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Netherland Dwarf, has trouble standing and flops over when trying to run

I did ask about the other bunnies and we are going to watch them. She didn't say to give it to all of them thought, just to wait and see. The vet did mention we might have to continue for a month, but to check back in a week. Percy has not shown any improvement. How long, if it is EC, should it take before we notice something?
 
Dungeness said:
I did ask about the other bunnies and we are going to watch them. She didn't say to give it to all of them thought, just to wait and see. The vet did mention we might have to continue for a month, but to check back in a week. Percy has not shown any improvement. How long, if it is EC, should it take before we notice something?
Click to expand...

Fenbendazole will not 'cure' the EC, it acts by reducing the number of EC spores circulating in the Rabbit's bloodstream. By the time a Rabbit displays clinical symptoms of EC the actual Parasite has long since been shed. It is the latent spores that can do the damage when they migrate to various organs. As I posted previously :


Fenbendazole
20 mg/kg orally every 24 hours for 28 days.
This is presently the only drug with published data showing it to be effective in vivo. It is not effective against clinical disease but in the elimination of the parasite from rabbits infected naturally. It has also been effective in vivo in preventing infection and serological conversion in animals experimentally inoculated with this parasite

Full details here :

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Parasitic/Encephalitozoonosis.htm[/QUOTE]

How long it takes for any improvement to occur can take weeks. Sometimes there may only be partial improvement, sometimes no improvement at all. It depends on how much longterm cellular damage the EC spores have already done. The Fenbendazole treatment is really for 'damage limitation'.

It really is very important for all in contact Rabbits to be treated and for all possible precautions to be taken to try to minimise the risk of any Rabbit ingesting urine contaminated bedding/food etc. A* husbandry is essential. It is further recommended that the Rabbit's environment is bleach cleaned using a 10% bleach solution on days 21 and 28 of the course of Fenbendazole.

As previously mentioned, it is usually necessary to give a daily NSAID as it is inflammation caused by erupting EC spores that leads to clinical symptoms. Reducing that inflammatory response is necessary in order to try to lessen the clinical symptoms and to minimise the amount of longterm cellular damage.
 
Dungeness said:
I did ask about the other bunnies and we are going to watch them. She didn't say to give it to all of them thought, just to wait and see. The vet did mention we might have to continue for a month, but to check back in a week. Percy has not shown any improvement. How long, if it is EC, should it take before we notice something?
Click to expand...


You wouldn't need to give it to the other bunnies, only the one in contact with Percy. The others should be fine :)

I agree with your vet, that's what I thought he was going to do when you had an appointment in week's time. He can make a further assessment then. As I said, there could be more things going on, like something neurological, an ear infection or possibly spinal issue.

My vet has confirmed with me that Fenbendazole can actually work quite fast and improvement can occur within days if not sooner. I have certainly witnessed this myself. However, it all depends on what's going on for the rabbit and that's impossible to ascertain. The results are really quite variable.

It's certainly a very good thing you're doing :)
 
Well, Percy does seem to have had some improvement. His shaking is less and he can now hop around a bit better and not fall over. Does this sound normal? Is there any special diet that would help him the best? He started weighing 2 pounds 6oz and now weighs 2 pounds 8oz.
 
Dungeness said:
Well, Percy does seem to have had some improvement. His shaking is less and he can now hop around a bit better and not fall over. Does this sound normal? Is there any special diet that would help him the best? He started weighing 2 pounds 6oz and now weighs 2 pounds 8oz.
Click to expand...

It sounds as though he is showing some positive signs. Any improvement at this early stage is good and it can be an ongoing process over several weeks

Re diet, I would not make any drastic changes to his normal diet. What do you feed him at the moment ?
 
Dungeness said:
Well, Percy does seem to have had some improvement. His shaking is less and he can now hop around a bit better and not fall over. Does this sound normal? Is there any special diet that would help him the best? He started weighing 2 pounds 6oz and now weighs 2 pounds 8oz.
Click to expand...


This sounds like good news :)

Depending on what the cause of the issue is with Percy, it could take time to rectify. As I mentioned, I have seen overnight improvement with Fenbendazole treatment given in a special dosage by my vet, but it doesn't happen in all cases.

I would keep his diet the same, so long as he's not losing weight, for the moment. Minimal disruption is going to be the best :)
 
Percy eats what all out buns eat, pellets, hay, grass and dandelions from the yard, veggie scraps, kale leaves, etc. Yes, he is not loosing weight and seems to have gained weight. This forum has been a great help. We'll keep updating as time goes on.
 
