Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Head Tilt/Ear Infection UPDATE Good news?

Viewing 17 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • MelBell
      Participant
      31 posts Send Private Message

        About a month ago, while I was away at college, my mother noticed Luigi’s head was a little off. After a day or two, it got more noticable so she took him to the vet. He was given a prescription of Baytril (an antibotic) and he is still on it presently, with no changes. It has been getting worse, in fact.

         

        He has been back and forth to the vet several times now. He got a shot of Ivomec (unsure if that is the correct spelling) with no effect, and yesterday got a shot of Penicillin, again with no effect, yet. He is still on the Baytril now, and is gradually starting to hate it. It is getting harder for us to give it to him (it’s a liquid taken orally) so sometimes we have to trick him with orange juice.

         

        His behavoir otherwise has changed as well. He is not eating like he used to. He barely touches his hay and pellets, but still eats fresh vegetables and fruits. He does not jump on my bed anymore, and his balance seems to be off, as he trips and falls over sometimes. He also seems to be more skittish than usual and less tolerant of petting. But what scares me the most is he does not drink water at all. So, we have resorted to giving him highly diluted orange juice through a syringe, as he won’t give us the chance with just water.

         

        Does this all sound like normal inner ear infection symptoms? To me, it sounds like something more. 

         

        UPDATE: So I talked to a small animal specialist after getting another shot of penicillen in Luigi. The vet was nice enough to talk to me over the phone for a good while since they are an hour away from me. He told me that it’s not likely that his head tilt will go away, but there is a small chance. He also told me that, considering that Luigi is active, and is eating and drinking (he now drinks out of his bowl) with no other concerning symptoms, that it was most likely an ear infection (pasteurella) and not a parasite (Encephalitozoon cuniculi). Apparently they can radiograph his brain to check for the parasite, but it’s very expensive (poor college student here) and the test isn’t reliable. But with everything he told me, I’m really confident that he’s gonna be ok!


      • Kokaneeandkahlua
        Participant
        12067 posts Send Private Message

          Yes-EC can also cause head tilt but my vet at least thinks that is very rare and it’s often a middle or inner ear infection. Run lots of antibiotics and run the course-4 or more weeks. The most aggressive and longer treatments seem to work best. Also ask your vet about meclizine it’s an antinauseant people use when they have inner ear infections, used off label for rabbits. It dries them up so you do a tear gel but otherwise I think it’s a can’t hurt might help drug. Feed lots and lots of wet greens if he’s not eating or drinking. Chuck lost the battle with this, but really because he was blind and deaf and it recurred. This isn’t something they pass from, you just need to keep them eating/drinking and safe (especially if rolling) they almost always get better if not fully recover. *hugs*


        • MelBell
          Participant
          31 posts Send Private Message

            She said there is a slight chance of it being a parasite too. He is going in for another penicillin shot next week. She said that she recommends me taking him to a small animal specialist instead too, for a second opinion.

            She also mentioned that vertigo medicine for humans also sometimes works? I’m not that desperate yet to try it.

            What is a tear gel?

            He is eating a large amount of celery and lettuce.

            Thank you for your help!! <3


          • Kokaneeandkahlua
            Participant
            12067 posts Send Private Message

              I would try it-for peace of mind. It won’t hurt and could make his quality of life better-my thoughts.
              Tear gel is a water based lubricant that is sterile to put on their eyes if they are dried out. Definitely feed him whatever he is eating-as long as you can do lots of greens I think tummy wise that’s close enough. Chuck ate only veggies for almost a year with no stasis so I have to think that although hay is BEST any high fibre food they will eat will suffice.
              (((Healing Vibes))) Keep us posted!!!


            • LittlePuffyTail
              Moderator
              18092 posts Send Private Message

                Poor guy. ((((Healing Vibes))))

                I would definitely take him to a specialist if you can, finding out what it is may help in the treatment.


              • Sarita
                Participant
                18851 posts Send Private Message

                  Healing vibes. Definitely wouldn’t hurt to get a second opinion.

