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E. cuniculi. Vet has suggested euthanasia.

G

gaz1234

New Kit
So, woke up this morning to Gary not eating his nuggets (he ate fine last night at 9pm).

I separated him from his partner so I could see if he was pooping/peeing (he's peeing but no poop). I noticed that his head was ever so slightly tilted and his eyes were moving from left to right continuously.

Took him straight to the vet and they confirmed E. cuniculi. She said because of his age (8+) that the treatment prognosis is not good. The E. cuniculi has gone to his brain which is what is causing the eye movement. She said at this point that it would be potentially cruel to treat him and we should have him put to sleep.
As it was an emergency appointment she's not our usual vet and we don't know how rabbit savvy she is.

We've brought him home and are hand feeding to prevent stasis. We're booked in first thing tomorrow morning with our savvy normal vet. I'm mentally preparing myself for the worst but wanted to know if anyone else has experienced E. cuniculi going to the brain?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We just don't want him to suffer.
 
gaz1234 said:
So, woke up this morning to Gary not eating his nuggets (he ate fine last night at 9pm).

I separated him from his partner so I could see if he was pooping/peeing (he's peeing but no poop). I noticed that his head was ever so slightly tilted and his eyes were moving from left to right continuously.

Took him straight to the vet and they confirmed E. cuniculi. She said because of his age (8+) that the treatment prognosis is not good. The E. cuniculi has gone to his brain which is what is causing the eye movement. She said at this point that it would be potentially cruel to treat him and we should have him put to sleep.
As it was an emergency appointment she's not our usual vet and we don't know how rabbit savvy she is.

We've brought him home and are hand feeding to prevent stasis. We're booked in first thing tomorrow morning with our savvy normal vet. I'm mentally preparing myself for the worst but wanted to know if anyone else has experienced E. cuniculi going to the brain?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We just don't want him to suffer.
Click to expand...

Hello

I would certainly not agree to Euthanasia without attempting treatment which, whilst may not bring about a full recovery, could certainly enable your Bunny to have a good quality of life.

Also 8 is not 'old' as such and should not be a criteria for deciding whether treatment is 'worth it' or not.

Did the Vet prescribe any treatment ? IE Fenbendazole (Panacaur/Lapizole), Meloxicam (Metacam/Loxicom)

These links would be useful to read, I would not lose all hope yet.


https://www.dechra.co.uk/therapy-ar...cs-antifungals/disease-information/e-cuniculi

https://www.dovepress.com/encephali...-manageme-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-VMRR

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

Also the symptoms may be associated with a bacterial infection (middle ear) not EC

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm

I really hope your usual Vet will be willing to give treatment a chance. Very best wishes and please keep us updated if you can x
 
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I have had 2 rabbits with e cuniculi. One started with head tilt, balance problems and minor seizures but after treatment had a complete recovery and is still going strong, now 8. The other one had hind leg weakness which responded well to treatment initially although eventually he had a relapse with major seizures and had to be put to sleep.

Initial treatment for e cuniculi is fairly easy to manage so I would certainly given your rabbit a try on treatment first before making that sort of decision.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I have had bunnies with E Cuniculi which included Dillon fitting. He was treated and recovered. Good luck with your rabbit savvy vet tomorrow.
 
Normally, when a rabbit presents with headtilt, the Vet prescribes Panacur for EC, Baytril in case it is an ear infection and Metacam for pain relief/anti inflammatory.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Hello

I would certainly not agree to Euthanasia without attempting treatment which, whilst may not bring about a full recovery, could certainly enable your Bunny to have a good quality of life.

Also 8 is not 'old' as such and should not be a criteria for deciding whether treatment is 'worth it' or not.

Did the Vet prescribe any treatment ? IE Fenbendazole (Panacaur/Lapizole), Meloxicam (Metacam/Loxicom)

These links would be useful to read, I would not lose all hope yet.


https://www.dechra.co.uk/therapy-ar...cs-antifungals/disease-information/e-cuniculi

https://www.dovepress.com/encephali...-manageme-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-VMRR

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

Also the symptoms may be associated with a bacterial infection (middle ear) not EC

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm

I really hope your usual Vet will be willing to give treatment a chance. Very best wishes and please keep us updated if you can x
Click to expand...

I agree with all this. Good luck tomorrow.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. Obviously it was a huge shock to be told to put him to sleep, husband and I have been a mess all afternoon. He's otherwise a really healthy boy, like I said up until this morning he was fine. He's still not eating for himself but he's happy to be syringe fed.

She did suggest euthanasia there and then and we said no, we weren't mentally prepared and had to come home first. She didn't offer metacam or any other pain relief but she did bring out a treatment that she said was 30 days long. It was in an orange box but I didn't catch the name of it. By this point I was already a wreck :(


Edit: upon googling the box I can see it was Lapizole that she offered as treatment. She said the prognosis was not good though and it wouldn't be worth trying it.
 
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I agree with what others have said. It's definitely worth some treatment. Very best of luck.
 
gaz1234 said:
Thanks for the advice everyone. Obviously it was a huge shock to be told to put him to sleep, husband and I have been a mess all afternoon. He's otherwise a really healthy boy, like I said up until this morning he was fine. He's still not eating for himself but he's happy to be syringe fed.

