Hind leg paralysis - E cuniculi

Hi everyone

This is my first post in this forum and I'm hoping for some advice.

Before we rescued him as a baby, our rabbit suffered from e cuniculi quite seriously (resulting in the loss of an eye). He is now almost six, and the e cuniculi has returned. When symptoms first appeared, they were vague and not clearly a result of e culiculi (lack of appetite, lethargy, resting head on the floor etc) but we put him on a course of Panacur just in case. The panacur appeared to have an almost miraculous effect - he was fighting fit within little over a day. We finished the course and thought our worries were over in that respect.

However, on the final day of the course of panacur, he developed a slight head tilt and mild hind leg paralysis. We weren't too concerned at first - we took him to the vets, who said it seemed like e cuniculi, and suggested another course of Panacur. To cut a long story short, we started this course of panacur; however, six days into this course, his symptoms have become significantly worse. Although his head tilt has got no worse (possibly improved slightly), his hind legs have become extremely unbalanced and he struggles to move around without his hind legs falling to the side. I must stress that, at least until now, he has shown little sign of distress - he has a healthy appetite, he is running around (as much as his legs will allow) and he is washing, enjoying being stroked, etc. However, we are very concerned about the fact that he doesn't seem to be responding to Panacur at all. A couple of days ago we started him on anti-inflammatories as well, although this doesn't seem to have worked either (perhaps not had enough time yet).

We are extremely concerned about him - especially as the vet hinted at the possibility of having him put to sleep if his symptoms get worse. Of course we wouldn't want him to suffer unnecessarily, but at the same time we are desperate for him to get better if at all possible. He is part of the family and we're really upset about this situation.

What I'm wondering is: has anyone had any similar experiences with their rabbits? Can panacur take a significant amount of time to work? Is it possible for rabbits to recover from hind leg paralysis? Does anyone have any experience of their rabbit living a healthy and happy life in spite of hind leg paralysis?

He is still able to walk - it is mainly turning corners, jumping etc that he struggles with (although this continues to get worse as the days go by).

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Helen

It can vary between rabbits. Sometimes pancur will resolve all the symptoms but sometimes killing the parasite doesn't mean there isn't any damage left. Sometimes improvement is gradual over several weeks or even months.

How long a course of pancur did you do?

Also, it's important to clean really thoroughly at the end of the course as the spores shed in the urine can remain dormant and reinfect that way.

The other thing is you vet might want to investigate other possibilities. Although he's obviously got a history of EC issues, that doesn't mean he couldn't have an ear infection, for example, which can also cause headtilt as well.

Hi Tamsin

Thanks very much for your helpful advice. It is reassuring to hear that it can take several weeks/months to see an improvement in symptoms.

The vet initially told us to do a course of 9 days, which we did, although symptoms then returned; after investigating, we realised that 28 days is recommended for treatment (the vet we use can often seem a little clueless with regards to rabbits - we're currently looking for a different one with more specialist rabbit knowledge). So we then did a course of 28 days. We are now 6 days into another course of 28 days, and we have been using anti-inflammatories for two days. We're slightly concerned about using too much panacur as he also has a fibrotic liver - but the vet seemed to think it was better to treat the E Cuniculi regardless.

I did ask about the possibility of an ear infection, but the vet dismissed it mainly because of the hind leg paralysis, and the fact that the head tilt is very mild. However, this is also something we might ask a new vet once we find one.

Thanks for the advice about the cage. We disinfected the cage a couple of days ago and we're planning on doing it again during the treatment and again at the end. We just really hope he starts to get better soon.

We've also heard on forums etc that some people treat their rabbits for 6 weeks rather than 28 days - do you know what the recommended length of treatment is? Many thanks.

HSeymour said:

Hi Tamsin

Thanks very much for your helpful advice. It is reassuring to hear that it can take several weeks/months to see an improvement in symptoms.

The vet initially told us to do a course of 9 days, which we did, although symptoms then returned; after investigating, we realised that 28 days is recommended for treatment (the vet we use can often seem a little clueless with regards to rabbits - we're currently looking for a different one with more specialist rabbit knowledge). So we then did a course of 28 days. We are now 6 days into another course of 28 days, and we have been using anti-inflammatories for two days. We're slightly concerned about using too much panacur as he also has a fibrotic liver - but the vet seemed to think it was better to treat the E Cuniculi regardless.

I did ask about the possibility of an ear infection, but the vet dismissed it mainly because of the hind leg paralysis, and the fact that the head tilt is very mild. However, this is also something we might ask a new vet once we find one.

Thanks for the advice about the cage. We disinfected the cage a couple of days ago and we're planning on doing it again during the treatment and again at the end. We just really hope he starts to get better soon.



We've also heard on forums etc that some people treat their rabbits for 6 weeks rather than 28 days - do you know what the recommended length of treatment is? Many thanks.

Click to expand...

