Giving panacur

I've just taken Ludo to the vet for a health check up and he has a variety of problems, most of which the vet recommends leaving alone
.
He did however say he would really recommend a course of wormer (I assume panacur) because some of the symptoms could be neurological. Ludo is a real stress-head, so he said to give it a think over, whether or not it would stress him more and potentially make him ill to give it to him, or whether it was worth a try.

I'm thinking it may be worth a try- it's not expensive to buy Panacur and if we have to give up, then there's no great loss.

By any miracle, are there any rabbits who like the taste of panacur? Is there a chance he'd just eat it willingly? He can't have banana or anything to mask the taste, he's a very stasis-prone bunny and on a very strict diet!

Hesperus said:

I've just taken Ludo to the vet for a health check up and he has a variety of problems, most of which the vet recommends leaving alone
.
He did however say he would really recommend a course of wormer (I assume panacur) because some of the symptoms could be neurological. Ludo is a real stress-head, so he said to give it a think over, whether or not it would stress him more and potentially make him ill to give it to him, or whether it was worth a try.

I'm thinking it may be worth a try- it's not expensive to buy Panacur and if we have to give up, then there's no great loss.

By any miracle, are there any rabbits who like the taste of panacur? Is there a chance he'd just eat it willingly? He can't have banana or anything to mask the taste, he's a very stasis-prone bunny and on a very strict diet!

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Is it the paste or the dog liquid?

My mum had great success with putting the paste between two spinach leaves for one of my buns, when I had to leave him with her [emoji38]

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The panacur liquid squirted into a bite sized shredded wheat or a malted shreddie can work, but maybe Ludo cant have anything like that.

Thank you for the tips, I'm collecting it from the vet later. I think it's the paste... I'm going to try it on some herbs to start with. If not I could try just a tiny bit of shredded wheat!

Mine have always eaten panacur straight away off a fenugreek crunchie


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I manage to get him to take it wrapped inside a dried apple leaf!
Unfotunately it doesn't seem to be doing anything, but it's only been 6 days so maybe it's too soon!

Hesperus said:

I manage to get him to take it wrapped inside a dried apple leaf!
Unfotunately it doesn't seem to be doing anything, but it's only been 6 days so maybe it's too soon!

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What are his main symptoms ?

Jack's-Jane said:

What are his main symptoms ?

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- A 'cataract' in his left eye, which looks just like a cataract to me but the vet said is sitting too far forward in the eye to be a normal cataract. (I believe him, it just looks to the average glance like a cataract!) It came on very quickly. I think the vet said it was sitting in front of the lens, I may have remembered that wrong though. He definitely said it's not an infection or any type of injury.
- Bending the left front paw and walking on it bent over. The vet said he thinks it's neurological. There's no pain in it and if it's pulled into the right place Ludo will stay relaxed. It's like he just doesn't realise he's doing it.
- Urine staining and a dirty bottom. No change of diet/housing etc etc.

The vet is one that knows Ludo well and understands the risk of stressing him out because he gets stasis so easily. He could find absolutely no signs of arthritis, which would tie in with how Ludo behaves (still jumps as well as always, does 7 stairs in one hop etc). He suggested that a good step would be a round of panacur in case it was EC. I was hoping that at least the urine staining/dirty bottom might improve.

Hesperus said:

- A 'cataract' in his left eye, which looks just like a cataract to me but the vet said is sitting too far forward in the eye to be a normal cataract. (I believe him, it just looks to the average glance like a cataract!) It came on very quickly. I think the vet said it was sitting in front of the lens, I may have remembered that wrong though. He definitely said it's not an infection or any type of injury.
- Bending the left front paw and walking on it bent over. The vet said he thinks it's neurological. There's no pain in it and if it's pulled into the right place Ludo will stay relaxed. It's like he just doesn't realise he's doing it.
- Urine staining and a dirty bottom. No change of diet/housing etc etc.

The vet is one that knows Ludo well and understands the risk of stressing him out because he gets stasis so easily. He could find absolutely no signs of arthritis, which would tie in with how Ludo behaves (still jumps as well as always, does 7 stairs in one hop etc). He suggested that a good step would be a round of panacur in case it was EC. I was hoping that at least the urine staining/dirty bottom might improve.

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I remember well how delicate little Ludo's tum is. You have always done so well in helping him cope with it .

Re the Panacur, it does not 'cure' EC as such. By the time clinical symptoms present the actual protozoan parasite has long since been excreted by the Rabbit via the kidneys/urine. But it will have left spores within the bloodstream which can migrate to various organs and the CNS. When the spores erupt into said organs/CNS clinical symptoms present as a result of the inflammatory response that results. The reason Panacur is given is to try to reduce the number of EC spores circulating in the bloodstream. It is also usually necessary to give a Non Steroidal Anti-inflammatory such as Metacam to try to minimise the inflammation and try to minimise long term cellular damage. Usually any damage already done by erupting EC spores is irreversible. As the Kidneys are organs that EC can effect the Vet will have to be mindful of the safe dose rate of any NSAID used and to weigh up the risks v benefits in giving them. I expect you have already done your own research, but here are a few links just in case you have not seen them :

http://www.greendale.co.uk/cuniculi_disease.html

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

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

Sending lots of vibes for Ludo and I hope that you are doing as OK as possible these days xx

Thank you Jane, I've had a read through. I think I need to speak to the vet about him taking a 28-day course.
The good news is that the urine staining has definitely improved, we haven't had any accidents for about a week!

Hesperus said:

Thank you Jane, I've had a read through. I think I need to speak to the vet about him taking a 28-day course.
The good news is that the urine staining has definitely improved, we haven't had any accidents for about a week!

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Personally I'd want to do a 28 day course, but see what your Vet says. Glad to hear that Ludo is dryer at the moment, hope the improvement continues. Hope he's written his letter to Santa too ! :lol:

Jack's-Jane said:

Personally I'd want to do a 28 day course, but see what your Vet says. Glad to hear that Ludo is dryer at the moment, hope the improvement continues. Hope he's written his letter to Santa too ! :lol:

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The vet agrees with you! He's on the 28-day course now. I'll tell him to send his letter ASAP or there'll be no carrot tops for him on Xmas morning! :lol: