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E Cuniculi advice

Compass

Compass

Warren Scout
After losing one of my rabbits last month to bowel tumours I have just had another diagnosed with possible EC. We took him to the vet about 7 weeks ago because of a new episode of incontinence and some mild urine scalding. We had also noticed he was drinking more water than usual. The vet who is rabbit savvy gave us a urine bottle and suggested if it got worse to send in a sample. Anyway things got better but then one week he stopped drinking as much from his water bottle and we moved him onto a bowl and he continued to drink a lot. His incontinence then got worse so we sent for a urine test. The day we were about to ring in as we had not heard anything I had gone out early in the morning to give their herbs and hay and noticed he was off his legs with slight head tilt. We booked an emergency appt at the vets, unfortunately the rabbit vet was on annual leave so he saw another vet who telephoned the other vet for advice. He was started on EC treatment ? Lapizole and a cream for his urine scald + Metcam. His head tilt at the vet wasn't so bad but when he got home he was very off his legs. two days later he had a massive seizure when he was free ranging in the garden and luckily he was in view so I ran out and held him until it stopped. We then padded out his run and stopped access to the upper levels to keep him safe. He has an appt with the rabbit vet on Monday.

I really have no experience of EC and wondered if anyone could help with the following:

Do we need to quarantine him? and treat the other bunnies (one lives with him and a pair live next door but they take it in turns to free range in the garden) - the vet didn't mention this but at the time she wasn't sure if it was EC whereas we are pretty sure it is now. My husband is currently building an indoor run in our spare bedroom.

What is best to clean the runs with? I sue a Petsafe Pets at home disinfectant but I don't think this will cut it. They have an oak run and i'm reluctant to use bleach as they do chew bits of it occasionally. I've read about Vanidine and Aginene? but there is no mention of it killing EC spores.

Would a vet bed be helpful for the urine scald? we are currently putting cream on daily and he is loving sleeping on the pillows which are currently lining his run but we don't feel this is a practical solution. We were thinking perhaps a vet bed , but will he chew this?

What are the long term prospects for bunnies with EC, he is at least 4 years old but we think he may be older (he was a stray)

Any other tips would be most welcome :)
 
Compass said:
After losing one of my rabbits last month to bowel tumours I have just had another diagnosed with possible EC. We took him to the vet about 7 weeks ago because of a new episode of incontinence and some mild urine scalding. We had also noticed he was drinking more water than usual. The vet who is rabbit savvy gave us a urine bottle and suggested if it got worse to send in a sample. Anyway things got better but then one week he stopped drinking as much from his water bottle and we moved him onto a bowl and he continued to drink a lot. His incontinence then got worse so we sent for a urine test. The day we were about to ring in as we had not heard anything I had gone out early in the morning to give their herbs and hay and noticed he was off his legs with slight head tilt. We booked an emergency appt at the vets, unfortunately the rabbit vet was on annual leave so he saw another vet who telephoned the other vet for advice. He was started on EC treatment ? Lapizole and a cream for his urine scald + Metcam. His head tilt at the vet wasn't so bad but when he got home he was very off his legs. two days later he had a massive seizure when he was free ranging in the garden and luckily he was in view so I ran out and held him until it stopped. We then padded out his run and stopped access to the upper levels to keep him safe. He has an appt with the rabbit vet on Monday.

I really have no experience of EC and wondered if anyone could help with the following:

Do we need to quarantine him? and treat the other bunnies (one lives with him and a pair live next door but they take it in turns to free range in the garden) - the vet didn't mention this but at the time she wasn't sure if it was EC whereas we are pretty sure it is now. My husband is currently building an indoor run in our spare bedroom.

What is best to clean the runs with? I sue a Petsafe Pets at home disinfectant but I don't think this will cut it. They have an oak run and i'm reluctant to use bleach as they do chew bits of it occasionally. I've read about Vanidine and Aginene? but there is no mention of it killing EC spores.

Would a vet bed be helpful for the urine scald? we are currently putting cream on daily and he is loving sleeping on the pillows which are currently lining his run but we don't feel this is a practical solution. We were thinking perhaps a vet bed , but will he chew this?

What are the long term prospects for bunnies with EC, he is at least 4 years old but we think he may be older (he was a stray)

Any other tips would be most welcome :)
Click to expand...

