i'd like some feedback on my mini lop alice. she is 4+ years old. she is a house bunny, and bought her from a breeder when she was about 1. (she would not breed). she is just our wee doll and is totally spoiled. have not had any problems with her until about 3 weeks ago. she is poo trained and is always cleaned out reg (every two days). about 2 weeks ago we noticed she did not seem right and tended to smell a bit. so i started giving her a wee bath. that did not seem to help and she developed red skin on her hind leg and then started to be a bit lethargic. we took her to the vet. they took her in that night - overnight and said they thought it was a problem with her spine. she always ate and drank so but they also said she was underweight. they x-rayed her and we went back the following day to collect her. they said that the x-rays showed no sign of any spinal problems, but she was very unwell and they said to prepare for the worst. she was dragging her hind legs very badly. they said they wanted to take some blood tests and samples. i was told they would know the outcome in 2 days. 3 days later i was advised that blood tests including kidney, liver white and red cells showed a slight increase in the norm ...however not enough to show she was in any organ failure. they were still awaiting results on disease results, which they said had been sent yo yorkshire as they could only give this result. they also said that it may be e-cuniculi, and in the interim - gave me antiobotics and panacur. they said she seemed to be drinking more than she should. i had not noticed this. but would keep an eye on her. since we got back from the vet, the first night i stayed up all night with her as i thought she would survive. after 4 days, she has improved, and as of today, seems to be not dragging her legs so much. i am still giving her the antibiotics and panacur and giving her some physio to her hind legs to as they advised. she has improved as i said, but her back legs seem to be red. she is a house rabbit, and she sleeps on a towel with rubber back, which is changed twice a day. she is eating like a horse and drinking. i am getting angry that we still await the outstanding test results. we still do not know what is wrong. we all love her ver much and want her to get well. please dont think that i am complaining about the money. but i paid £250 within less than 24 hours for this service and i feel that these tests should have come back sooner. if you can help - please do.
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alice
- Thread starter lindahogg
- Start date
Jack's-Jane
Wise Old Thumper
It sounds as though Alice may have Encephaalitozoon Cuniculi (EC)
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...N3ISKU&sig=AHIEtbR1V0Bkgl46nxoM3IZVX7iM5Uaz_Q
Is she also receiving a daily non steroidal ant inflammatory such as Metacam ? This is an essential part of the treatment of 'active' EC to try to reduce the inflammation caused by erupting EC spores. It is the inflammation that causes clinical symptoms(eg hind leg weakness) and long term cellular damage.
It is also important to prevent re-ingestion of EC spores which are shed in the urine. So scrupulous hygiene is necessary. EC spores remain viable outside of the Rabbit for up to 30 days. Cleaning of the environment and any urine contaminated area needs to be done using a 10% bleach solution.
All in contact Rabbits also need treatment with Panacur.
I hope that Alice can recover.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...N3ISKU&sig=AHIEtbR1V0Bkgl46nxoM3IZVX7iM5Uaz_Q
Is she also receiving a daily non steroidal ant inflammatory such as Metacam ? This is an essential part of the treatment of 'active' EC to try to reduce the inflammation caused by erupting EC spores. It is the inflammation that causes clinical symptoms(eg hind leg weakness) and long term cellular damage.
It is also important to prevent re-ingestion of EC spores which are shed in the urine. So scrupulous hygiene is necessary. EC spores remain viable outside of the Rabbit for up to 30 days. Cleaning of the environment and any urine contaminated area needs to be done using a 10% bleach solution.
All in contact Rabbits also need treatment with Panacur.
I hope that Alice can recover.
Captain Helen
Wise Old Thumper
How the treatment helps. Sending lots of vibes for Alice xx
thank you for your response
as i said in my email we had results of blood test. but still waiting as of tonight friday 12th for her results for ecuniculi - they say it will take 7-10 days - i dont know why and apparently the vet doesn's either. anyway - she went for a check up tonight and they said she is slightly better - i'm not an expert but i knew that myself.
we are still giving her antibiotics - and panacur.
no - she is not getting any non steroidal anti inflammatory - they did not mention this or advise it. i am a bit now concerned as they keep saying that this is probably what is wrong with her - but not giving it.
as far as hygiene is concerned she could not be more clean. that i can assure you. rven before this came about she was always kept clean and since then, she only goes in her cage at night. during the day i keep her out. i dont use sawdust. her cage is lined with a bathbat - rubber on the bottom. i take her out each morning and boil the mats, spray and scrub her cage. she is a house bunny as i said so during day she is out in the house, and she sleeps and poos in her wee poo plastic toilet. that said i pick out poos and change everying there regularly not to mention wipe her down with antibacterial wipes. wash her back paws etc regularly. she is fed burgess food, timothy feeding hay and her fav broccoli and cabbage and plenty of water. she may sound spoiled but she is important to us.
She is much better tonight and even cuddling into us and now running around the house like she used to, but im still concerned and i want to know the results of this test. my main concern is she has it - will getting the metacam be too late - if it takes 10 days to gt the results.
i hope she recovers to. im in contact with the breeder i bought her from and she is trying to give me some advice to.
thank you again
as i said in my email we had results of blood test. but still waiting as of tonight friday 12th for her results for ecuniculi - they say it will take 7-10 days - i dont know why and apparently the vet doesn's either. anyway - she went for a check up tonight and they said she is slightly better - i'm not an expert but i knew that myself.
we are still giving her antibiotics - and panacur.
no - she is not getting any non steroidal anti inflammatory - they did not mention this or advise it. i am a bit now concerned as they keep saying that this is probably what is wrong with her - but not giving it.
as far as hygiene is concerned she could not be more clean. that i can assure you. rven before this came about she was always kept clean and since then, she only goes in her cage at night. during the day i keep her out. i dont use sawdust. her cage is lined with a bathbat - rubber on the bottom. i take her out each morning and boil the mats, spray and scrub her cage. she is a house bunny as i said so during day she is out in the house, and she sleeps and poos in her wee poo plastic toilet. that said i pick out poos and change everying there regularly not to mention wipe her down with antibacterial wipes. wash her back paws etc regularly. she is fed burgess food, timothy feeding hay and her fav broccoli and cabbage and plenty of water. she may sound spoiled but she is important to us.
She is much better tonight and even cuddling into us and now running around the house like she used to, but im still concerned and i want to know the results of this test. my main concern is she has it - will getting the metacam be too late - if it takes 10 days to gt the results.
i hope she recovers to. im in contact with the breeder i bought her from and she is trying to give me some advice to.
thank you again
If she is on Panacur they are already treating for EC whilst the results come back. is the red skin on the back legs urine scald? If so, sudocrem can help protect the legs from being burnt and help it heal underneath. I've had similar problems and still no firm diagnosis 5 months on. Even if the EC comes back positive I think they can still be a carrier but not have symptoms. The same with pasteurella and cocodisis. The only thing thats worked with mine is just ensuring I clean out every day. I also added some oats and readi-grass to the normal pellet diet to increase weight. Don't be tempted to increase the pellets as I did this and then the bunny stopped eating his hay because he was full of pellets and ended up having to undergo a dental.
I've come back to this thread as I did have a further thought- has the vet checked for gall/kidney stones? If you are feeding broccoli and cabbage reg, these are high calcium foods. I only give them as treats and tend to stick to cauliflower, celery, fresh herbs, and branches pruned from the fruit trees and hawthorns in the garden.
Mrs. Bunnykins
Wise Old Thumper
Fingers, toes and paws crossed for Alice. xx
These little darlings are such a worry. Bless their little hearts.
These little darlings are such a worry. Bless their little hearts.