                  Sounds too like your current vet is getting more aggressive with the treatment so that is good. Many vets will go ahead and treat for both conditions (EC and ear infection). These things can take time to heal so it’s not unusual for a treatment to go past 2 weeks or to sometimes use 2 or more different treatments to help cure it.


                • Silly Sungura
                  Participant
                  451 posts Send Private Message

                    I am sorry to hear about Luigi. My bunny Hodari is going through the same thing. She has been taking a combo of Baytril and Fenbendazole for ten days thus far, (she’s to be on the Fenbendazole for at least a month), and today she starts taking Meclizine for dizziness. We did a CT scan to check her ears and everything was fine, so the doctor has diagnosed her with E. cuniculi, the parasite which attacks the nervous system. Her blood test for it was positive, although something like 80 percent of rabbits have been exposed to it, so the positive result really wasn’t surprising. I guess Hodari’s results indicated a moderate to high positive “titer.” Anyway, the medicine in combination is really helping her. She won’t drink water from her bottle, but she will take it from a bowl. It’s good that Luigi is at least getting some fluids from his veggies. When Hodari feels yucky, she will not eat her veggies or pellets very well. I’ve had to reduce her veggie intake a lot, and switch the time when she eats them; apparently the medicines make her veggies, in particular, unappealing to her, so she eats them long after the medicine taste has left her mouth. Good luck to you and Luigi. I hope you find out what’s wrong for sure. (((Hugs and vibes for Luigi)))


                  • BinkyBunny
                    Moderator
                    8776 posts Send Private Message

                       Check out the site http://www.onthewonk.com.  It is for owners who have bunnies with head tilt (regardless if it is due to an ear infection or E.C.)  It’s a great resource.  Here is the link to their suggestion of what you should do if your bunny has head tilt  http://onthewonk.com/?p=4%2EWhat+Tr…bit%20Have   It might be worth discussing with your vet. 

                       


                    • RabbitPam
                      Moderator
                      11002 posts Send Private Message

                        Just want to send a few
                        {{{{{{{{{{{{Healing vibes}}}}}}}}}}}.


                      • MelBell
                        Participant
                        31 posts Send Private Message

                          Thanks everyone!


                        • skunklionshow
                          Participant
                          1257 posts Send Private Message

                            My Jessica had head tilt as well, almost 2 yrs ago or 1.5 years ago.  Anyway she was treated w/ a course of antibiotics and Panacur.  She hates taking meds.  We did have to do force feeding pretty often and the Panacur is just disgusting.  I would say the course of her tx was about 2 months and then she was fine.  My vet explained that head tilt appears much worse than it actually is for the bunny.  She recommended pretty intense course of tx and lots of TLC.  She said the important thing was not to give up.  Jessica lost a great deal of her litterbox skills after her tx, but I don’t care.  I’m just glad to have my Jessica back.  I was terrified, so keep up the aggressive tx.


                          • MelBell
                            Participant
                            31 posts Send Private Message

                              So I finally got to speak with a small animal specialist! Tomorrow Luigi gets one more penicillin shot, and perhaps vertigo medicine in the near future.


                            • Sarita
                              Participant
                              18851 posts Send Private Message

                                Thank you for the update and continued vibes.


                              • Silly Sungura
                                Participant
                                451 posts Send Private Message

                                  Glad you got to see a specialist. I’d been wondering about Luigi. Hopefully he does well on the meds and gets better very soon.


                                • LittlePuffyTail
                                  Moderator
                                  18092 posts Send Private Message

                                    Good luck to Luigi!


                                  • MelBell
                                    Participant
                                    31 posts Send Private Message

                                      Thank you everyone! I left to go back to college for a week and I am home again for a long weekend. I think he is looking better! If only he’d start jumping onto my bed again!


                                    • RabbitPam
                                      Moderator
                                      11002 posts Send Private Message

                                        Good progress. He may not be as comfortable with jumping for a while, but you can always lay down and let him jump on your tummy!


                                      • Beka27
                                        Participant
                                        16016 posts Send Private Message

                                          Glad to hear he’s starting to progress!

                                      Viewing 17 reply threads
                                      • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                                      Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Head Tilt/Ear Infection UPDATE Good news?