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Gemini Head Tilt Update 2/22/2019

A couple of my past head tilt bunnies had some residual tilt after they recovered. With Gemini I barely notice any remaining tilt. I am not sure if this is just luck, or if it is because I was giving him gently physical therapy once he was no longer wobbly.
He is such a good boy and he and I appreciate all the good thoughts from our friends at RU.
 
A few weeks ago Gemini began to pee on himself. I tried giving him a shorter litter box and putting paper around it to absorb pee so he would stay drier but it just got worse. Last week I got him an appointment at the vet to make sure he did not have infection or stone that was causing him issues. His urine did not contain any blood, white cells or more than a normal amount of minerals so we still do not have a diagnosis. He was prescribed medicam for arthritis and any inflammation (he also does not groom himself in the hard to reach areas).
When being examined he did begin to pee and the vet said that was unusual for a bunny. A urine sample was collected and was normal.

He had head tilt/rolling a few months ago but it was resolved and he got back his litter habits a few weeks after his ear infection resolved.

Gemini is not dribbling pee. When he goes outside his litter box he makes a lot of pee in a short time.

Gemini's litter box is kept very clean (once or twice a day it is totally cleaned). He is still peeing outside his litter box, but he is not getting as much on himself.
He does drink a lot of water for a bunny his size, but that is something he did since I adopted him, and he does it year round.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Gemini is still peeing outside his litter box. He is not getting too much on himself. However, he still needed a wash to get some residue off his feet, tail, and rear. Yesterday I put hand towel in the bottom of a plastic shoe box and added about two inches of lukewarm water (nothing else). Gemini was such a good bunny! He just sat there while I messaged his fur in the water. I put in fresh water for his rinse and he looked like he was enjoying his soak. He even started to wash his paws while he was still sitting in his bunny sized tub. I took him out and used a couple of towels to dry him before handing him, in a dry towel, to sit with my spouse. Gemini loved the attention.

I am still puzzled why Gemini uses his litter box sometimes and not others (not related to when it is cleaned); yet I am pleased he tolerated being rinsed so well.

He has always been a very good bunny, so I am more relieved then surprise.
 
Gemini is still peeing outside his litter box. He is not getting too much on himself. However, he still needed a wash to get some residue off his feet, tail, and rear. Yesterday I put hand towel in the bottom of a plastic shoe box and added about two inches of lukewarm water (nothing else). Gemini was such a good bunny! He just sat there while I messaged his fur in the water. I put in fresh water for his rinse and he looked like he was enjoying his soak. He even started to wash his paws while he was still sitting in his bunny sized tub. I took him out and used a couple of towels to dry him before handing him, in a dry towel, to sit with my spouse. Gemini loved the attention.

I am still puzzled why Gemini uses his litter box sometimes and not others (not related to when it is cleaned); yet I am pleased he tolerated being rinsed so well.

He has always been a very good bunny, so I am more relieved then surprise.

Hello T

Does Gemini have a drop sided litter box ? Sometimes they can help a Bunny be more consistent with their litter tray habits . A Rabbit who as had any history of vestibular disease can have some lasting issues with balance from time to time. So maybe the times when he does not hop in to his litter are box are due to him feeling a bit wobbly, so-to-speak.

Also, do you think he ever leaks wee without realising he is doing so ?

I hope that you are all doing as well as possible over there and it sounds as though Gemini is being very good about accepting the extra hands on care he needs :love:
 
Gemini is such a good boy :love: I’m sure he knows you are helping him :love: he’s lucky to have such a good care giver :love:
 
Gemini is still peeing outside his litter box. He is not getting too much on himself. However, he still needed a wash to get some residue off his feet, tail, and rear. Yesterday I put hand towel in the bottom of a plastic shoe box and added about two inches of lukewarm water (nothing else). Gemini was such a good bunny! He just sat there while I messaged his fur in the water. I put in fresh water for his rinse and he looked like he was enjoying his soak. He even started to wash his paws while he was still sitting in his bunny sized tub. I took him out and used a couple of towels to dry him before handing him, in a dry towel, to sit with my spouse. Gemini loved the attention.

