Inner Ear Infection

[alexandra]

Hi Everyone, first let me say sorry if I am duplicating anything already asked but the search is down and I couldn’t find anything related to answer my question. 

I have a two year old Holland Lop (Blu) and he has a inner ear infection. I noticed something was was off on Thursday cause right as I walked by his cage he tripped, it just didn’t seem normal, so I picked him up and set him on the floor. At first I thought something was wrong with his leg because he seemed really off balance so I called the vet (she deals with rabbits) and took him in Thursday evening. She did a thorough physical exam and said everything looked okay but he may have an ear infection. She swabbed his ears and came back and said that the right one looks a little infected (which was the way he was slightly tilting his head). She prescribed Baytril at .10 mg(?) one a day for 10 day and also gave me drops to put in his ears. Friday night was really rough because he started rolling…..I got up about 5x throughout the night to prop him back up and Saturday was not any better. (Also, I do have his cage lined with towels and soft fabric to keep him from hurting himself). He will only eat carrots and cilantro (his favorites) but wont touch his pellets. He is drinking but maybe 5% from what he normally drinks. His head is now tilted at about 90 degrees. I took him back to the vet this morning and she said it does obviously appear that it has gotten worse because of his head tilt so she sent flushed out his ears (which she got some crud out of his infected ear) and sent me home with an anti-inflammatory and critical care to feed him through a syringe. She said the critical care will help him get the calories he needs which is needed to help him recover. She said that the Baytril can take some time to set in but didn’t really give me a set amount of time. he is to the point now where if i am with him, he will sit up but if he gets to excited, he will fall over and roll. I cant be with him 24/7 so I just get worried while I am at work and stuff. 

My questions are: 

Has anyone ever dealt with this before? 

How long does Baytril take to kick in, like before I see noticeable improvements in Blu’s health? 

It is hard to cure inner ear infections? (should i be worried that I may have to put him down?)

Is this the same course of treatment anyone else has done? 

Thank you so much!! 

AC

[jerseygirl]

Hi Alexandra
Sending some healing {{{vibes}}} for Blu !

I dealt with this in my little bunny Maple back in 2013. It was never really established if her head-tilt was caused by ear infection, but it is thought that is the most common cause. I read this article a few month ago and I really recommend taking a look: http://www.mspca.org/angell_services/management-of-head-tilt-in-rabbits/
Maple also went into the rolling stage. She was quite ill but did make a full recovery but it did take some time.
Ear infections can be really stubborn, so you may be looking at him staying on an antibiotic longer. 4-6weeks possibly. It is good he is on an anti-inflammatory, that is important.
Its good he also has some appetite. I hope that’s continued.
With Maple, I had to syringe feed her water for a while, and relied on greens to get additional fluid into her. You might like to talk to you vet about Blu having some fluids given subcutaneously, if you are worried is not getting enough hydration.

How are you going with the critical care, is he taking that okay? Can you prop him up in standing posistion to try eating? He might eat a thicker mix of the CC this way if syringing it is not successful.

There have been lots of previous threads about rabbits going through this. For searching older threads, I use Google at the moment, as described here.

[alexandra]

Thank you for your reply. 

Thank you for that article, it was a very informative read. 

Blu has really been a trooper with all of this. He is also so alert and wants to play and run around but his body just wont balance so he can do so. 

He is eating the critical care like a champ. I start off more solid and then add a little more water by the end so he gets so hydration (that is what the vet advised). I also bring his water bottle to him and he drinks. Not as much as I would like but he is drinking. He is also eating solids, carrots and cilantro. His poo is getting bigger, before it looked about the same size as mouse poo. 

I don’t want to be over optimistic because he is still having violent roll attacks, which I have seemed to manage better by tucking him in between the rolled towels a little better, but when i got up this morning he was on all four feet messing with his water bottle. Hopefully he is getting better. I only had to get up once last night and once the night before to tend to him in the middle of the night, unlike on Friday and Saturday. I think he is annoyed by the head tilt but not hurting from it. But that’s always hard to see in a bunny. His follow up appointment with the vet is on February 8th, which I am assuming she will give me additional Baytril to supply me with a few weeks at least. 

