Advice for my poor head tilt bunny

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This topic has 3sd replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 1 month ago by jerseygirl.

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- 06/13/2017 at 7:58 PM
  ashymee
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  2 posts
  So my rabbit Doge (I didn’t name him I swear) has been sick for the last few weeks with a head tilt. I’ve taken him to the vet a few times and they gave me meloxicam the first time and panacur after my second visit so I’m treating him for both an ear infection and EC without knowing for sure what it is, I have another bun though who is still healthy as ever so I’m not sure whether he would have gotten sick too if it were EC? Essentially my poor bubba is still tilty and has lost a substantial amount of weight. He’s on critical care and I’ve seen him nibbling on hay, pellets and the veggies/herbs I give him but he definitely isn’t eating as much as before and hasn’t been putting any of his weight back on. I feel so bad because I don’t want to let him out of his hutch to roam because he runs around like normal and I don’t want him to lose anymore weight than he already has! Has anyone else had a head tilt bunny that lost a lot of weight but put it back on eventually? I think it’s worth mentioning that he’s better than he was, when he first got the tilt he wouldn’t really eat at all by himself and I had to force feed him a lot (which is why he lost so much weight I think because he wasn’t grazing throughout the day like he normally would.) He has been on medication for about a month now and the vet is pretty confident that he’ll be okay and said it’s normal for buns to lose weight when they have a head tilt but I’m still a bit worried about him after reading a few posts on here about head tilt buns that passed away
- 06/13/2017 at 9:06 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  Hi ashymee
  
  Im sorry your boy has been poorly. I had a little dwarf rabbit (Maple) who developed head tilt and she did lose quite a bit of weight during that. She did recover and put weight back on but that was slow going. Is he on any antibiotic in case it is ear infection?
  Some owners have found that an anti nausea med really helped their rabbits that had head tilt. Meclizine is one that is often used. I think it can be bought over the counter but you may want to mention it to your vet regardless. It might help with his appetite. Some vitamin B can also stimulate appetite.
  How is his drinking habits?
  
  I think I would let him come out of the hutch if he can manage it and doesn’t seem too stressed. The exercise would be good and I personally don’t think it would contribute to further weight loss. Maybe not in too open an area to minimise stress.
  
  Much of the time, rabbits are exposed to EC early in life and some will carry it never develop symptoms. So your other rabbit won’t necessarily become sick if it is EC affecting Doge. As a precaution, it is a good idea to treat both rabbits with panacur anyway. Also, if they spend time outside, you could continue to do panacur every 6 months. I think a course of 9 days is recommended if doing twice a year.
  
  Is Doge on a 28 day course of panacur currently? How many days has he had so far?
  
  Sending many {{{vibes}}} his way!
- 06/13/2017 at 10:55 PM
  ashymee
  Participant
  2 posts
  Heya,
  Thanks for your response I’m glad to hear that your Maple put the weight back on eventually, it gives me hope for Doge
  The vet only gave me meloxicam at first and told me that should help him, so no antibiotics. The vet seemed pretty confident in just giving me meloxicam but now I’m a little bit unsure about whether I should have been giving them to him all this time. :/ I might look into getting him some meclizine and vitamin B then if it will make him feel a bit better!
  He is still drinking water and he gets water from the critical care and veggies as well, so he still urinates frequently.
  Yeah I’ve been trying to confine him in a smallish area when a let him out but he gets cranky at me for blocking his path He’ll have to suck it up though. He doesn’t seem really stressed, when he’s out he acts pretty normal, he hasn’t been binkying but that’s pretty understandable!
  Oki doki that’s a good idea, I’ll ask the vet about getting some panacur for as well next time I go.
  Yeah he’s on a 28 day course of panacur and has been taking it for just over two weeks now.
  Thank you heaps!
- 06/14/2017 at 5:21 AM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22356 posts
  From memory, I only got panacur for Maple initially also. Since you have seen improvement, perhaps an antibiotic isn’t necessary?
  It is great that the vet prescribed meloxicam from the outset. Keeping inflammation down is important.
  You know, that he shows you some bunnitude when you try limit him is promising! He sounds like he’s adjusted to being tilted and going on his merry way. : )
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