Shooter has EC :'( Advice please <3

Hi there,

Shooter was just diagnosed with EC today I am devastated as I really do not want to lose him as I only lost my cat 2 weeks ago and I am still very upset about that. Thursday morning I woke put to find his cage completely clean, one spot of wee..his greens and bit of carrot still there along with a bowl of rabbit hay mix and pellets untouched. I thought he had GI stasis but I had to go to school so I massaged his stomach a bit (which always cures him) and went to school. Mum kept me updated through out the day. She tried to feed him carrot tops but he was just laying under my bed..she told me that he was tilting his head a bit and I freaked out but I got home and I didnt notice any tilt.

After a few attempts of feeding him, he refused. I put him in his hutch to sleep and as I put him in, he hopped and tumbled over to his side (which I knew immediately was not normal) This was last night.

This morning, it was the same as yesterday. Untouched food and spotless cage. I had to work today so my mum took him to the vet and they ran a few tests and he has E. Cuniculi :'( I still don't know very much about the parasite at all. I am guessing it has come up because of stress? My cat and him were pretty good friends so maybe he's missing her? We have new cats but they don't go near each other...
His head tilts slightly some times...but he puts it back up and he's also very unbalanced. I took him in the front yard and he tumbled over onto his side again and then ran back inside. He has been drinking a bit of water and he has had some panacur and I start giving him metacane tomorrow. I am so upset because I have no idea what is going to happen next. I just want to know the chances of him recovering fully.
Is it one of those things that go away with treatment and when the stress goes...? and then once he starts stressing again it comes back and we have to do the treatment again?
Or am I going to be continuously treating him for the rest of his life? I have so many questions and it hurts seeing him in pain.

What are your experiences with this? Have I caught it early enough for it to go away? I know that its not curable...but how do I prevent this and make sure he never has to go through this again?!


Thank you so much! I would love any advice, stories etc <3 Thanks <3

Hello and I am sorry to hear Shooter has been diagnosed with EC. I am sure someone else will be along shortly but in the meantime I have dug out a very helpful thread for you.

Thank you! I don't see a thread there? I have been checking on him through out the night but I've only seen bad stories and I would like to see a good one

Hi! I'm sorry to hear about Shooter. As far as I know, there isn't actually a way to test for EC. The test that will have been done will only show that Shooter has had EC at some time, and there may not have been any symptoms - a high percentage of even healthy rabbits will test positive for it.

I'm interested in him not eating - in my personal experience of EC (I have seen it a few times now it a mild form like Shooter's, i.e. not to the point that they are rolling all the time and can't stand up), it seems that it is worse for us to see than for the rabbit to experience - it has never affected their appetite. I'm wondering if the vet considered other causes of the tilt, e.g. ear infections. Does he also have antibiotics?

Try not to panic - I've had tilted buns several times now and they have fully recovered, and I think in general people will say the same thing. I know it's stressful to be going through at the time though.

ETA here is another recent thread on this issue http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?272916-Encephalitozoon-Cuniculi/page3

They have checked his ears but found nothing
We bought a oxbow critical care mix and we are supposed to force feed it through a syringe which I am not happy about and I hate it I feel horrible forcing something into him but I guess it's for the best
He is on Metacam and panacur
I am also I'm Australia so I don't know if anything is different to UK
Thankyou for your response and the thread link

Hi,
My bunny Luna had EC and she was very very poorly but she made a full recovery so it can happen.
Luna had a 90 degree tilt and was rolling. I had to syringe feed her for about 3 weeks, if he isn't keen on the critical care you can try mixing it with some fruit/veg baby food.
Also look into alternative treatments to help with the symptoms, I gave Luna Basil and Nux Vomica to help with the dizziness, massage for her neck and aromatherapy to help keep her calm.
Hope Shooter makes a speedy recovery x

Thankyou for the tips!
He ate very little last night... I have everything in his cage even if it's a treat! I just want him to eat and he did...he nibbled the end of the carrot piece and ate carrot tops so it is better than nothing.
He also ate a bit of hay...now I have to feed him his morning medicine
I will check at the shops to see if there is Luna basil but I don't know what nux vomica is, better search it up

Thankyou again for your reply!!

Edit: I just legit noticed that Luna us your rabbits name! OMG:lol::lol:

Glad he's eating something!