He is getting back up on his feet but if something gets him excited, he will move to fast and fall and then roll. So I think he is starting to feel somewhat better by the way he is acting.. He does get worn out easily though. 

[alexandra]

Okay everyone, so Blu is not doing well at all. I am torn because 1/2 the time he seems so alert and eats and drinks and the other 1/2 it seems like he is suffering. I took him back to the vet last night and she said his eyes are moving back and forth quickly (she had a name for it, but I forgot) so she feels as if he is getting worse. His head tilt has also gotten more severe as his head is laying on the floor completely now. He will still eat a few pellets out of his bowl and he ate about 8 syringe fulls of the critical care. He also drank about an ounce of water. I just don’t know what to do. I don’t want to give up on him if he will eventually get better, but I don’t want him to suffer either. With the way he was last night, I did almost put him down but the vet was able to get him to eat some and then this morning he ate a bunch and drank too so I just don’t know. 

Amy suggestions? I know I will have to make a decision but I don’t know what to do. 

[Luna]

I’m sorry, I know it can be frustrating and emotional when a bun keeps having ups and downs. I hope he gets better. The eye movement is called Nystagmus, which along with the head tilt, can be symptoms of an inner ear infection or E. cuniculi. I don’t know much about EC, but I know Panacur is used to treat it.
((((Blu))))

[jerseygirl]

Aw, Im sorry to read this latest update. From your first, it sounded as if he had fast onset but looking at fast recovery. But it appears that’s not quite the case. It can go like that.

I think he is annoyed by the head tilt but not hurting from it. But that’s always hard to see in a bunny.

It is difficult to see them when they’re like this but I think they do cope- their brains do adjust to the altered angle. The rolling is tiring for them, but even then as you’ve seen, they’ll still attempt do normal things like he was with the water bottle. With Maple, she was on her side while i feed her some greens and she went into one of her rolls (the flip over and over quite quickly) but as soon as that stopped, she resumed eating the greens as if nothing had happened. She still had a piece in her mouth when she rolled and once still, just started chewing it again.

What dosage of anti-inflammatory is he on? Maybe talk with the vet whether this can be increased or not? If it is meloxicam (metacam) it is shown that rabbits can tolerate higher doses then previously prescribed in the past.

{{{Blu}}}

[alexandra]

Thank you so much for your replies. 

So I stayed home all day with him yesterday and he is doing okay again. He is eating a lot too. He seems to be trying to do all of his normal activities with help of course. He wanted to walk around and was trying to get out of his bed yesterday but I was afraid he was going to hurt himself. He also bathes himself…A LOT, which the doc said that is always a good sign if he is keeping himself clean. I think most of it has to do with the critical care getting a little messy sometimes. Since I was home I was able to syringe feed him throughout the day versus just in the morning and throughout the evening. I also syringe fed him water to make sure he was getting enough. He also drinks out of his water bottle when I bring it to him. When I went to bed I also poured some pellets in his cage (I just pile them in there cause otherwise he will hit his bowl when he rolls and I don’t want him to hurt himself) and this morning they were almost gone. His poo is also back to looking like normal! Never thought I would be so excited to see normal rabbit poo! ha! 

As far as the eye condition, should i be worried because that started about 6 doses into the Baytril? Oh and how long did Maple roll for? Should I expect him to do this for several weeks/months??

And to answer your question, he is on 0.3 dose of Metcam, and he is 3.3 pounds. 

Hopefully all gets better form here and not worse, because it has been a roller coaster ride.

-AC

[alexandra]

BTW, the bunny in your picture looks just like my Blu. 

[jerseygirl]

Oh and how long did Maple roll for? Should I expect him to do this for several weeks/months??

I had to read back on what I wrote about her to remember! I thought it was a week but it was closer to 2 weeks. It will vary rabbit to rabbit. At the time, I was fortunate to have 3 members on here that had recently been through it with their buns, so I had a bit of an idea of what to expect. Im pretty sure we had some posts about head-tilt in the last half of 2017 also.

There is also a facebook group called Help for Head-tilt hoppers if you use facebook. http://www.facebook.com/groups/HelpforHeadTiltHoppers/

As far as the eye condition, should i be worried because that started about 6 doses into the Baytril?

Are you still seeing this? Is it a side to side movement, up and down? Or are you seeing it mainly after he rolls or moves about? 

This is a hard qu to answer regarding the medication and condition. There can be some nystagmus with middle ear infection, but most likely with inner ear infection.  It can also occur due to other conditions affecting perpherial or central nerves. 

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

[alexandra]

Thank you for your posts! Sorry I was out of town for the last 3 days with work!

Blue doesn’t seem to be getting any better, but he also isn’t getting worse. It has been about 2 weeks and he is still rolling. And, his rolling does seem to be a little bit more out of control the last few days. I check his eyes pretty often and they only seem to be moving back and forth when he rolls, well after he is done rolling. Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks of the meds and he has an appointment tonight at 5:30 for his followup from his original appointment. I think the vet will just tell me to continue to give it time because it will take time. I just hope he gets better soon, because I feel so bad for him.

[Luna]

I’m sorry to hear he is still sick, but it’s good that he isn’t getting worse. And you’re right that he probably just needs more time to recover. Inner ear infections can take a while to treat. I hope his vet visit goes well .

[alexandra]

Hi again everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to post again. I am working full time and going for a PhD plus with Blu still being sick, my life is so hectic!!! 

So now with the update…

I took Blu back to the vet last week (I believe a week from today) and she finally changed his antibiotics to SMZ TMP. I had never heard of this before but figured anything has to work better than the Baytril (which seemingly did nothing for him). Anyways the dosage is .08 mg per 12 hours. I gave him the first dose Thursday evening and by Saturday morning I noticed he was a little bit more himself. I got him out of his cage and he TOOK A FEW STEPS (as long as I had my hand against his right side)!!! He wasn’t able to do this at all before. He got exhausted quickly so I put him back in his cage so he could rest and throughout the day, I got him out. He seemed like he was really enjoying himself. Sunday I let him out again and he was to the point where he was walking/now hopping on his own (very wobbly but it was something). It also seems as if his head tilt is getting better as long as he is sitting up straight, his head is almost straight. 

The only thing I am still worried about is that he is still rolling….BAD. It hasn’t gotten any better. I would think that the rolling would have stopped before his head started to correct itself. When he rolls, his head tilt goes right back to where it is laying on the floor. But after he rests, and sits up all the way, he will put his head back up. It does seem like his eye movements has stopped, I haven’t noticed it when I have checked his eyes which is good I suppose.

I am thinking it is just going to take more time, but am hoping the rolling goes away soon. To me, the infection is still there if he is still rolling. 

Any ideas on anything else I should be doing? He goes back the vet Monday for another checkup. 

[jerseygirl]

Continuing to send healing {{{vibes}}} out for your Blu !
The changes you’ve seen on this new antibiotic sound promising. Im not sure what to add about the rolling, other then perhaps he needs more time on this particular med?

I wonder if an xray or even CT scan would be of benefit?

[Boing]

Hi Alexandra,

I am sorry to hear that Blu is not feeling well. Try to chart which way his eyes move and in which patterns, if he still has nystagmus, not just rolling. You could draw a simple picture of his eyes and use arrows to indicate the direction(s). This helps to indicate what parts of the inner ear are affected, and can help to fix the problem. Once the infection is under control, there are usually crystals that are displaced in the ear. There are simple head movements for people that a vet could use to easily develop some for rabbits to put them back. It may help for you to know that though the symptoms are hard to watch, they are rarely painful, once the infection is dealt with. I am a person with these issues. You should also try to note which ear is closest to the ground when he topples over. This information helps to determine which ear is the worst off, if both are affected, and guide treatment.

