Bun being treated for headtilt gone off hay entirely.

aatkin · Jun 22, 2015

Hi there,

My little bunny Emerson is being treated for headtilt. (Treatment started Saturday, now on panacur as a precaution, and baytril for suspected infection - and from yesterday he's had some zantac too). Since he started showing signs of being unwell he has been entirely off his hay. He normally eats like 95% hay and 5% pellets, and any greens are usually a treat.

I know it was important for him to keep eating so I've been giving him greens (strawberry leaves, clover, lettuce, carrot tops, etc) and his appetite seems keen, although he does get full or maybe uninterested quickly - so I'm providing options little and often. I can't just leave a bowl in the room as his darling bonded bunny Peabody will just eat them all, which is frustrating.

He definitely isn't having anything close normal poops and not nearly enough of the tiny ones he is producing, but he does still seem hungry so I can't imagine he's impacted. Earlier today he even stripped some wallpaper to nibble and that's the most active he's been in days! He's drinking from the water dish without needing any encouragement either.

I've tried mixing greens into the hay, both fresh and dried to get him rooting around, but he picks out everything that's not hay.

Has anyone else had experience of bun becoming picky while unwell? Is there anything I can do to encourage him to eat higher fibre foods? I'm wondering if maybe he's finding the hay difficult to eat or if the smell isn't as strong for him at the moment. I'd welcome any thoughts!

He's going back to the vets on Friday for a follow-up. They did check his teeth on Saturday and said they were fine, but maybe I should ask them to check again?

Thanks!

MightyMax · Jun 22, 2015

aatkin said:
Hi there,

My little bunny Emerson is being treated for headtilt. (Treatment started Saturday, now on panacur as a precaution, and baytril for suspected infection - and from yesterday he's had some zantac too). Since he started showing signs of being unwell he has been entirely off his hay. He normally eats like 95% hay and 5% pellets, and any greens are usually a treat.

I know it was important for him to keep eating so I've been giving him greens (strawberry leaves, clover, lettuce, carrot tops, etc) and his appetite seems keen, although he does get full or maybe uninterested quickly - so I'm providing options little and often. I can't just leave a bowl in the room as his darling bonded bunny Peabody will just eat them all, which is frustrating.

He definitely isn't having anything close normal poops and not nearly enough of the tiny ones he is producing, but he does still seem hungry so I can't imagine he's impacted. Earlier today he even stripped some wallpaper to nibble and that's the most active he's been in days! He's drinking from the water dish without needing any encouragement either.

I've tried mixing greens into the hay, both fresh and dried to get him rooting around, but he picks out everything that's not hay.

Has anyone else had experience of bun becoming picky while unwell? Is there anything I can do to encourage him to eat higher fibre foods? I'm wondering if maybe he's finding the hay difficult to eat or if the smell isn't as strong for him at the moment. I'd welcome any thoughts!

He's going back to the vets on Friday for a follow-up. They did check his teeth on Saturday and said they were fine, but maybe I should ask them to check again?

Thanks!

If he's on all the meds for headtilt, then I suspect it's making him go off his food a little. Have you mentioned it to your vet? Most vets are unconcerned unless they begin to stop eating.

You could try grass instead of hay - it's the same thing really. Also, buns often love fresh herbs - coriander and dill. Parsley and mint are high in calcium but they are often tasty in small amounts. I give rose leaves too.

It's very difficult to see all the teeth unless your vet is very skilled with conscious dentals, but a problem with spurs or mouth ulcers should be obvious on the whole, so for now I would keep going.

You could try a different hay, or indeed readigrass, which most rabbits find irresistible

aatkin · Jun 22, 2015

Thanks! I did mention it to the vet and they said for now just give him whatever he wants to eat in terms of greens, as it's obviously better than nothing. I'll try some grass!

I'm not sure if anyone can advise on what he's being treated with medication-wise:

- On Saturday and Sunday he had antibiotic and anti-inflammatory injections, plus zantac on Sunday, at the vet
- I started him on panacur from Saturday at home and been told to continue for 28 days (vet 1) and 9 days (vet 2) (saw a different vet each day), both said it's really unlikely to be EC as the cause, so it's precaution
- He's on baytril twice a day (0.5ml) until the prescription runs out, but it doesn't look like there's very much in the bottle to me so I'm a bit concerned - hopefully there enough until Friday at least when we go back and I can ask about it, if not I'll ring
- I asked for the zantac and I plan on giving it to him twice a day (0.25ml each time) as he's responded well to it in the past when he had stasis

He's turned up his nose at any recovery food! But he does seem to be responding and is a lot perkier than before, even if he's obviously a bit dizzy so is sitting still a lot.

MightyMax · Jun 22, 2015

aatkin said:
Thanks! I did mention it to the vet and they said for now just give him whatever he wants to eat in terms of greens, as it's obviously better than nothing. I'll try some grass!

