How did he fall down? Was he losing his balance, did he seem like he had trouble controlling his limbs? Is he steady on his legs now?

There is an intracellular parasite called e cuniculi that can cause balance issues in rabbits.

This is a house rabbit forum, so most of the buns here live indoors. What is his diet like?

I’m glad he is steadier now! His diet sounds fine. Rabbit pellets as a rule have vitamin D3 added, vitamin deficiency is not common in rabbits that get both pellets and hay. Vitamin E deficiency has been suggested as a cause of Floppy Bunny Syndrome, a rare condition that causes the bun to lose all muscle tone.

I think you need to keep an eye, for now. If this loss of balance occurs again, something else is wrong. It could perhaps be a parasite that may require treatment with fenbendazole and/or antibiotics.

It’s good if you can weigh your bun weekly and keep a chart. If something more subtle is going on, it can often manifest as weight loss.  It’s difficult to spot fluctuations in weight without weighing, because of all the fur. I weigh my bun in a bowl on a kitchen scale.

Is his appetite normal now, would you say?

This could have been an isolated episide, that he recovered from spontaneously, or it could have been  something the vet did that made him better. Did the vet give him subcutaneous fluids? Any shot of any kind? Could your bun have hit its head playing and thus suffered a minor concussion?

The Floppy Bunny Syndrome is not very well understood, and the main differential diagnosis is e cuniculi. It’s not known what can cause FBS – there could for example be hereditary factors. Plant poisoning has been suggested as well as physical injury or various types of micro nutrient deficiencies. Dehydration (if its very warm, for example) could potentially be a cause.

One home remedy that used to be recommended is to squeeze the contents of one capsule of 200 IU vitamin E oil for humans into the mouth of the flaccid rabbit (if it is aware and able to swallow). Breeders that encounter the syndrome among baby buns often recommend feeding tomatoes, as a source of potassium. Whether these practices actually do anything to help the poorly rabbit  I do not know, but they wouldn’t harm.

E cuniculi is treatable with fenbendazole, a dewormer (it often sold as Panacur, but it probably has a different name where you are). Its given for 28 days, often together with meloxicam and sometimes an antibiotic. It is sold OTC in many countries.

Since you cant do extensive testing I can only suggest you prep for supportive care. Rehydration with subcutaneous fluids is often effective, if that’s not possible you can give fluid replacement therapy by mouth with a syringe. A rectal thermometer to check the buns temp is good to have, a poorly bun can become hypothermic even if the ambient temp isn’t low, in which case the bun needs to be warmed up immediately, f ex with a warm water bottle. Feeding syringes are good to have in case you’ll need to syringe feed your bun.

It sounds like a good plan! One of the shots could perhaps have been fluids to rehydrate him? They often add vitamin b complex to the fluid they give sub q, to help perk the bun up.

Fingers very much crossed this will not happen again! It seems he is being very well cared for.

E cuniculi can manifest in several ways. The most well-known symptom is head tilt, but that doesnt mean there will always be a tilted head. E cuniculi will not affect the ears, but rather the balance organs deep within the ears. Those cant be seen with an otoscope.

A differential diagnosis to e cuniculi is a middle ear infection. That can in sometimes be seen with an otoscope, if the tympanic membranes are bulging out due to the middle ear being full of fluid or pus. An ear infection is treated with antibiotics.

Hind end weakness is a known symptom that can occur with e cuniculi. The parasite can affect the brain and the nervous system, but it can also cause kidney problems or gastrointestinal problems. It is a very, very tiny parasite that lives inside cells. When conditions allow the parasites to start multiplying, the cells that harbor them will eventually rupture, and the contents of the cells spill out. This causes the body to mount an inflammatory response, which is what is believed to cause the symptoms we see. Symptoms vary depending on what organ is affected. If the kidneys are affected, you often see incontinence.

Treatment for e cuniculi is as mentioned before, Panacur, to try and suppress the parasite. It is a slow acting med, so it often takes time before you see improvement. Meloxicam is often given in combination with the Panacur, because it is a bunny safe anti-inflammatory med that also relieves pain. Some vets will also give Baytril (enrofloxacine), because it has been shown to have some effect on the condition.

You can absolutely feed him Critical Care twice a day. Rabbits don’t really need grains, as you seem well aware. Rabbits that have difficulty keeping weight on or have lost weight due to illness etc can however benefit from a small amount of rolled oats daily. Vitamin B in moderate doses will probably not be harmful, the body does away with any surplus via the urine.

I looked at the Boltz food for rabbit  and it didnt sound ideal in that it has milk in it, but that wouldn’t cause hind end weakness. I couldn’t find the nutritional values for that food. I do understand that you may not have very many options when it comes to rabbit pellets.

I dont think the Boltz pellets are the culprit here, tbh, but I couldn’t find the nutritional value, and the skimmed milk is a rather surprising ingredient. It’s very good that is a pellet though  and not bunny muesli.

Here is a website with good info about what to look for in terms of rabbit pellets nutritional values: http://www.therabbithouse.com/diet/rabbit-food-comparison.asp

Good rabbit pellets are for example Oxbow, Burgess, Bunny Nature and Science Select.

Rabbits are not demanding nutrition-wise, they live on very skinny food, mostly grass. Certain individuals can have difficulty absorbing nutrients from their food, but that will as a rule cause the bun to produce very weird-looking poop.

Oxbow Critical Care contains yeast which helps the bunny gut. There are many different bacteria and yeasts that work together in the rabbit gut, and they are vital for the bun’s wellbeing. But again, an imbalance in the gut microbiota will manifest as tummy trouble, not hind end weakness.

Did the vet say what he is basing this on? Why does he think your bunny has a vitamin deficiency? I agree with Bam, it is quite rare. The vitamin B probably won’t hurt anything, but I’m questioning if it’s going to address the underlying problem. If he is having balance issues, then there are much more likely causes out there than “vitamin deficiency”.

All of the Oxbow foods are very good.

Grass hay is the most important part of the rabbit diet. Even though it seems like there isn’t much in it to us, there are lots of good things in it that are broken down in the rabbit’s gut. It is possible to go pellet-free, but then it’s recommended to feed multiple varieties of grass hay, and a wide variety of leafy vegetables each day to ensure that dietary needs are met. The pellets usually serve as a sort of “multivitamin” to help meet any requirements that aren’t met with the hay.

I agree with LBJ10 that there are many other causes of the symptoms you described that would be less likely than a vitamin deficiency. However, I can imagine that if a batch of pellets was very old, perhaps some of the vitamins degraded?