[alexandra]

Blu goes back to the vet tomorrow evening and I am going to ask the doctor about the rolling. He has been rolling since January 25th. I know it is exhausting for him. The medicine that she has changed him to (listed in my last post) is seeming to have some positive changes regarding his head tilt but he is back to barely being able to walk on his own without rolling. His rolling is still bad an every few minute thing….shouldn’t this be gone by now?

[Luna]

I’m glad he’s showing some improvements with the new meds . As you stated before, it will take time for him to recover. Since the Baytril wasn’t working as well as the SMZ, try to think of the start of the SMZ as the start date of his recovery. Even though he has been rolling since Jan 25, he’s only been getting the SMZ for a week or so now. Still, I would definitely bring it up with his vet. If his head tilt is getting better, it seems odd that his rolling would be getting worse. ((((Blu))))

[alexandra]

I missed Blu’s vet appointment yesterday due to traffic and I didn’t make it home in enough time to get him so I took him today. So the doctor took one look at him and said that she sees dramatic improvements. I did think it was weird that he didn’t roll once from the time I picked him up and put him in the carrier until I got back home. But then once I got back home he started rolling again. She looked in his ears and said that she could actually see his eardrum, which she couldn’t before at all because there was so much junk in his ear. She said the inside of his ear look healthy and doesn’t appear that there is an infection (no pus, I am assuming). She said that the rolling could be residual damage from him having the ear infection and may take a little bit longer to go away. I asked her about Panacur, just in case it was a parasite (I feel like if he is still rolling, it means there is something still wrong) and she put him on that. She also had me stop the other meds (which I think may be a little premature but I will see what the Panacur does in the next few days). He does look like he is getting better and I gave him a little more of his cage back since I had it blocked off cause all he was doing was rolling, so I will have to wait and see how he does over the next few days. She did say that Panacur takes a few days to show results sometimes so patience may help with this medicine. All I can do now is wait. 

ANY IDEAS?

[jerseygirl]

I did think it was weird that he didn’t roll once from the time I picked him up and put him in the carrier until I got back home. But then once I got back home he started rolling again.

That is weird. Could you try taking him out to your car again to see if that happens again?
Do you (or neighbours maybe??) use any electronic devices that are meant to repel pests? Or has the place been chemically treated recently? Any plugin air fresheners? Aromatic wood-based litter?
Just wondering if he could be highly sensitive to something at home.

Or perhaps it was something to do with the crystals Boing mentioned. The act of picking him up to place in the carrier that helped place them in right position??

She also had me stop the other meds (which I think may be a little premature but I will see what the Panacur does in the next few days).

I agree with you. How long had he been on the SMZ-TMP? Keep communication with your vet if you have concerns and think he’d do better back on the antibiotic or metacam.

Had you tried him on meclizine at all?

[jerseygirl]

I’m also curious, is Blu a blue coloured holland lop or blue-eyed? Or neither?

[alexandra]

I think I am going to keep giving him the SMZ-TMP, just to be safe. It isn’t going to hurt anything for him to be on both. I gave him a little bit more of his cage back so he can walk around in it on his own and he seems to be doing okay. I did notice last night when it did roll it wasnt for as long….so that may be a good sign. He is a blue colored holland lop. dark eyes.

[alexandra]

here is a picture…hopefully you can see it. 

[Luna]

That’s great that he is doing better . He is so adorable!

Just curious, is that orange drop on the floor in the pic a yogurt drop? While stores do market yogurt drops for buns, they are actually bad for them due to the dairy ingredient and it can cause tummy troubles.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sending some (((((Healing Vibes))))). Your bun is adorable.