She did suggest euthanasia there and then and we said no, we weren't mentally prepared and had to come home first. She didn't offer metacam or any other pain relief but she did bring out a treatment that she said was 30 days long. It was in an orange box but I didn't catch the name of it. By this point I was already a wreck :(


Edit: upon googling the box I can see it was Lapizole that she offered as treatment. She said the prognosis was not good though and it wouldn't be worth trying it.
Click to expand...

Utter rubbish in my (unqualified) opinion. I would wait to consult with your usual Vet tomorrow.
 
I'm inclined to agree. I checked out the link you shared for inner ear infection and that seems really plausible. He even has the face paralysis. The vet didn't check his ears, teeth, anything. Took one look at his eyee and said it's EC caused brain damage.

His eye is twitching horizontally not vertically, which is common for ear infections not EC.

His appointment is 7:30am tomorrow. As early as I could get. I've got a list of questions for my usual vet. I'm not leaving until he checks everything.

I'll pop by with an update tomorrow. Thanks again, I'm feeling much more optimistic.

(Finally remembered my login so replying from my other account :) )
 
You'll definitely want to rule out an ear infection too, but even if it's EC it's still worth treatment.
 
Best of luck getting a decent diagnosis and treatment regime :) 8 is no age, and it sounds like your bunny is otherwise fine :) Best wishes xx
 
All the best, I had a tilty bun (not EC) and can say it's definitely worth at least giving treatment a go, it could clear up relatively quickly if you're lucky and even if it doesn't a lot of buns do improve given time. Hope you get some good news from your vet tomorrow.
 
I totally agree with all the above posts. PTS is quite an extreme suggestion for a rabbit with highly treatable symptoms and who is still eating, etc and otherwise has a good quality of life.

From similar previous experiences, I would have expected to leave with a full 28 days of Panacur (for EC parasite) with metacam (anti-inflammatory to deal with the neurological effects of the EC parasite, plus pain relief if ear infection), and probably baytril (in case of ear infection). These cover all the obvious bases, assuming there is nothing else to note on examination - and a review in maybe a week.

The flickering eyes (nystagmus) can also be treated.
 
gary

gaz1234 said:
So, woke up this morning to Gary not eating his nuggets (he ate fine last night at 9pm).

I separated him from his partner so I could see if he was pooping/peeing (he's peeing but no poop). I noticed that his head was ever so slightly tilted and his eyes were moving from left to right continuously.

Took him straight to the vet and they confirmed E. cuniculi. She said because of his age (8+) that the treatment prognosis is not good. The E. cuniculi has gone to his brain which is what is causing the eye movement. She said at this point that it would be potentially cruel to treat him and we should have him put to sleep.
As it was an emergency appointment she's not our usual vet and we don't know how rabbit savvy she is.

We've brought him home and are hand feeding to prevent stasis. We're booked in first thing tomorrow morning with our savvy normal vet. I'm mentally preparing myself for the worst but wanted to know if anyone else has experienced E. cuniculi going to the brain?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We just don't want him to suffer.
Click to expand...
dear gaz1234,--talk to the exotic vet about [chloramphenicol]-I had success with this antibiotic-baytril does not cross the tissue surrounding the brain..-hopefully not too late,-need a full exam-ears too,verify-condition,-note--any antibiotic requires full attention to the gitract-ie.probotics,grasses,electrolytes..-watch those poops--sincerely james waller from acros the great pond-usa:love::wave:
 
Last edited:
bananarama said:
I'm inclined to agree. I checked out the link you shared for inner ear infection and that seems really plausible. He even has the face paralysis. The vet didn't check his ears, teeth, anything. Took one look at his eyee and said it's EC caused brain damage.

His eye is twitching horizontally not vertically, which is common for ear infections not EC.

His appointment is 7:30am tomorrow. As early as I could get. I've got a list of questions for my usual vet. I'm not leaving until he checks everything.

I'll pop by with an update tomorrow. Thanks again, I'm feeling much more optimistic.

(Finally remembered my login so replying from my other account :) )
Click to expand...

Hope the Vet you see today will provide the treatment needed . Good luck
 
jewaller said:
dear gaz1234,--talk to the exotic vet about [chloramphenicol]-I had success with this antibiotic-baytril does not cross the tissue surrounding the brain..-hopefully not too late,-need a full exam-ears too,verify-condition,-note--any antibiotic requires full attention to the gitract-ie.probotics,grasses,electrolytes..-watch those poops--sincerely james waller from acros the great pond-usa:love::wave:
Click to expand...

My vet said the same thing about Baytril when my Gemini had his first head tilt.
Gemini's head became extremely tilted and he also had horizontal eye movements. While we added the Panacur in case it was EC, I believe it was the treatment for the ear infection that got him back to normal.
Be prepared for the head tilt/balance issues/eye movements to get worse before they get better. In addition to medications and syringe feeding, I add sub Q fluids along with syringing oral fluids because the bunny may not be able to drink properly.
Over the years I have had several bunnies with head tilt, most from ear infections that cannot be seen from the outside. When you catch it early as you did, it can improve and the tilt will likely improve significantly.
 
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