Hi everyone.
I'm sad to say, I had to rush Jess - pictured having a cuddle in my avatar - to the vet yesterday. I first noticed something wasn't right when she refused her broccoli. She was very still, appearing to be leant against the shed wall. I gave her a stroke and tried to pick her up but she got past me and ran off to the other side of the shed. She seemed very balanced, but she was trembling. I rang the vet straight away and organised a half shift at work so I could get her seen by the vet.
By the time I got to the vet, she was a little worse. The vet put her on the floor and she wandered round in a circle before finding my foot and leaning quite heavily against it. She also stumbled a few times.
The vet watched her movements for a good twenty minutes. He checked her ears but said they were fine. He suspects E.Cuniculi. Sadly, I lost my Diego to E.Cuniculi AND inner ear infection in october. The vet failed to tell me that E.Cuniculi could be spread after he had died so it's believed Jess contracted it from the bugs Diego left behind in the shed after he had gone.
I left the vets with a tube of fibreplex and picked up Panacur this morning (they had none in stock yesterday :roll: ). I was told to give Jess fibreplex three times a day until she started eating again. She is eating grass and rich tea biscuits (I know these are bad for bunnies! My mum discovered they loved them and the vet told me to feed her more or less anything that would encourage her to eat!) so I'm only giving her the fibreplex once a day. She doesn't seem interested in her mix though.
When I picked up the Panacur, I was instructed to give her one graduation once a day for 11 days. Jess weighs 2.1kgs. I've had a look at other e.cuniculi threads that suggest a six week course - I will mention this to my vet.
My main reason for writing all this is that I'm not quite sure what to do regarding my other bunnies. I asked the vet and he said not to treat them unless they show symptoms and to keep Jess and Thistle (her bonded friend) together. I have actually returned Jess to the shed with him, but I'm keeping her in an indoor bunny cage so I can moniter how much she's eating. Thistle's a conti and will scoff her food as well as his own if he gets a chance! :lol:
I also wonder if treatment is likely to be successful - Diego was heartbreaking - he had a mixture of EC and ear infections in both ears and I'd put him on meds, he'd improve, he'd stop meds, he'd get worse, he'd have more meds.... that went on for about three months until one morning I found him laying on his side and took the horrible decision to get him PTS. When I took him in, the vet (the same one as I now have for Jess) shocked me by saying "I expected him to reach this stage sooner". I was kind of peeved that the vet knew Diego would die in a matter of months and yet put me through the ordeal anyway.
Any advice, help, suggestions or just good vibes would be really very appreciated! Thankyou :wave:
I'm sad to say, I had to rush Jess - pictured having a cuddle in my avatar - to the vet yesterday. I first noticed something wasn't right when she refused her broccoli. She was very still, appearing to be leant against the shed wall. I gave her a stroke and tried to pick her up but she got past me and ran off to the other side of the shed. She seemed very balanced, but she was trembling. I rang the vet straight away and organised a half shift at work so I could get her seen by the vet.
By the time I got to the vet, she was a little worse. The vet put her on the floor and she wandered round in a circle before finding my foot and leaning quite heavily against it. She also stumbled a few times.
The vet watched her movements for a good twenty minutes. He checked her ears but said they were fine. He suspects E.Cuniculi. Sadly, I lost my Diego to E.Cuniculi AND inner ear infection in october. The vet failed to tell me that E.Cuniculi could be spread after he had died so it's believed Jess contracted it from the bugs Diego left behind in the shed after he had gone.
I left the vets with a tube of fibreplex and picked up Panacur this morning (they had none in stock yesterday :roll: ). I was told to give Jess fibreplex three times a day until she started eating again. She is eating grass and rich tea biscuits (I know these are bad for bunnies! My mum discovered they loved them and the vet told me to feed her more or less anything that would encourage her to eat!) so I'm only giving her the fibreplex once a day. She doesn't seem interested in her mix though.
When I picked up the Panacur, I was instructed to give her one graduation once a day for 11 days. Jess weighs 2.1kgs. I've had a look at other e.cuniculi threads that suggest a six week course - I will mention this to my vet.
My main reason for writing all this is that I'm not quite sure what to do regarding my other bunnies. I asked the vet and he said not to treat them unless they show symptoms and to keep Jess and Thistle (her bonded friend) together. I have actually returned Jess to the shed with him, but I'm keeping her in an indoor bunny cage so I can moniter how much she's eating. Thistle's a conti and will scoff her food as well as his own if he gets a chance! :lol:
I also wonder if treatment is likely to be successful - Diego was heartbreaking - he had a mixture of EC and ear infections in both ears and I'd put him on meds, he'd improve, he'd stop meds, he'd get worse, he'd have more meds.... that went on for about three months until one morning I found him laying on his side and took the horrible decision to get him PTS. When I took him in, the vet (the same one as I now have for Jess) shocked me by saying "I expected him to reach this stage sooner". I was kind of peeved that the vet knew Diego would die in a matter of months and yet put me through the ordeal anyway.
Any advice, help, suggestions or just good vibes would be really very appreciated! Thankyou :wave: