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Rabbits back legs not working, possible EC? Has anyone elsa had any experience of it?

woollybean

New Kit
Hi, my 7 month old doe had her first vaccinations 2 weeks ago. About 4 days after that she started pulling her fur out and making a nest which I didn't really worry about but then she started 'grunting' when I went to pick her up. Next day I noticed some weakness in her hind legs so took her to the vets. The vet has given her Metacam and some wormer thinking that it could be E Cuniculi and we have been giving her that for 5 days now but there has been no improvement and in fact she has got worse. I am having to bathe her rear end every day as she is getting covered in urine, poor girl.
Has anyone else had EC in their rabbit and what was the outcome? I have heard the acupuncture can be quite beneficial for EC rabbits?
I think one of the things I am worrying about is, what if it isn't EC and there is something else wrong. Trying to get her booked in for a CT scan at the moment.
Any thoughts on this would be really appreciated, thanks x
 
Hi, my 7 month old doe had her first vaccinations 2 weeks ago. About 4 days after that she started pulling her fur out and making a nest which I didn't really worry about but then she started 'grunting' when I went to pick her up. Next day I noticed some weakness in her hind legs so took her to the vets. The vet has given her Metacam and some wormer thinking that it could be E Cuniculi and we have been giving her that for 5 days now but there has been no improvement and in fact she has got worse. I am having to bathe her rear end every day as she is getting covered in urine, poor girl.
Has anyone else had EC in their rabbit and what was the outcome? I have heard the acupuncture can be quite beneficial for EC rabbits?
I think one of the things I am worrying about is, what if it isn't EC and there is something else wrong. Trying to get her booked in for a CT scan at the moment.
Any thoughts on this would be really appreciated, thanks x

If it is EC then it is not unusual for symptoms to worsen initially. I assume that the Vet ruled out a spinal injury ?

What is the purpose of the CT scan, did the Vet explain his/her reasons for suggesting it ?

There is some information about EC here

http://www.gwexotics.com/wccms-resources/a/5/0/e/77554b90-a660-11e0-a685-0050568626ea.pdf

and about hind leg paresis/paralysis here

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Differentials/paresis.htm
 
Hi, my 7 month old doe had her first vaccinations 2 weeks ago. About 4 days after that she started pulling her fur out and making a nest which I didn't really worry about but then she started 'grunting' when I went to pick her up. Next day I noticed some weakness in her hind legs so took her to the vets. The vet has given her Metacam and some wormer thinking that it could be E Cuniculi and we have been giving her that for 5 days now but there has been no improvement and in fact she has got worse. I am having to bathe her rear end every day as she is getting covered in urine, poor girl.
Has anyone else had EC in their rabbit and what was the outcome? I have heard the acupuncture can be quite beneficial for EC rabbits?
I think one of the things I am worrying about is, what if it isn't EC and there is something else wrong. Trying to get her booked in for a CT scan at the moment.
Any thoughts on this would be really appreciated, thanks x

Hello and welcome to RU :wave:

I'm sorry to hear about your rabbit.

Vaccinations are inevitably a challenge to the rabbit's immune system, so it's no surprise in some cases that this is the time when issues that they have coped with successfully so far, come to the fore and become troublesome. This seems to have happened in your case.

Lots of rabbits - the majority in fact - have E.C. and show no symptoms throughout their lives. Has your vet given you a 28 day course of Panacur?

There is some very useful info on E.C. by the Rabbit Welfare Association:

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/Ecuniculi_Lft.pdf

Did your vet suggest a CT scan because they are unsure of what is exactly wrong with her?
 
Thank you for your replies, it really is appreciated and very useful too, For example didn't know that it was common for a rabbit to get worse before it got better with EC.

The vet hasn't given panacur but another wormer for 28 days and it was myself that suggested the scan just in case it's not EC and its a spinal injury.

Thank you for the links, I will grab a cup of tea in a moment and pore over them.
 
Thank you for your replies, it really is appreciated and very useful too, For example didn't know that it was common for a rabbit to get worse before it got better with EC.

The vet hasn't given panacur but another wormer for 28 days and it was myself that suggested the scan just in case it's not EC and its a spinal injury.