I am still puzzled why Gemini uses his litter box sometimes and not others (not related to when it is cleaned); yet I am pleased he tolerated being rinsed so well.

He has always been a very good bunny, so I am more relieved then surprise.


He sounds like a dear little boy :love:

I've found there can be several reasons why a bunny behaves like this.
I am sure you've excluded any thought of a urinary tract infection?
 
Hello T

Does Gemini have a drop sided litter box ? Sometimes they can help a Bunny be more consistent with their litter tray habits . A Rabbit who as had any history of vestibular disease can have some lasting issues with balance from time to time. So maybe the times when he does not hop in to his litter are box are due to him feeling a bit wobbly, so-to-speak.

Also, do you think he ever leaks wee without realising he is doing so ?

I hope that you are all doing as well as possible over there and it sounds as though Gemini is being very good about accepting the extra hands on care he needs :love:
Dear Jane,
Thank you for replying. I already tried giving him a litter box with one low side that was so low it held very little litter. He still peed all over even when I changed it twice a day so I went back to the average side litter box. He seems to do it more while he is eating his pellets or his hay so I moved the litter box next to his hay rack so he is sitting in the litter box when he is eating hay.
Gemini always drank a lot of water for a bunny his size.
He is on Medicam.
Your suggestion that he is wobbly is interesting. A couple weeks ago I thought he seemed a bit wobbly until I convinced myself I was seeing something that was not there.
He does not always raise his rear when he pees so I am likely to believe it is not his intention to pee. When it happens it is not a dribble, but a river of pee. The last time I actually saw him do it was several days ago and he continued to eat while the pee was coming out. I was expecting that he would at least wash himself but he did not do so while I was watching.

For now I am blotting any wayward pee several times a day to minimize the amount that gets on him.

He sometimes can be dry for many hours during which time he uses his litterbox. At the same time on another day he can pee a river outside his litter box.
You are right that I am very lucky that he likes the attention. Now I know I can soak and rinse him without stressing either of us.
 
Gemini is such a good boy :love: I’m sure he knows you are helping him :love: he’s lucky to have such a good care giver :love:

Thank you for your kind words. I am so lucky to have Gemini too. It made it so much easier when he needed meds, hand feedings, fluids, and now baths to have such a sweet boy.
 
He sounds like a dear little boy :love:

I've found there can be several reasons why a bunny behaves like this.
I am sure you've excluded any thought of a urinary tract infection?

Hi MM,

I had to wait a few days before the vet was in the office and my first thought was UTI or bladder stone. The vet was able to check his urine and it showed neither. While I was glad he was clear of these two issues, I also am sad we do not know why this is happening and how to resolve this issue.

Gemini is a very sweet bunny who was previously owned by a 4H member who could no longer take care of him. My spouse saw him and immediately adoped him and gave him to me as a present (he still talks to him and gives him his morning care/pets).
We were told he was two years old when he was adopted three years ago. We are so lucky.
 
I called vet and we decided to try abx in case his ear issue has returned just enough for him to be less willing to hop around. He has always been a quiet bunny, so it is hard to know if he is just more mellow due to his personality or because of an undiagnosed issue.
 
I called vet and we decided to try abx in case his ear issue has returned just enough for him to be less willing to hop around. He has always been a quiet bunny, so it is hard to know if he is just more mellow due to his personality or because of an undiagnosed issue.


It's always so difficult and frustrating when you don't know what's going on.

What abx will you be trying? I hope they do the job.
 
I called vet and we decided to try abx in case his ear issue has returned just enough for him to be less willing to hop around. He has always been a quiet bunny, so it is hard to know if he is just more mellow due to his personality or because of an undiagnosed issue.

Hmmmmm, a tricky one. When the Vet last examined him did he/she check his bladder for any signs of sludge ? Sometimes when a Rabbit has been/is less mobile they will develop bladder sludge. In the early stages this can present with loss of litter tray habits/ a degree of incontinence. Often the Rabbit will pass copious amounts of wee when they are picked up/handled.

