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E cuniculi - 10.5 year old lady

aerofine

aerofine

Warren Scout
My Dutch lady who is 10.5 developed symptoms of ecuniculi back in February and was treated with baytril and panacur for 28 days. She had flickering eyes and her head kept pulling to one side. She's been doing well until about a month ago when literally overnight the eye flickering and head pulling came back. She also seems to get confused and lose use of her back legs, as if she's having an episode or semi seizure, and she spins in a circle on her belly. We put her back on the panacur and did another 28 days. Within a few days she was fine. We stopped after 28 days and this last few days she's started with the symptoms again. So I've put her back on panacur again.

Has anyone had any experience like this and can give any advice?

She lives inside now and has done since February. 95% of the time she's fine - she's eating, drinking, pottering about. It's as if her brain and back legs stop working for a short period and after 5-10 mins she's ok.
 
It is a fairly common pattern for EC. It can be a rollercoaster ride. Stress of any sort also makes the rabbit more susceptible to reinfection.

Panacur reduces the loading of the parasite, but you also need something to reduce the neurological damage it does, as this is what causes the symptoms you see. An anti-inflammatory such as Metacam is often used - so you need to talk to your vet (they may prescribe without an appointment if you talk to them - maybe take a video of bunny showing the problem). It is also possible that you need to do more than one round of treatment, so talk to your vet if the symptoms are not resolving at the end of 28 days.



Don't forget that the parasite is shed in urine. Anything that may have had contact with urine needs to be disinfected on days 21 and 28 of the treatment cycle. This breaks the lifecycle of the parasite and reduces the chances of reinfection. Anything that can't be cleaned should be disposed of (eg hay). Most things can be steam cleaned, or use 10% bleach. Other disinfectants (such as Virkon S) can be used.Virkon can be used in the washing machine with your regular powder.
 
aerofine said:
My Dutch lady who is 10.5 developed symptoms of ecuniculi back in February and was treated with baytril and panacur for 28 days. She had flickering eyes and her head kept pulling to one side. She's been doing well until about a month ago when literally overnight the eye flickering and head pulling came back. She also seems to get confused and lose use of her back legs, as if she's having an episode or semi seizure, and she spins in a circle on her belly. We put her back on the panacur and did another 28 days. Within a few days she was fine. We stopped after 28 days and this last few days she's started with the symptoms again. So I've put her back on panacur again.

Has anyone had any experience like this and can give any advice?

She lives inside now and has done since February. 95% of the time she's fine - she's eating, drinking, pottering about. It's as if her brain and back legs stop working for a short period and after 5-10 mins she's ok.
Click to expand...

Was the EC confirmed by PCR blood testing ? There is a Facebook group that offers help and support to people caring for Rabbits with head tit, EC and other conditions causing vestibular disturbances

https://www.facebook.com/groups/HelpforHeadTiltHoppers/
 
Shimmer said:
It is a fairly common pattern for EC. It can be a rollercoaster ride. Stress of any sort also makes the rabbit more susceptible to reinfection.

Panacur reduces the loading of the parasite, but you also need something to reduce the neurological damage it does, as this is what causes the symptoms you see. An anti-inflammatory such as Metacam is often used - so you need to talk to your vet (they may prescribe without an appointment if you talk to them - maybe take a video of bunny showing the problem). It is also possible that you need to do more than one round of treatment, so talk to your vet if the symptoms are not resolving at the end of 28 days.



Don't forget that the parasite is shed in urine. Anything that may have had contact with urine needs to be disinfected on days 21 and 28 of the treatment cycle. This breaks the lifecycle of the parasite and reduces the chances of reinfection. Anything that can't be cleaned should be disposed of (eg hay). Most things can be steam cleaned, or use 10% bleach. Other disinfectants (such as Virkon S) can be used.Virkon can be used in the washing machine with your regular powder.
Click to expand...

She only pees in her litter box and I clean that twice a week with bleach. I take it if she's not peeing anywhere else that's ok?
 
Shimmer said:
It is a fairly common pattern for EC. It can be a rollercoaster ride. Stress of any sort also makes the rabbit more susceptible to reinfection.