Thank you for the links, I will grab a cup of tea in a moment and pore over them.

Lapizole ?

If so it's the same active ingredient as Panacur-ie Fenbendazole
 
Hi, my 7 month old doe had her first vaccinations 2 weeks ago. About 4 days after that she started pulling her fur out and making a nest which I didn't really worry about but then she started 'grunting' when I went to pick her up. Next day I noticed some weakness in her hind legs so took her to the vets. The vet has given her Metacam and some wormer thinking that it could be E Cuniculi and we have been giving her that for 5 days now but there has been no improvement and in fact she has got worse. I am having to bathe her rear end every day as she is getting covered in urine, poor girl.
Has anyone else had EC in their rabbit and what was the outcome? I have heard the acupuncture can be quite beneficial for EC rabbits?
I think one of the things I am worrying about is, what if it isn't EC and there is something else wrong. Trying to get her booked in for a CT scan at the moment.
Any thoughts on this would be really appreciated, thanks x

I'm sorry to hear about your rabbit. I had one rabbit with very active EC, brought on by the stress of losing her bonded sister. Her initial sympton was nystagmus followed by severe head tilt. She got worse over a few days then seemed to make no improvement for ages - it was 3-4 weeks before she was on her feet again. She retained a certain (adorable) wonkiness but got increasingly better, ran in larger circles. Her hind legs were weakened but it didn't stop her running round like a nutter. She was a really happy rabbit and got over 2 years more after the onset of her EC. She was put to sleep at 8yrs.

My experience of Noodle didn't put me off adopting Mouse (who was a hard to rehome rabbit with EC, recent head tilt & therefore probably uninsurable). Other than the standard meds its lots of tlc that can really help. Its a tough one for us to deal with emotionally. Acupuncture sounds good :)

I hope she recovers well
 
It's great to hear from someone that has had a rabbit that has survived EC, puts my mind at ease a bit, thank you.

Yes it is Lapizole that she is on so I'm glad to hear that it's the same as Panacur that everyone seems to recommend.

Yes it is really tough to deal with emotionally, I have to give her a bum wash each day to wash off the urine so I hope she isn't stressed by this. Will she be in pain if it is EC she has? I completely forgot to ask the vet this.
 
It's great to hear from someone that has had a rabbit that has survived EC, puts my mind at ease a bit, thank you.

Yes it is Lapizole that she is on so I'm glad to hear that it's the same as Panacur that everyone seems to recommend.

Yes it is really tough to deal with emotionally, I have to give her a bum wash each day to wash off the urine so I hope she isn't stressed by this. Will she be in pain if it is EC she has? I completely forgot to ask the vet this.

No, she is unlikely to be in pain if it is EC. But as you have mentioned that the Vet has also prescribed Metacam that will not only provide anti-inflammatory cover but also analgesic cover
 
It's great to hear from someone that has had a rabbit that has survived EC, puts my mind at ease a bit, thank you.

Yes it is Lapizole that she is on so I'm glad to hear that it's the same as Panacur that everyone seems to recommend.

Yes it is really tough to deal with emotionally, I have to give her a bum wash each day to wash off the urine so I hope she isn't stressed by this. Will she be in pain if it is EC she has? I completely forgot to ask the vet this.

Yes Lapizole is indeed Panacur :D

It's unlikely she will be in pain if the diagnosis is E.C., but as you have Metacam, there will be analgesic and anti-inflammatory cover there, so don't worry about her being in pain.

Try and relax and deal with her with a bit of detachment - your stress will only transfer itself to her and you don't want that!

At the present time, and without any other info, you are doing the very best you can!
 
The advice to treat her with detachment is a very good idea, thank you! You're right, I will be transferring my stress on to her and I definitely don't want to do that. X
 
Hi - both my Netherland Dwarves have had EC. Truffle had it a few years ago - started with nystagmus and a head tilt just in an instant - she was fine one minute and wonky the next! She was treated with Panacur and came almost completely straight again in about 3 weeks - the nystagmus stopped in a few days, but her wonkiness was at least a week before it started to improve.

