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head tilt, possible stroke

kt_baby9

New Kit
could anyone help me please? about a week ago i had to rush my rabbit to the vet's. his head was tilted to one side, he couldn't walk - kept rolling over, very unbalanced, his breathing was laboured and his eyes kept rolling. such a sad sight! :cry: my dad took me to the vet's with him and the vet told me that considering his age and breed it was most probably a stroke. he said there was a chance that he might make it if i wanted to try, which i obviously did. so that weekend consisted of syringe feeds every two hours and LOTS of cuddles! lol! the vet gave him antibiotics to rule out the possibility of something or other (all a blur!) and told me to come back on monday, although he didn't seem very hopeful. but my likkle sooty fought and was much better for the vets on monday, the vet was surprised to see us (optimism for you, eh?!) but said it would still be a long drawn out process of getting him better!

i was just wondering if anyone who has had experience of this in the past has any advice for me? will his head tilt go? will he regain his balance? will he be able to return to his outside hutch? (he's been living inside with us and i don't really want him to go outside again, but i'll have to talk my parents round!)

thanx

xxx
 
My hamster had a stroke and he was exactly the same as you described.
I think it's worth phoning up your local vets to get an opinion.
 
Hi there,

Dillan, my Rex bunny had a stroke just before Christmas! I rushed him to the vets and had a similar conversation about Dillan that you had at your vets!

There is an earlier thread about Dillan and his stroke on Page 12 of this forum. Lots of people gave me some wonderful advice, and it really helped.

Dillan has made very good recovery, his head tilt is getting slightly better every day, and he's back to his normal self again, binkying around with Charlie his buddy!

It definitely takes time, and Dillan is making a brilliant recovery!

Hope this helps, best of luck!

Carol xx
 
thanx alot! info very much appreciated!

now, getting back to my parents! is there a chance that he might have to go back outside? any ideas for convincing my parents (that he should stay inside)? lol! pleeeeaaaase! :D

xxx
 
Hi There,

My rabbit also named Dillon coincedently! had those symptoms and it was diagnosed as vestibular disease ( an inner ear infection )
This was two years ago he made an almost full recovery having had treatment with Oxytetracycline and Dexamethasone injections.
He still has balance problems and has some nerve problems which make his back end tip to one side as he hops about, he drags his back legs a bit.
His head tilt has totally gone - which you can see by the pictures I posted several months ago.
Also until I changed him on to supreme selective pellets he used to get constipated due to his nerve problems.

Lastly I should mention that his little Friend Belle washes him and is never away from his side so I think her nursing helped as well!

Regards and Bunnyhugs to your little fellow

Kate

P.S you must keep him indoors until he recovers and can eat and drink himself.
P.P.S Our vet told us if they can contnue to eat and drink themselves they stand a higher chance of recovery.
 
Glad to be of help :)

I kept Dillan inside, until I knew for sure that he could eat and drink and move around perfectly ok. However, I did return him to the bunny house outside as soon as I was sure he was fine, so he could return to Charlie, his buddy! They are both boys, and are very bonded. Charlie realised that Dillan wasn't well and took extra care of him, he was really gentle with him and groomed him all the time! It was really heart warming to watch! :rabbit2:

Carol xx
 
This is our head tilt bun:

lucky1.jpg


He's kept outside in his hutch and run during the day and he comes in for overnight. It would be a shame to keep our bun indoors all the time as he adores being outside, he always comes running up to us first thing in the morning cos he knows he's going out, and it's a devil of a job trying to get him back indoors in the evening, but we like to know he's safe in his room for the night.

Not all head tilts go back to holding their heads normally, Lucky has been like this for nearly a year and he's fine, same character, just as cheeky, and very happy. The owner's vet wanted to put him to sleep but we said no way, we'd give him a chance, and we're so glad we did!
 
good news! he's allowed to stay inside. obviously i will let him outside when i'm home and can watch him but it just seems like a much better option for him to be comfy and everything.

just a quick question though, what kind of indoor cage should i be looking for? any ideas? he's a medium sized rabbit and although i would love for him to have full run of the house all the time, it's not really going to be possible as he isn't trustworthy around the house! lol! so it's going to have to be quite big so he doesn't get bored and stuff. please help!
 
Hiya,

An indoor dog crate would be fab for your bun. A lot of us have them on here and are available from most pet stores, argos, ebay and a lot of online shops do them for quite cheap.

I got my 48" dog crate for £57 inc delivery. They are easy to clean and give the buns lots of space, you can also put a shelf in there to make more space!

If you do a search for dog crates on here, you will find lots of links to on line shops for the crates! I think they give the bun more space if your bun cant be free range!
 
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