Panacur reduces the loading of the parasite, but you also need something to reduce the neurological damage it does, as this is what causes the symptoms you see. An anti-inflammatory such as Metacam is often used - so you need to talk to your vet (they may prescribe without an appointment if you talk to them - maybe take a video of bunny showing the problem). It is also possible that you need to do more than one round of treatment, so talk to your vet if the symptoms are not resolving at the end of 28 days.
Click to expand...

Thing is, the symptoms aren't there all the time. She's just had an episode as I call it, and now she's running around out of the bedroom and into the bathroom! It's as if her brain turns off and back on.
 
aerofine said:
She only pees in her litter box and I clean that twice a week with bleach. I take it if she's not peeing anywhere else that's ok?
Click to expand...

She will be spreading urine eg on her fur and on her feet as she walks around, and maybe flicking it around - so all flooring and surfaces which may have had contact shoud be cleaned (eg skirting boards, walls to 2' high, nesting boxes). Also when she grooms, she will be transferring it to anything else she touches (eg bowls). You need to do a full clean to get the best results.
 
Shimmer said:
She will be spreading urine eg on her fur and on her feet as she walks around, and maybe flicking it around - so all flooring and surfaces which may have had contact shoud be cleaned (eg skirting boards, walls to 2' high, nesting boxes). Also when she grooms, she will be transferring it to anything else she touches (eg bowls). You need to do a full clean to get the best results.
Click to expand...

She's on carpet though?
 
It could be that she is having TIAs- transient ischaemic attacks ( mini strokes ). Is the nystagmus horizontal or vertical ?
 
aerofine said:
She's on carpet though?
Click to expand...

If she has EC, the surfaces all need cleaning. Carpets - can they be steamed or shampooed? Maybe cover with puppy pads once disinfected as they are absorbent and provide a plastic barrier to protect the carpet underneath. The EC parasite doesn't care what surfaces it is on, and remains viable in the environment for some weeks / months, hence the risk of reinfection. Don't forget that you can also spread it by walking on the same surfaces - so it's not just the obvious areas like the litter tray.
 
aerofine said:
Sorry, I don't know what that is?
Click to expand...

Sorry your bun is having problems

Nystagmus is the eye movements you spoke of - they go either side to side (horizontal) or up down (vertical). I think one is more indicative of EC but I forget which. I want to say horizontal as thats what my EC bun had but not confident
 
joey&boo said:
Sorry your bun is having problems

Nystagmus is the eye movements you spoke of - they go either side to side (horizontal) or up down (vertical). I think one is more indicative of EC but I forget which. I want to say horizontal as thats what my EC bun had but not confident
Click to expand...

Eyes go side to side very quickly.
 
InspectorMorse said:
That is horizontal nystagmus which is usually indicative of bacterial middle/inner ear infection. EC usually causes vertical and/or positional nystagmus and rarely rotational nystagmus. Scroll half way down this page

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

Ah that's very helpful.

Yes her eyes are going side to side, corner to corner. I've got Baytril which is what she had last time so I will give her that again along with the pancaur.
 
aerofine said:
Ah that's very helpful.

Yes her eyes are going side to side, corner to corner. I've got Baytril which is what she had last time so I will give her that again along with the pancaur.
Click to expand...

Personally I’d check with the Vet first. Also, if the Baytril was dispensed into a different bottle from the manufacturers bottle it may not be usable now x
 
My late Gemini had recurring middle ear infection/EC. Your bunny may require a different antibiotic so I advise you to check with your vet. Also, my bunny would slowly improve over several days/weeks; though it would only take two or three days to go from being OK to circling/falling over. Did you say your bunny would improve suddenly?
 
We took her to the vets last night - she's had a steroid injection and I got some more Baytril. Still using the panacur too. We just gave her the meds, which then when we put her back into her pen, it seemed to trigger an episode. She seems the same today as yesterday at the moment. It seems to 'come on' if she moves too much, too quickly. But she still wants to hop around. I'm not sure what to do - at what point do I say it's too much and make the decision? She's been with me since she was 8 weeks old and has seen 4 husbuns come and go.
 
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