Please Note - Medical Advice
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Sorry to hear your bun has tilt. Hoping for a speedy recovery.
Quick question, did the tilt just appear one day or was it a gradual thing you noticed that got worse? I want to know what signs to look for.
Thanks
As he has been given Baytril I would assume your vet suspects an infection may be present in which case giving steroids is a bad idea as it will lower his immune system. Also if he does have an ear infection Baytril is usually not strong enough, the best thing to do is obtain a sample if possible.
I would also highly recommend giving him Metacam which is a non steroidal anti inflammatory and painkiller. My head tilt bun Mimi wouldn't have got through it and carried on eating throughout without that.
Is your vet rabbit savvy?
You may need to adapt your buns surroundings while he is disorientated. Take out any levels or anything he can jump on to/fall off. If he's free range as my Mimi is he may need to be temporarily confined to a smaller area to prevent him hurting himself. If he usually has a water bottle he might not be able to use it so consider changing to a bowl. Is he rolling? If so you may need to keep the bowl away from him so that he doesnt knock it over and offer it to him every half an hour or so.
Another thing to try is giving him gentle neck, shoulder and back massages to help with the pain and loosen up the muscles. Mimi absolutely loved me doing this for her and I'm sure it helped her head correct itself once she was recovered.
Keep a close eye on his 'down' eye to make sure it's clean with no debris in it. I also used lubricating eye drops in Mimi's 'up' eye as she was finding it hard to blink. Something else to discuss with your vet.
Also keep an eye out for unbeaten caecotrophs and if you spot any offer them to him as he may not be able to reach them on his own.
I hope that helps a bit :wave:
It is still VERY early days, and I am saddened (although unfortunately not surprised) that your vet suggested PTS.
Mimi rolled continuously for 4 weeks before she even started to show some improvement, and she still rolled occasionally for many more weeks. It is awful to see. Mimi's rolling got markedly worse when she was moved/picked up, so my vet agreed that he would monitor her progress by what I told him so that she wouldn't need to travel.
Did your vet have another look in Sally's ears? Mimi's ear infection couldn't be seen at first so he have her a shot of steroids. 2 days later she was much worse and when he re examined her ears he found the infection. Sometimes the infection can't be seen atall so it can't be discounted in Sally's case. Unless she has had bloods that confirm EC? My vet was of the opinion that most cases of head tilt are due to ear infections, and we didn't even treat for EC. Mimi made a full recovery in the end
Loads of vibes for poor Sally I personally feel that if she is still eating for herself, she wants to fight on
Thanks for your reply. Was Mimi on Baytril for thr ear infection? Sally is on 1 ml per day which I think is quite a high dose. The Vet did not inspect her ears. Just a week ago I had a cold. Could it be connected with that?
I don't think it can be connected with your cold.
Mimi was on Marbocyl, can't remember the dose exactly sorry. A sample was taken from her ear to find out what the best abx to use were. She was also on Metacam and a drug called Meclozine, which is a human anti vertigo drug to help with the dizziness.
Is Sally still eating/drinking/pooing OK? How is her mobility? :wave:
Yes she is eating all that I give them and drinking. I assume she is pooing as she lives with Max so can't monitor. Mobility-wise she is bad. It is when she tries to move to get to the food etc that she is so disorientated. The Vet gave her a slightly higher dose of Steroid, 1/2 ml, today but I am wondering if that is the way we should be going.