Some Vets say 28 days, some 6 weeks. It should be noted that Panacur does not 'cure' EC, it can only reduce the number of EC spores circulating within the bloodstream. Once clinical symptoms of EC present the actual parasite has already been excreted via the urine. Clinical symptoms are the result of the inflammatory response of the cells in various body organs/CNS to erupting EC spores. This is why a non steroidal anti-inflammatory should be given alongside Panacur. Minimising the inflammatory response to erupting EC spores will, in turn, reduce the severity of longterm cellular damage.

Whilst it is possible for some improvement in symptoms, unfortunately cellular damage already done is likely to be permanent. So the affected Rabbit may always have hind leg weakness/head tilt etc.

Have you noticed that your Rabbit is drinking more than usual ?

This is an informative article about EC

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

Hi

Thanks v much for your reply. He has actually been drinking significantly more than usual for around 6-8 months now - but various tests were done (which is how we found out about the fibrotic liver) and the vet concluded it was nothing to worry about. Do you mind me asking why you asked about the water? Many thanks.

HSeymour said:

Hi

Thanks v much for your reply. He has actually been drinking significantly more than usual for around 6-8 months now - but various tests were done (which is how we found out about the fibrotic liver) and the vet concluded it was nothing to worry about. Do you mind me asking why you asked about the water? Many thanks.

Click to expand...

Because EC can effect the Kidneys too.

ah OK, thanks v much for your help.

If you contact the rabbit welfare association they can recommend local vets that are good with rabbits, email hq@rabbitwelfare.co.uk or call the helpline 0844 324 6090.

I fought with EC for the whole 4 months I had Dexter. I'm almost certain if I knew then what I do now I could have saved him thanks to this forum.

Is he on metacam? It's a painkiller & very good! Panacur will help too. Keep his cage as clean as possible & all his food & water within easy reach. Keep his legs moving in case of muscle wastage & avoid urine burns if he soils himself.

It is possible for bunnies to live happy healthy lives with a disability - if you're on fb, check out the page for Dolly - a little disabled rabbit. She doesn't have EC, but she is paralysed in her hind legs but lives a perfectly happy life.

The most important thing is get your rabbit to rabbit savvy vet ASAP!!!! My old vet contracts their emergency care out and the emergency vet I saw said they couldn't help Dexy & I had him pts. Now I know what I do now, you can't imagine the guilt I feel thaT I gave up in him far too easily. I have a new car who are rabbit savvy & I can't recommend them enough & they do their own emergency care too :thumb:

Good luck!


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Regarding the amount of panacur you are giving .. I note your bun has existing liver problems, but twice the recommended dose can be given for 6 weeks if indicated by severity of symptoms. Consult a good rabbit vet about this in respect of your own bunny ..

You mention that symptoms worsened after starting a course of panacur. I have noticed this also, and some extremely severe symptoms to appear into the course of panacur. I can only say from my own experience, give metacam (on veterinary advice) and also some TIME, if this seems appropriate. If I had acted when the symptoms got significantly worse (and new symptoms appeared also) then my lovely healthy bunny wouldn't be with me today

My head tilt bunny was on daily panacur (28 days), metacam (for about 3 months) and baytril (antibiotic - about 4 or 6 weeks, I think). She improved after a week or 2 and then got significantly worse to the point where I thought I was going to lose her. She was hand fed, watered and cleaned daily for a few weeks until she could move her head / legs enough to find food and water for herself. She was kept inside in a smaller cage to restrict the rolling / hurting herself and had a heat pad (over winter). She still needed her bum cleaning most days for several more weeks, but there was slow and steady improvement. She is now back outside, has no head tilt (was doubled round to her back) and has full mobility in her back legs, although is still rather thin and doesn't jump up on to her shelf. This has taken 5 months.

There is hope. There may be ups and downs. As long as you and your bunny are coping, keep going.

Hi all

I've just been reading through all these posts and it's given me such relief to hear that there's no need to give up hope yet.

If only all bunny owners had access to forums such as these and vets weren't so quick to suggest putting animals to sleep! It's so sad, especially if there is a way out

We've noticed a slight improvement in him today and yesterday. He is still very happy and affectionate, and as long as that's the case we're going to plough on and do whatever it takes to get him better.

Thanks so much for your lovely and helpful replies - it's so nice to see so many people caring so much about their buns

Hi all

I just wanted to say thank you so much for your advice - we told the vet what we'd read here (who was utterly clueless) and as a result we have been giving our rabbit (Elvis) metacam and panacur. He has been doing SO much better - he's pretty much back to his old self! Considering the vet has been talking about putting him down, this is an amazing development and we're so happy to have him back.

So thank you so so much

we had good recovery from Ec hind leg and head tilt

Our two bunnies got Ec--both got hindleg weakness. I readabout the importance of metacam from people on this website and asked the vet. with metacam they both made a good recovery-- about 5 weeks and no trace remained. Later one morning Rose had a cute enquiring look which developed into the beginnings of head tilt and I gave panacur and metacam instantly. Amazingly it did not progress and she regained the normal head orientation. Hope you are equally lucky. There are lots of success stories on RU posts.

I do think the metacam is really important-- maybe you can ask your vet to continue the anti inflammatories? Shebunkin