[alexandra]

I appreciate your concern about the yogurt drops, however Blu doesn’t get them often. I did consult my vet about what is healthy to give them as well as the breeder and they both said as long as it is given as a treat every once in a while, it is okay. I have had bunnies for the last 11 years so its not my first rodeo.

Blu is still showing improvements, I will update again soon!

LittlePuffyTail – I will be up in Canada to go skiing in Whistler soon!

[jerseygirl]

He’s adorable !!! True holland lop. Really glad to hear he is getting better and better. {{{Blu!}}}

[LittlePuffyTail]

Awesome! Have fun! I’m not a skier but we sure have plenty of snow here on the East coast.

[alexandra]

Thank you everyone, and your buns are super cute too! He is my little baby!

Blu is doing even better today. His head is still tilted (a bit more than in the picture) so I think it may stay like that. He runs in circles but still makes his way around the house. He is not rolling but in the morning and at night (when I am sleeping) so I think it has something to do with him either getting dizzy in the dark or him laying down and rolling on his side to much. I may get him a nightlight and see if that helps. He did lay on his side yesterday with his feet kicked out which he hasn’t done since he got sick so I was soooooo excited to see that he was relaxed enough to get that comfortable. His next vet appointment is March 15 so I will keep him on the Panacur for sure until then.

Thank you all for your support! I am so glad things are looking up and I will keep you updated!

[jerseygirl]

You jogged my memory about lighting! I had to go read what I’d written about Maple when she had head-tilt. At the time, I noticed similar things as you are noticing.

I wrote

I’ve learnt that lighting helps her, especially overnight. In the beginning I had thought dim lighting or putting a cover over the box would be more settling. However, she orientates much better with light overhead. I suppose it gives her up facing eye a point of focus. It’s hard to say how much it has helped. It might be meds or time that has been reason for any improvements but the lighting doesn’t bother her like it initially thought it would.

I hope it does help Blu. Definitely worth a try!

How long has he been on the Panacur now?

[alexandra]

That is very interesting. Thanks for sharing. He is literally only rolling at night/early morning. Even when I pick him up he doesn’t roll. He hates being held so he is squirmy but doesn’t roll. He runs around the room like he used to even though he will “chase his tail” during some of the time. When I put him back in his cage, he just runs in circles. I am hoping that goes away over time. He will kind of trip sometimes but it doesn’t cause him to fall over either. I would say he is about 70% back to healthy!

He also will not eat any more critical care, however he is eating and drinking normal now. Hay and pellets. He isn’t drinking as much water as he used to but a lot more than he was so that is getting better too.

He has had 8 daily doses of Panacur. I am going to try the nightlight tonight and see if that helps at all!

[alexandra]

Oh also too, I used to be able to easily lay him on his back (that was the easiest way to give him meds) but he fights me so bad now, so I feel like that tells me he is getting better. 

[alexandra]

Just updating…I believe Blu is no longer rolling, however, he is running around his cage like a mad man at night. I had to move him to another room other than my bedroom because he was keeping me up all night….anyone have any ideas? I thought something could maybe be bothering him and that is why he is doing it but he doesn’t do it during the day so I am unsure of what is going on with him. I also tried a night light and that did not work, if anything it seemingly made it worse. I guess I will just have to be patient. He is getting better slowly. His head is starting to shift back also so I think he just has to heal from the damage left behind from the ear infection.

[alexandra]

Updating again!

So I have fantastic news! Blu is 100% back to healthy. He saw the vet today and she gave him a clean bill of health. So if you are going through this please just be patient. The vet told me in the early stages of his ear infection that he only had a 5% chance of survival at one point. I am so glad for everyone’s help on the forums who helped me through this.

-AC

[Luna]

Yay! That’s awesome that he not only recovered, but made a 100% full recovery . He must be a tough little guy.