Around July this year Fudge's back legs became weak. She couldn't eat her caecotrophs properly, and couldn't jump up on things. We didn't work out for a really long time that itw was probably EC. Then about a month ago she developed a slight tilt which became progressively worse overnight. We started her on Panacur immediately and she got worse for a couple of days and then improved - she was back to normal within a couple of weeks.

Neither of mine had it so bad that they were circling or unable to get up. At their worst their head and bodies were wonky, they were unstable on their back legs and occasionally falling. But they are both okay now, at least in this respect! I know others have had rabbits have it much worse and recover to varying degrees and I'm not sure how bad your rabbit has it.

I hope she shows some signs of improvement soon.
 
The advice to treat her with detachment is a very good idea, thank you! You're right, I will be transferring my stress on to her and I definitely don't want to do that. X

:thumb:

E.C. is not a death sentence, no way. I have had many buns suffering symptoms of E.C. ... head tilt, incontinence, hind leg weakness, blindness ... all have had a good quality of life.

Sometimes a rabbit is genetically not able to mount a great immune response to what life throws at it. You help out all you can, and make a difference in their lives. You give one another enjoyment and happiness whilst you are together :D
 
I have had two bunnies with EC. Kermit had head tilt, and Inca got hind leg weakness. Incas legs were very weak and she just lay on her side for a good few days, then she struggled to get about. My wee one was already deformed at her back end, but she still managed to fight through it and get use of her legs back. She had a course of steroids as we felt that the Metacam wasn't helping enough, steroids can be risky for buns though, but we felt it was worth a shot as she was so ill.

EC is really a one step forwards ten steps back illness, it can take a while to fight, but many bunnies come out the other side.

Vibes from me xx
 
Thank you for stories of EC rabbits that's having been ok. She is much the same today, maybe a tad brighter in herself which is good. Have got an animal acupuncturist coming tomorrow to give her a treatment and I am desperately hoping that will be beneficial, will report back !
 
Thank you for stories of EC rabbits that's having been ok. She is much the same today, maybe a tad brighter in herself which is good. Have got an animal acupuncturist coming tomorrow to give her a treatment and I am desperately hoping that will be beneficial, will report back !

You are certainly giving her the very best possible care :D

I hope she gets on well with the acupuncture, and look forward to your report!
 
Thank you for stories of EC rabbits that's having been ok. She is much the same today, maybe a tad brighter in herself which is good. Have got an animal acupuncturist coming tomorrow to give her a treatment and I am desperately hoping that will be beneficial, will report back !

My Vet has given acupuncture to a few of my Rabbits and for all but one of them it certainly helped. Not a 'miracle cure' but there was some improvement. It can take a few sessions though, a one off treatment may not do much. I usually see signs of a good response after the third session.
 
I had a rabbit with very severe EC symptoms. Treatment was panacur, metacam and baytril (in case of inner ear infection). She was on a bit of a roller coaster - improved over the first 2 weeks, then got much worse, then recovered again. Over the next year she continued to improve with the odd few weeks of relapse. She was on panacur for a long time, and permanent low dose of metacam. At her worst, she had severe head tilt (twisted right round to her back) and hardly any use of her back legs. She had to be hand fed until she could reach food and water for herself, and her bottom cleaned daily for a couple of months or so. She was restricted to a small cage inside for a while - padded with towel rolls so she couldn't roll too far as she couldn't get up again. But - she recovered enough to go back in the outside run with her partner and lived a fairly normal life (still on daily metacam, and panacur if she relapsed at all). She could cope with flat surfaces (eg grass) but wasn't able to jump up on to anything and had a very slight permanent head tilt - all of which was easy to manage long term.
 
I have had two rabbits with EC and both recovered.One needed a repeat of the Lapizole treatment but recovered all the same.

You are doing everything you possibly can and should see some improvement soon.

Heres a virtual (((HUG))) anyway as I know its worrying.

Sending recovery vibes to your bunny.
 
I have had two rabbits with EC and both recovered.One needed a repeat of the Lapizole treatment but recovered all the same.

You are doing everything you possibly can and should see some improvement soon.

Heres a virtual (((HUG))) anyway as I know its worrying.

Sending recovery vibes to your bunny.

There's certainly a lot of hope :D
 
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