I am sorry to hear of your recent loss and that now you have another poorly Rabbit. EC is spread via spores shed in an infected Rabbit's urine aswell as from an infected Dam to her kits during Kindling. So all Rabbits in contact with any terrain used by the infected Rabbit need to be treated with a 28 day course of Fenbendazole (Lapizole/Panacur)

A 10% bleach solution will destroy EC spores which can remain viable outside of the host for up to 30 days. It is best to avoid putting any Rabbits onto grass as this is obviously impossible to decontaminate.

As far as recovery is concerned it is hard to give a precise prognosis. Much depends on how much cellular damage has already been done by the erupting EC spores within the cells of various organs, primarily the brain, the kidneys and the lenses of the eyes. Renal failure is one of the most serious concerns.

There is some detailed information about EC on the following links:

http://www.dechra.co.uk/therapy-are...cs-antifungals/disease-information/e-cuniculi

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

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/e-cuniculi/

I wish your Rabbit well and hope that he can make some improvements over time.
 
Last edited:
Compass said:
After losing one of my rabbits last month to bowel tumours I have just had another diagnosed with possible EC. We took him to the vet about 7 weeks ago because of a new episode of incontinence and some mild urine scalding. We had also noticed he was drinking more water than usual. The vet who is rabbit savvy gave us a urine bottle and suggested if it got worse to send in a sample. Anyway things got better but then one week he stopped drinking as much from his water bottle and we moved him onto a bowl and he continued to drink a lot. His incontinence then got worse so we sent for a urine test. The day we were about to ring in as we had not heard anything I had gone out early in the morning to give their herbs and hay and noticed he was off his legs with slight head tilt. We booked an emergency appt at the vets, unfortunately the rabbit vet was on annual leave so he saw another vet who telephoned the other vet for advice. He was started on EC treatment ? Lapizole and a cream for his urine scald + Metcam. His head tilt at the vet wasn't so bad but when he got home he was very off his legs. two days later he had a massive seizure when he was free ranging in the garden and luckily he was in view so I ran out and held him until it stopped. We then padded out his run and stopped access to the upper levels to keep him safe. He has an appt with the rabbit vet on Monday.

I really have no experience of EC and wondered if anyone could help with the following:

Do we need to quarantine him? and treat the other bunnies (one lives with him and a pair live next door but they take it in turns to free range in the garden) - the vet didn't mention this but at the time she wasn't sure if it was EC whereas we are pretty sure it is now. My husband is currently building an indoor run in our spare bedroom.

What is best to clean the runs with? I sue a Petsafe Pets at home disinfectant but I don't think this will cut it. They have an oak run and i'm reluctant to use bleach as they do chew bits of it occasionally. I've read about Vanidine and Aginene? but there is no mention of it killing EC spores.

Would a vet bed be helpful for the urine scald? we are currently putting cream on daily and he is loving sleeping on the pillows which are currently lining his run but we don't feel this is a practical solution. We were thinking perhaps a vet bed , but will he chew this?

What are the long term prospects for bunnies with EC, he is at least 4 years old but we think he may be older (he was a stray)

Any other tips would be most welcome :)
Click to expand...


Oh Compass I am so sorry, as if you didn't have enough woes recently :(

The best way to disinfect litter trays is to use a 1% bleach solution and rinse them out well. This will kill the spores of E.C. and it's been proven to be effective :)

28 days of Panacur, and it will only need to be given to those rabbits that actually live together. Avoid running them on grass (using the same patch) for the time being, and you should be OK. So long as they don't share the same area and litter trays.

Some info here:

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/e-cuniculi/

I am so sorry about the seizure :cry: This happened to one of mine and it's very distressing to see.

Vet bed is really good against urine scald, as is a good barrier cream. Whether he will nibble the vet bed, you'll have to watch on that one. Some good suggestions for barrier creams:


Gill (vet at Windelsham) recommends Derbymed SCP Spray:

http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Derbymed-SCP-Spray-200ml/productinfo/DERBYMSCP/
Derbymed SCP Spray 200ml is a soothing, antiseptic wound spray that removes excessive moisture from open wounds and aids in the management of cuts, sores and proud flesh.

