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EC Rabbits

Towsbuns

Mama Doe
I have just posted this on General Chat - but think it is more suitable here.
I am pondering on a new bun and have always loved the look of Netherland Dwarfs especialy the blue/grey ones - so I searched the other day on RR and first on the list was a grey one who just happend to be in a rescue 10 mins from where I work - fate I thought. I knew she was a bit feisty but happy to live with a bit of feisty so popped along at lunchtime to see her, unfortunately, I wasn't able to get too close or hold her - against their policy but had a chat with someone about her only to discover that she had been treated for EC.
What would you do in this situation? Would you risk taking EC home to rabbits (even though they say she has been treated with Panacur) that have never shown any signs - or is it just not worth the risk?
I am currently of the thinking that it is not worth the risk - but she is a bit of a sweetie.
 
consensus is that most bunnies in "bunny intensive environments" e.g. breeding establishments, rescues etc. have EC so the fact that she hasbeen treated for it is a positive.

It is spread by spores on rabbits urine so any bun that comes into contact with a place with other buns have peed is at risk................. this is most buns.

A friend of mine had a rescue bun develop head tilt, which was treated for EC and it made a full recovery
 
My understanding is pretty similar to above - that lots of buns carry it without incidience anyway, so if the bun in question has been treated then it wouldn't pose any additional risk.

The house rabbit society has some interesting information, for example;
"E. cuniculi are shed only in the urine.
Infectious period lasts only a few days to a few weeks.
The infected animal is not contagious after the E. cuniculi leave the kidneys.
E. cuniculi are carried in the blood to other parts of the body, particularly neural tissue.
Spores from infected urine can remain in the environment for a month.
The parasites can infect and be shed by many other animals but seldom cause clinical disease in other animals."

Since the rabbit is infectious for a short period only it is unlikely to still pose a danger to your rabbits now I would have thought?? Maybe check out when it was diagnosed?
I think the other point is that the area that the bun was living in remains infectious (due to droppings) much longer than the bun itself - and this obviously won't be a problem to you.
I would also want to know why EC was diagnosed - was it showing many symptoms? Since;
"Testing positive to the parasite only means that the animal has been exposed and is putting forth an immune response. It does not mean that an otherwise healthy animal will show symptoms of the disease."

Overall, I woould say the risk to other rabbits is pretty small, but I am certainly no expert and others may disagree!
 
I responded on the other thread and it vanished :lol:

I would not let this put me off, purely due to the fact that such a high percentage of bunnies are believed to have been exposed to ec anyway, and that some rescues are now using panacur, purely as a precaution.

We found out Robbie was ec positive, only through the test just before he died :cry: , although we don't believe this contributed. But it did mean I had to treat Moosie with panacur as she would have been exposed. I did then wonder if it was fair to get her a new friend, and expose that bun to ec, but thankfully the rescue was happy to let us adopt Charlie and treat him with panacur too. I routinely use the panacur wormer now, but none show any symptoms :D
 
I`ve been in the opposite situation to you but my experience might be of help to you.
One of my bunnies developed ec last year, his back end was paralised & he had head tilt but after a course of treatment he made a full recovery.
I then wanted to bond him & as a preventative measure when i brought his new friend in i gave her a preventative 9 day course of panacur & both bunnies have remained healthy. :D

I also recently had a bunny, who was living in a trio go down with ec. He was put on a course of treatment & his 2 hutch mates were given a 9 day course of panacur. That was over 5 wks ago now & neither of them have developed symptons.

My personal advice would be that if you do decide to adopt this bunny then i`d give any bunnies he may come into contact with a 9 day course of panacur ( this is the preventative dosage recommended by vets ) to be on the safe side.

Hope this helps,
Su.x
 
I would get the bunny.

I've only ever had one rabbit tested for EC - He was positive, but never developed any symptoms. Unfortunately he died 3 years ago, aged only 5 years, of (I presume) an unrelated cause.

The two rabbits he lived with are now roughly 4 and 5 years old. They have never been treated for EC or shown any symptoms either (although I suppose he might not have been shedding the spores during the time they lived together).