Dungeness said:
Percy eats what all out buns eat, pellets, hay, grass and dandelions from the yard, veggie scraps, kale leaves, etc. Yes, he is not loosing weight and seems to have gained weight. This forum has been a great help. We'll keep updating as time goes on.
Click to expand...

Great news that he's not losing weight :)
 
Dungeness said:
Percy eats what all out buns eat, pellets, hay, grass and dandelions from the yard, veggie scraps, kale leaves, etc. Yes, he is not loosing weight and seems to have gained weight. This forum has been a great help. We'll keep updating as time goes on.
Click to expand...


So glad to hear he is maintaining his weight :)

Thanks for updating :)
 
Slowly getting better. Watching the other pen mate carefully and will probably start giving her the same for a month.
 
Dungeness said:
Slowly getting better. Watching the other pen mate carefully and will probably start giving her the same for a month.
Click to expand...


I am so glad to hear this :D

Both rabbits should be treated together (at the same time) in order that infected spores don't pass between them through the urine.

Also, common wisdom has it (though I have never heard a vet mention this) that you clean with 1% bleach or steam clean the surroundings on days 21 and 28 of treatment.

Just giving you the belt and braces here :)
 
Dungeness said:
Slowly getting better. Watching the other pen mate carefully and will probably start giving her the same for a month.
Click to expand...

I think that would be wise as if the problem is EC related then all in contact Rabbits need to be treated with Fenbendazole, as I previously mentioned in post 22

Jack's-Jane said:
It really is very important for all in contact Rabbits to be treated and for all possible precautions to be taken to try to minimise the risk of any Rabbit ingesting urine contaminated bedding/food etc. A* husbandry is essential. It is further recommended that the Rabbit's environment is bleach cleaned using a 10% bleach solution on days 21 and 28 of the course of Fenbendazole.
Click to expand...
 
Percy is slowly getting better but it is slow. He wobbles a bit but is interested in eating and exploring now. Percy weighs 2 pounds 8 oz. The Vet suggested a dose of 1.8mL of Fenbendazole. Does that sound about right?

We also started another post about Percy's cage mate Rene, who is also on Fenbendazole.
 
Dungeness said:
Percy is slowly getting better but it is slow. He wobbles a bit but is interested in eating and exploring now. Percy weighs 2 pounds 8 oz. The Vet suggested a dose of 1.8mL of Fenbendazole. Does that sound about right?

We also started another post about Percy's cage mate Rene, who is also on Fenbendazole.
Click to expand...

What concentration of Fenbendazole are you giving ? ie how many ml of fenbendazole in a 1ml dose? The usual dose of Fenbendazole when treating for EC is 20mg/kg. But as there are several different strengths of Fenbendazole available you need to know which one you are using to know how many mgs of Fenbendazole are in the 1.8ml dose you are giving.

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Chem/ChComplex/Fenbendazole.htm
 
Dungeness said:
Percy is slowly getting better but it is slow. He wobbles a bit but is interested in eating and exploring now. Percy weighs 2 pounds 8 oz. The Vet suggested a dose of 1.8mL of Fenbendazole. Does that sound about right?

We also started another post about Percy's cage mate Rene, who is also on Fenbendazole.
Click to expand...



We cannot give you dosages for your rabbit on this Forum, as we are not qualified to do so, but give your vet a ring and confirm that it's correct for *your* rabbit.

When my rabbit last had this, the vet worked out a special dose given the circumstances, so it's not 'one size fits all'

Wishing you luck x
 
The concentration is 10%, 100 mg/mL. This is the dosage from the vet, I was just cross checking as the vet had to look it up and calculate the dosage based on weight. They were not bunny specialist.
 
Dungeness said:
The concentration is 10%, 100 mg/mL. This is the dosage from the vet, I was just cross checking as the vet had to look it up and calculate the dosage based on weight. They were not bunny specialist.
Click to expand...


Neither are we! To be fair, most vets look up these things, and I'm glad that they do :)

How are Percy and Rene doing today?
 
Dungeness said:
The concentration is 10%, 100 mg/mL. This is the dosage from the vet, I was just cross checking as the vet had to look it up and calculate the dosage based on weight. They were not bunny specialist.
Click to expand...

Are you sure that the Vet did not prescribe 0.18ml, rather than 1.8ml ?

I'd give the Vet a call back to confirm :)
 
Yes, it was .18. Sorry, busy day. We lost his pen mate Rene today. See the other post. Thanks and we will keep every one updated on Percy's progress. So far getting better each day.
 
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