[cocojack5106]

I know I sent you the same message, but I thought I would post on here as well if anyone else wanted to chime in…

I am so glad your bunnies are doing better.  That gives me some hope.

 My sweet 5YO mini lop, Cosette (“Coco”), is not doing well.  Last Wednesday, she was acting a little standoffish and come Thursday morning, she had a slight head tilt, nystagmus, and was slightly off balance.  We rushed her to the vet immediately.  The vet suspected it was an ear infection based on her vestibular signs and kept her for 2 days for fluids, meds, treatment, and observation.  The vet pointed out that her teeth needed to be filed and recommended an x-ray of her skull at the same time.  They did both on Friday after she was hydrated.  She has been rolling ever since.  We were hoping that the rolling was a side effect of the anesthesia.  We took her home this weekend and she took all her meds, ate, hydrated, and went to the bathroom like a champ, but her balance, dizziness, and rolling have gotten progressively worse.  Last night, we were up with her every 30 minutes, trying to stabilize her.  I worry that she is in pain and/or that she is very distressed.  She cannot stay upright and she is very contorted (it got way worse last night after we thought she was improving).  Despite eating, drinking, and using the bathroom, she does not appear comfortable or like herself.  We have her in a large, deep Tupaware bin lined with towels and blankets.  We feed her Oxbow pellets, Timothy hay, Critical Care, meds, and veggies.  We are cleaning her with baby wipes since she is too unbalanced to bathe her bottom.  She can still bathe her face somewhat.  We took her back to the vet this morning first thing and the vet agreed that she is doing worse with her balance and rolling.  They are going to start her on an antibiotic earwash today and order Penicillin injections.  She has been on Baytril 2x/day since Thursday.  She started the vertigo meds on Friday night.  She is also on GI statis meds–Metcam and Cisapride–since Thursday.  Her x-ray showed a thickening of the bone of her right inner ear.

 We and her 5YO, helicopter-earred brother, Jack, are heartbroken, worried, and confused.  I am 5 months pregnant with our first and can’t stop crying.  

 Any prayers, words of encouragement, guidance on timelines for improvement, quality of life, and more effective medications would be much appreciated.  I don’t want her to suffer, but the thought of letting her go absolutely destroys us.  If there is a good chance she will get better, we are willing to put in the work.

 Thanks <3

[jerseygirl]

Hi cocojack5106

I’m sorry you & Coco are going through this. I remember it well. My rabbit Maple went into this rolling stage and I pretty much hand fed her greens and syringed water through out. My other rabbit developed head tilt last October however it wasn’t as severe. She did roll a little bit this was only after I had handled her for medication. She always seemed to find her feet again shortly after.
I started then making sure I didn’t pick her up to medicate and that helped a bit.

While it does appear awful, know that the rabbits do start to adjust to the tilt and function a bit better. It’s like the brain resets. It sounds like you are doing all the right things for her.

I recommend reading this article by a vet. I came across it last year and it covers things really well about the condition. On reading it again, I saw it even mentions the thickening bone.

It also covers e.cuniculi which can be a cause and often rabbits are treated for both this and inner ear infection. However, it looks as if your vet has established it’s definitely inner ear infection for Coco.

http://www.mspca.org/?s=Head+tilt+rabbit

My personal approach was to medicate for at least a month then reasses quality of life.
Some rabbits can be left with a tilted head but otherwise function normally but you are still in the early stages here.

Sending many healing (((vibes))) our for Coco.

Edit to add: I see I already posted that link for the original author of this thread, so you maybe you’ve already seen it?

[jerseygirl]

I also want to suggest starting a new thread for Coco as this one is a year old now.
If you follow this link, it will take you to page to begin a new one. You can just copy paste what you’ve posted in this one.
I can post my reply in new thread also.

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/afv/post/aff/2/Default.aspx

We typically lock older threads that have been reactivated but I did want to reply regarding Coco’s condition.

[Author]

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