Hope this helps.

Amy
 
cannonwoman said:
i gave her a preventative 9 day course of panacur & both bunnies have remained healthy. :D

I thought the preventative course of panacur was an initial 28 day one, and then three times a year was the 9 day one :? I definitely had to give a 28 day course for both buns to start with.
 
Lynn said:
cannonwoman said:
i gave her a preventative 9 day course of panacur & both bunnies have remained healthy. :D

I thought the preventative course of panacur was an initial 28 day one, and then three times a year was the 9 day one :? I definitely had to give a 28 day course for both buns to start with.

With the new `rabbit panacur `( 18.75% ) they recommend a 9 day course as a preventative treatment.
For those with `active ec` it`s a 28 day course of 10% panacur.

Su.x
 
cannonwoman said:
With the new `rabbit panacur `( 18.75% ) they recommend a 9 day course as a preventative treatment.
For those with `active ec` it`s a 28 day course of 10% panacur.
Su.x

Does 'active ec' mean that it is confirmed they have ec :? - jeez, it's so confusing :lol: We knew Moosie was exposed to it, but we didn't have the test to see whether she tested positive for it, and we were advised 28 day treatment :? Same with Charlie :?
 
Lynn said:
cannonwoman said:
With the new `rabbit panacur `( 18.75% ) they recommend a 9 day course as a preventative treatment.
For those with `active ec` it`s a 28 day course of 10% panacur.
Su.x

Does 'active ec' mean that it is confirmed they have ec :? - jeez, it's so confusing :lol: We knew Moosie was exposed to it, but we didn't have the test to see whether she tested positive for it, and we were advised 28 day treatment :? Same with Charlie :?

Yes `active ec` means they have confirmed ec, though we started Blue on it before confirmation as it was highly suggestive that, that was what he was suffering from.
We were advised to give his 2 hutch mates the 9 day preventative course as even though they had been exposed to it they didn`t have the `active` infection, i:e: weren`t showing any symptons.

Hope that makes sense,
Su.x
 
Thanks all - I am glad you realised it had disappeared Lynn as I was just looking for the other post and I thought I was going mad!!
She has a very slight head tilt which is why I asked the question in the first place which was when I was told about the EC.
I can't have her yet anyway so I will ponder a bit more and make a decision.
 
Julie my advice would be to have her..but to put her and ALL your other bunnnies on the 28 day course of Panacur as soon as you get her..and keep her seperate for that time and do your usual routine of thorough disinfecting...
sounds drastic but 28 days isn't that long..will protect your bunnies and make sure this little rabbit gets a good home :D
 
honeybunny said:
Julie my advice would be to have her..but to put her and ALL your other bunnnies on the 28 day course of Panacur as soon as you get her..and keep her seperate for that time and do your usual routine of thorough disinfecting...
sounds drastic but 28 days isn't that long..will protect your bunnies and make sure this little rabbit gets a good home :D
Thanks Jill - she will need to be spayed so she couldn't go with the others for a few weeks anyway.
 
We have had buns here with EC and now treat all new comers with panacur when they arrive and I worm my permenant buns twice yearly to protect them too.

I quarantine and disinfect until treatment is complete.
 
Sooz22 said:
We have had buns here with EC and now treat all new comers with panacur when they arrive and I worm my permenant buns twice yearly to protect them too.

I quarantine and disinfect until treatment is complete.

We've thought about the 9 day course for all newcomers....for worming that would be good..but if you have a bun in with active EC the 9 day course wouldn't treat it anyway :?
 
I wonder if I ought to be doing something like that with taking in fosters. :?

I got vaccinations in 4 weeks - might mention it to vets then.
 
Any that develope signs of EC go on the 28 day course but for the protection of all buns they are wormed incase one has EC which isnt presenting.

The wormers are donated to us for free by another rescue charity too and I am also giving them to new owners whose own buns havnt been done.
 
Tell me about it. last lot was of 20 which will worm 40 rabbits and was worth £70! :shock:
 
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