Nux Vomica is a homeopathic remedy so you should be able to get it from health food shops or if not online

EC is a fairly common parasite. Many rabbits have been exposed to it, but most show no symptoms. Treatment is usually a 28 day course of Panacur and an anti-inflammatory (eg Metacam) to reduce the effect of the neurological symptoms caused by the parasite (head tilt, leg weakness, etc). Antibiotics are often prescribed at the same time in case it is not EC (eg an inner ear infection causing balance problems).

The EC parasite is passed in the urine. It is essential to do a full clean on days 21 and 28 of the Panacur course in order to break the cycle of re-infection. Steam clean or 10% bleach are normally recommended for everything that the rabbit has contact with - particularly if there has been urine on it.

Companion rabbits are usually given the course of Panacur at the same time - again, to break the cycle and stop re-infection.

10% liquid Panacur (usually sold as a wormer for cats and dogs) is a cheaper and more accurate way of dosing several rabbits at a time.

Sometimes it can take more than a single cycle of treatment to get a resolution. It took several rounds of Panacur and a lifetime of low level Metacam for my head tilt bunny to recover. She was really bad for weeks. Head fixed right round to her shoulder; couldn't stand, feed or groom herself. After a couple of months she was mobile again. Some weeks she got worse again. Within a year she was back out in the run with a minor head tilt. Most cases are nowhere as severe as this.

Info:

https://www.vets-now.com/pet-owners/rabbit-care-advice/e-cuniculi-in-rabbits/

Our MJ is an EC bun, we found out early last year. His only symptom was cataracts (which he has now had sorted), his wifey bun (sadly no longer with us - not EC related) also tested positive and she had no symptoms. When MJ was first tested (blood test) the result was 'strongly positive', that is he had the infection and it was active.

It took 4 or 5 28 day treatments of panacur before his blood test results showed that the infection was no longer active. I was worried that it was something we were doing that the EC wasn't going away but we were advised that lots of things can cause the infection to become activeOn the advice of the vet school MJ will have blood tests every 6 months for the rest of his life to monitor the EC. He recently had a bit of an extended stay at the vet school for an extremely thorough MOT for other reasons which involved blood tests, urine test (normal), another urine test (cystocentesis), ultrasound and CT scan. The only issue is one non functioning kidney (which may or may not be due to the EC) but which in itself isn't really an issue because one functioning kidney is fine, but having all those tests meant we were also able to see that he is suffering no other ill effects that are associated with EC. Which is good!

Another good short article on EC (written by one of the vets that has treated MJ )
http://www.dechra.co.uk/therapy-are...cs-antifungals/disease-information/e-cuniculi

I hope Shooters appetite picks up and he is feeling better soon, do keep us posted

One of our buns is just recovering from EC. She was on panacur for just over 2 months. We were told to be prepared to keep up the panacur for quite a few months as it can take a while for them to show improvements sometimes and it can be a slow process.

With regards to it coming back - we were advised to keep panacur in the house for any stressful events eg vets visits. Give them panacur 4 days beforehand and then for 4 days after. That should keep the parasite at bay and not allow it to affect them whist their immune system is low.

Just hang in there, although i know it's horrible to see them like that. Hope he starts to show signs of improvement soon x

Good news!
He's improving a lot!
He's hopping around more although if he puts his head up he will tumble to the side...
I am syringe feeding him and giving him medicine from the vet and he's taking it well
He's gotten used to it so he just lays there and accepts it now, he used to struggle I think he has learned that if he stays still it goes faster:lol:
He's pooping and eating a bit of hay by himself
Back to his cheeky ways stealing my card (I make cards) and running off with it and I'm trying to get it out of his mouth :lol:

I am very worried because I going to Bali for a week in May and I come back it's my birthday and I really don't want him being sick
So I'll definitely try the panacur Thing if it's right for him!!

Thankyou so much for your advice ladies

Super happy too because he poops all over my room and while he was sick I missed vacuuming my room every day as there was nothing there so tonight I'm proud to vacuum my room :lol:

xoxShooterxox said:

Good news!
He's improving a lot!
He's hopping around more although if he puts his head up he will tumble to the side...
I am syringe feeding him and giving him medicine from the vet and he's taking it well
He's gotten used to it so he just lays there and accepts it now, he used to struggle I think he has learned that if he stays still it goes faster:lol:
He's pooping and eating a bit of hay by himself
Back to his cheeky ways stealing my card (I make cards) and running off with it and I'm trying to get it out of his mouth :lol:

I am very worried because I going to Bali for a week in May and I come back it's my birthday and I really don't want him being sick
So I'll definitely try the panacur Thing if it's right for him!!

Thankyou so much for your advice ladies

Click to expand...

Good to hear such a good update on Shooter