This cream has analgesic (pain killing) properties:

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/veterinary-s.../healx-soother-plus-topical-cream-30ml-p-7773

This has been recommended by someone on here as very good:

https://vitaltouch.com/product/natalia-baby-bottom-butter-60ml/


I am sending you loads of good vibes for a speedy healing xx
 
Last edited:
Thank you for the advice and thank you for message mightymax, I did think the uni lad fb page was a bit odd ;)
Our pairs take it in turns to free range in the garden and so they would have all been exposed for at least a couple of months.
We have artificial grass so not real grass except a small tray which they have access too. I don't think I can use bleach on the grass.
I'm thinking we will probably have to treat all of them but then I cannot see his I can possibly keep on top of the contamination with the set up they have 😕
We have also recently adopted a young rescue bun who we are still bonding and I'm a bit oncerned that I've now put him at risk 😔
I'll try the vetbed and the dilute bleach and see what the vet says on Monday.
Many thanks
 
Compass said:
Thank you for the advice and thank you for message mightymax, I did think the uni lad fb page was a bit odd ;)
Our pairs take it in turns to free range in the garden and so they would have all been exposed for at least a couple of months.
We have artificial grass so not real grass except a small tray which they have access too. I don't think I can use bleach on the grass.
I'm thinking we will probably have to treat all of them but then I cannot see his I can possibly keep on top of the contamination with the set up they have 😕
We have also recently adopted a young rescue bun who we are still bonding and I'm a bit oncerned that I've now put him at risk 😔
I'll try the vetbed and the dilute bleach and see what the vet says on Monday.
Many thanks
Click to expand...


Hehe, well perhaps it made you smile ;):lol:

No you can't use bleach on the grass. Unless it's properly diagnosed though, you don't know for certain that it's E.C.

Head tilt can have other causes .. I am sure the vet mentioned these to you?

http://www.disabledrabbits.com/head-tilt.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-8/head-tilt.html

So he had his seizure two days after starting the Panacur/Lapizole? I have seen that sort of thing happen before ..

Where does your new little rescue bun live?
 
Yes, the seizure started a couple of days after the treatment. It was awful I heard a loud banging and his body was hitting the temporary run we have for the new bun. It took me a few seconds to hold him down as his body was convulsing so strongly. I honestly thought he was going to die in my arms ��. He is very off balance particularly after we put him back in his run after medicating. Otherwise he seems Brighter since we started treatment and he has his appetite back although still not the ravenous rabbit we know.
The new bun lives in the top two tiers of the hutch and separate run but he has access to the garden. They also talk to each other through their runs. My husband has bought materials to make an indoor run for poorly bun and possible quarantine. I'm reluctant to put him in the garden as we have a small wall which he could fall off if he has another seizure. Also now I'm worried about risks of contamination to their rabbit :(
 
Compass said:
Yes, the seizure started a couple of days after the treatment. It was awful I heard a loud banging and his body was hitting the temporary run we have for the new bun. It took me a few seconds to hold him down as his body was convulsing so strongly. I honestly thought he was going to die in my arms ��. He is very off balance particularly after we put him back in his run after medicating. Otherwise he seems Brighter since we started treatment and he has his appetite back although still not the ravenous rabbit we know.
The new bun lives in the top two tiers of the hutch and separate run but he has access to the garden. They also talk to each other through their runs. My husband has bought materials to make an indoor run for poorly bun and possible quarantine. I'm reluctant to put him in the garden as we have a small wall which he could fall off if he has another seizure. Also now I'm worried about risks of contamination to their rabbit :(
Click to expand...


If you quarantine him (what's his name?) wouldn't he be separated from his partner?

Yes when my little one had a seizure I also thought he was going to die in my arms. He was absolutely terrified - I could see in his eyes he didn't know what was happening. I was in the room when it happened, and I cradled him close in my arms until he settled down.

I do agree it would be best to keep him safe from injuring himself.
 
His name is Bagel, he's an albino , not the bed eyesight but the biggest ears and appetite usually! When I say quarantine I mean separate both him and his partner Brie from the other two. I would feel awful denying them the garden but it sounds like it's probably the safer option.
 
Compass said:
His name is Bagel, he's an albino , not the bed eyesight but the biggest ears and appetite usually! When I say quarantine I mean separate both him and his partner Brie from the other two. I would feel awful denying them the garden but it sounds like it's probably the safer option.
Click to expand...


Yes I agree that's the best thing to do. I would do that, at least for the 28 days and see how things go.

Vibes for Bagel :love:
 
Vibes for bagel. I'd prioritise the panacur treatment. Please don't beat yourself up believing you've put your bunnies at risk. More than not of domestic rabbits carry EC although a minority "succumb" to it. Mouse was diagnosed with EC before I rescued her & 2 of my previous bunnies have tested positive too following symptoms.
 
Sending lots of vibes for Bagel. I hope he shows signs of improvement. It sounds as though you are doing all the right things for his care.
 
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