I'm not sure if anyone can advise on what he's being treated with medication-wise:

- On Saturday and Sunday he had antibiotic and anti-inflammatory injections, plus zantac on Sunday, at the vet
- I started him on panacur from Saturday at home and been told to continue for 28 days (vet 1) and 9 days (vet 2) (saw a different vet each day), both said it's really unlikely to be EC as the cause, so it's precaution
- He's on baytril twice a day (0.5ml) until the prescription runs out, but it doesn't look like there's very much in the bottle to me so I'm a bit concerned - hopefully there enough until Friday at least when we go back and I can ask about it, if not I'll ring
- I asked for the zantac and I plan on giving it to him twice a day (0.25ml each time) as he's responded well to it in the past when he had stasis

He's turned up his nose at any recovery food! But he does seem to be responding and is a lot perkier than before, even if he's obviously a bit dizzy so is sitting still a lot.

I had the Panacur discussion with a specialist recently, and she said they *never* recommend the 9 day Panacur, although she knows lots of vets who do! The longer course is the only one that will deal with the E.C.

Baytril - speak to your vet - depending on the cause of the head tilt you may need more, or a change/addition of antibiotics.

Zantac is good :thumb:

Lots of buns turn their noses up at recovery food, including my own! Instead of mixing it with water, I mix it with thinned pureed fruit, e.g. pears. That makes it far more delicious

Is he on Metacam? Important to combat inflammation, which can be caused by E.C. or ear infection ...

aatkin · Jun 24, 2015

MightyMax said:
Lots of buns turn their noses up at recovery food, including my own! Instead of mixing it with water, I mix it with thinned pureed fruit, e.g. pears. That makes it far more delicious

Is he on Metacam? Important to combat inflammation, which can be caused by E.C. or ear infection ...

He's not on metacam, but I'll ask about it on Friday when we're back at the vets.

Good call on mixing the recovery food. I might try that, as he's getting increasingly picky. I may have to separate him from his bunny-buddy to make feeding times easier, as as soon as the other one hears/smells something tasty she's all over it.

I know things like carrots aren't good for him, but if he wants to eat them - and not other things (he'll eat some greens, but still no hay), is it advisable just to give him whatever he wants, provided it means he's still eating?

I don't want to make things worse!

MightyMax · Jun 24, 2015

aatkin said:
He's not on metacam, but I'll ask about it on Friday when we're back at the vets.

Good call on mixing the recovery food. I might try that, as he's getting increasingly picky. I may have to separate him from his bunny-buddy to make feeding times easier, as as soon as the other one hears/smells something tasty she's all over it.

I know things like carrots aren't good for him, but if he wants to eat them - and not other things (he'll eat some greens, but still no hay), is it advisable just to give him whatever he wants, provided it means he's still eating?

I don't want to make things worse!

I would make sure he eats as the priority. I have a serious situation with one of my buns at the moment and all will certainly be lost if mine doesn't eat, so he is getting a wide choice of stuff he wants, with some good stuff thrown in that he can leave if he doesn't!

But yes, recovery food however you can get it into him should supply important nutrients.

aatkin · Jun 25, 2015

MightyMax said:
But yes, recovery food however you can get it into him should supply important nutrients.

You're a star!

I mixed the recovery food with banana and then used a big fat syringe to offer it to him when I'd already got him burritoed for his baytril and panacur. He was more than happy to take quite a bit of it before getting squirmy. I didn't actually syringe it into his mouth, just squeezed it out in front of his mouth for him to lick up. I think maybe later today I'll try it in a dish since he seemed keen on the taste!

MightyMax · Jun 25, 2015

aatkin said:
You're a star!

I mixed the recovery food with banana and then used a big fat syringe to offer it to him when I'd already got him burritoed for his baytril and panacur. He was more than happy to take quite a bit of it before getting squirmy. I didn't actually syringe it into his mouth, just squeezed it out in front of his mouth for him to lick up. I think maybe later today I'll try it in a dish since he seemed keen on the taste!

Aww thanks :thumb:

Glad it worked! When he gets tired of banana you can change to apple or pear. You need a decent blender to get a watery blend of those though! Good luck ongoing :thumb:

aatkin · Jun 26, 2015

I went and bought some puréed fruit from the baby food section and yesterday he has quite a bit of that with recovery food mixed in.

He seems much better and his head is far less tilted, so the medicines must be doing their thing!

This morning he's really into hay, without any enticing required, so I'm letting him eat his fill before subjecting him to the syringe of antibiotics, etc. He's tougher to convince into the bunny burrito, even taken to going inter the bed, so he's obviously well enough to be stubborn again.

We're off for a checkup this afternoon, but I expect it'll be good news, since his recovery is going well!

Thanks for your help.

Bun being treated for headtilt gone off hay entirely.

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