Hello, I've not posted on here for years but I am desperate for some advice. My dear old boy Bandit (nearly 12) developed a head tilt on 1st March. It has now got worse to the point where he's mostly lying down. He is still eating , but very small amounts. I took him to vet down the road last week who prescribed Baytril twice daily 0.3ml and said to take him back in a week, so I did yesterday. He told me it was best to put Bandit to sleep and questioned my reasons for not wanting to put him to sleep, which was very frustrating and upsetting. I always feel I've known when it was time to say goodbye to my animals and it doesn't feel like it is yet. I sought a second opinion today at a different practice and they agreed to give him some Metacam 0.25ml twice daily and see how he is in two days. The car journey stressed him out completely and he was barely moving when we got there. Since we have returned he's more mobile. I am beginning to doubt myself now and perhaps it is best to let him go but at the same time he is still eating. I've recently lost a friend and I had Frank the guinea pig put to sleep last Monday so perhaps I am not being rational. Thoughts please.
Really sorry to hear about Bandit
This sounds very similar to what happened to my friend's rabbit recently. What they did was hospitalise their rabbit and he had all the medications and tests whilst at the vet so as not to keep transporting him to and fro and therefore making the head tilt worse.
It's very difficult to know whether it's head tilt or and inner ear infection, or a stroke or something completely different. I had three vets pronounce different diagnoses for my rabbit's head tilt, so what hope is there for us?
Sometimes fluid moves in the inner ear, not always infection, and if that's the case it's a sort of 'labyrinthitis' which can clear up easily on it's own.
I am pleased you've started the Panacur? That might make a significant difference if it's caused by that. My vet has prescribed double doses for a longer period than indicated, but obviously this is for your vet to decide upon.
You would also want to discuss with your vet about long term Metacam or perhaps even a corticosteroid, which can be very useful. You can't give Metacam whilst he's still getting the benefit of the steroid so you'd have to ask about the time lapse after it. Metacam is necessary to prevent the eruption of E.C. spores into organs such as the brain and kidneys which are particularly vulnerable, and where they would cause an inflammatory response. It might be a good idea to talk with your vet about having a full blood profile taken, because E.C. can cause issues in the kidneys. Your vet can then weigh up the pros and cons of prescribing Metacam, which it's believed can be particularly hard on the kidneys.
http://www.dechra.co.uk/therapy-are...cs-antifungals/disease-information/e-cuniculi
A couple of links about possible causes of head tilt:
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-8/head-tilt.html
http://www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html
There's some info on this link about ear infections, but there are some graphic images:
http://www.exoticpetmedicine.com/article/S1557-5063(16)30173-2/pdf
(it also takes a while to load!)
There's also some good info here:
http://www.disabledrabbits.com/head-tilt.html
Lastly, I wish you loads of luck with your bunny. If after a good 'bash' at trying to fix him you come to the conclusion that letting him go is the best thing, then my thoughts are with you as it's not an easy thing to do x