of tastier alternatives? They only need a small amount of food along with the hay and carrots and fruit are high in sugar so they should only be a treat. Mine never get carrots or fruit (mean mummy). They get hay, a small handful of food twice a day between three and then whatever I can find in the garden or allotment which is bunny edible; herbs, weeds, vegetable tops.

Just had a thought, are you getting your hay from pet shops? Often pet shop hay is pretty poor quality, I've found horse baled hay a lot better and some people buy theirs online though I expect that would be expensive on the shipping to Ireland. Do you have any friends with horses? Could you nick some of theirs to try? Or ask a local stables or farmers for suppliers?

Elena said:

Normal towels are fine, just make sure he's not eating them! Maybe pad underneath with newspaper for extra absorbency and change the towels out often.

Definitely try and find a rabbit savvy vet, they are invaluable as vet training requires such a tiny amount on small animals.

If he doesn't eat much hay then there is a real possibility he may have spurs in his back teeth. These are impossible to see without an otoscope and even then the vet can't see the entire tooth. It's only under anaesthetic that they can all be seen. Could it be that he's not eating hay because you're providing lots of tastier alternatives? They only need a small amount of food along with the hay and carrots and fruit are high in sugar so they should only be a treat. Mine never get carrots or fruit (mean mummy). They get hay, a small handful of food twice a day between three and then whatever I can find in the garden or allotment which is bunny edible; herbs, weeds, vegetable tops.

Just had a thought, are you getting your hay from pet shops? Often pet shop hay is pretty poor quality, I've found horse baled hay a lot better and some people buy theirs online though I expect that would be expensive on the shipping to Ireland. Do you have any friends with horses? Could you nick some of theirs to try? Or ask a local stables or farmers for suppliers?

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I am cruising though your Indoor Housing Thread and saw soo many beautiful and amazing hutches and it gave me some ideasl. I really think i have to change their housing.

I will really do that with the Savvy Vet, thats for sure, where i can get him checked out for good!
i do have a friend with horses, she has my outdoor bunnykennel atm as i live in an appartment without garden. And as it's perfect timing, i'm going to babysit for her on saturday, so i can ask her for some hay . I do buy my hay at my fav pet shop, it's a big one and they provide a huge variety on hay and everything, even for the litter part.

No, Charlie never ate hay. I always had a variety of of greens for dinner, and he never even ate all the greens. All the other treats are not something i do every day, usually once a week apple, then another day broccoli, but never anything regularly. I just always make sure i have greens and hay provided (maybe i have to cut down on the amount anyways)
When i had him new, it was a case of 'what does he like to eat' so i got all kinds of salad types and later i started with other treats. At that time i looked up on the internet what rabbits are allowed to eat, how much or not at all.
And even then he didn't eat carrots at all, it was a waste for me to put it in.

I am going to buy a few new towels then it will be good for Maggie too, because of her fur she always has shaving on her paws hanging and then it's all over the place, i love my hoover :lol::lol:

Generally most of us use newspaper and hay in litter trays, it's a bit different in your case with Charlie having headtilt, the towels may be more comfortable for him. Maybe you could have one cage with towels and one with newspaper and hay? Just keep a good eye out that they don't ingest either towels or newspaper. It's normal from them to dig at it a bit and sometimes they shred the newspaper, but if it seems like they're actually eating it then best to remove it.

My Mischa just had newspaper, shavings and hay in a cage but his head tilt was before I found this forum unfortunately. If it happened with one of my current three then I'd do things differently. To give you a bit of hope Mischa made a full recovery and he lived for another five years (despite a vet wanting to put him to sleep :evil.

Glad your enjoying the thread! So much easier to get your head round these things when there's pictures!

No advice, just sending lots of get well vibes for little bun..

I hope things improve

Fee x

I thought i'd leave an update for Charlie....

I have a new vet appointment tomorrow, because i just don't know what to do anymore (again pretty much)

it's just he keeps eating and drinking but thats about it...his eyes are still scanning, he never really moves unless he has to, usually only sits in one spot....He is only getting those steroids and no antibiotics since 2-3 weeks, but i am just not happy with his progress....
I am afraid the vet will give me two options tomorrow....lets hope not

also due to Charlie not using his regular loo, maggie also became very bad and is just out of litter habits...i don't even know how to train her again *sighs in frustration*

good night, lets hope for the best for my baby.....

ayami said:

I thought i'd leave an update for Charlie....

I have a new vet appointment tomorrow, because i just don't know what to do anymore (again pretty much)

it's just he keeps eating and drinking but thats about it...his eyes are still scanning, he never really moves unless he has to, usually only sits in one spot....He is only getting those steroids and no antibiotics since 2-3 weeks, but i am just not happy with his progress....
I am afraid the vet will give me two options tomorrow....lets hope not

also due to Charlie not using his regular loo, maggie also became very bad and is just out of litter habits...i don't even know how to train her again *sighs in frustration*

good night, lets hope for the best for my baby.....

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Poor Bunny

I am sure you will do whatever is in the best interests of Charlie xx

I'm so sorry I'm sure you will do whatever is best for Charlie xx

ayami said:

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((((((((((((Hugs)))))))))))))))


RIP Charlie Bunny xx

I'm so so sorry
RIP little Charlie xxx

So sorry for your loss Sending (((hugs))) to you

I'm so sorry Binky free at the bridge Charlie.

Sending hugs xx

I'm so sorry.