If EC was in any way involved when Gemini had the vestibular symptoms then any damage done to the CNS by EC could effect his ability to feel that he has a full bladder.

Topping up the vibes for him xx
 
It's always so difficult and frustrating when you don't know what's going on.

What abx will you be trying? I hope they do the job.

It is quite a mystery. He is already on Medicam. He was prescribed the same abx that worked on him when he had the head tilt. It is a sulfa combination.
 
Hmmmmm, a tricky one. When the Vet last examined him did he/she check his bladder for any signs of sludge ? Sometimes when a Rabbit has been/is less mobile they will develop bladder sludge. In the early stages this can present with loss of litter tray habits/ a degree of incontinence. Often the Rabbit will pass copious amounts of wee when they are picked up/handled.

If EC was in any way involved when Gemini had the vestibular symptoms then any damage done to the CNS by EC could effect his ability to feel that he has a full bladder.

Topping up the vibes for him xx

Hi Jane,

I appreciate the suggestion and the extra vibes. The vet checked his urine for crystals and there were only a few so no sludge.
His head tilt was due to an infection which responded to abx. Of course, he could still have some scaring or damage from the infection; yet it would seem strange that he regained his litter habits after his prior issue, only to lose them again more than two months later.
I am hoping the abx will improve his situation.
 
Gemini was not eating his hay for the last couple weeks and he also started to leave the heavier veins on his dandelions even though he was eating the rest of his dandelion greens and some pellets. Today he had another dental and the vet found more sharp points. Even though he did not notice any cuts or ulcers, we know it must have been causing him discomfort. Gemini had his pain meds and is nibbling a bit of dandelion greens and little pieces of the greens from some organic carrots. I have not seen him drink water, but he is pooing and peeing which is always a good sign.
It is a relief that so far he tolerated GA and the dental better than Raven did last month. I hope my saying this did not jinx him. Please give us some positive vibes that Gemini will be back to his normal self soon.
 
Gemini was not eating his hay for the last couple weeks and he also started to leave the heavier veins on his dandelions even though he was eating the rest of his dandelion greens and some pellets. Today he had another dental and the vet found more sharp points. Even though he did not notice any cuts or ulcers, we know it must have been causing him discomfort. Gemini had his pain meds and is nibbling a bit of dandelion greens and little pieces of the greens from some organic carrots. I have not seen him drink water, but he is pooing and peeing which is always a good sign.
It is a relief that so far he tolerated GA and the dental better than Raven did last month. I hope my saying this did not jinx him. Please give us some positive vibes that Gemini will be back to his normal self soon.

Poor little Gemini and his pesky teeth. I hope that his mouth feels more comfortable now and that he will be eating his hay again very soon x
 
Gemini was not eating his hay for the last couple weeks and he also started to leave the heavier veins on his dandelions even though he was eating the rest of his dandelion greens and some pellets. Today he had another dental and the vet found more sharp points. Even though he did not notice any cuts or ulcers, we know it must have been causing him discomfort. Gemini had his pain meds and is nibbling a bit of dandelion greens and little pieces of the greens from some organic carrots. I have not seen him drink water, but he is pooing and peeing which is always a good sign.
It is a relief that so far he tolerated GA and the dental better than Raven did last month. I hope my saying this did not jinx him. Please give us some positive vibes that Gemini will be back to his normal self soon.


Sending loads of vibes that Gemini will be back to normal very soon xx
 
Gemini is eating some pellets and all his greens. He enjoys carrot tops most so he is getting spoiled with his very own stash of carrot tops, along with the dandelion greens. So far he is just nibbling on hay.
He is sill on medicam and is a very good boy.
 
Gemini is eating some pellets and all his greens. He enjoys carrot tops most so he is getting spoiled with his very own stash of carrot tops, along with the dandelion greens. So far he is just nibbling on hay.
He is sill on medicam and is a very good boy.

Bless him, he seems to be making some progress. Hopefully he will start to be a bit more enthusiastic about his hay soon.
 
I hope he feels like eating hay soon. When Frosty needed a dental afterwards he wouldn’t eat the hay he was on before, so I had to change to some other types!
 
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