Advice on strange behavior

[catablink]

My dwarf bunny is about 6 years old, and normally weighs about 3 to 3.5 lbs. The last few days she hasn’t been herself and now weighs 2.8 lbs., but she is eating although not her usual amount of food. We normally feed her organic spring mix, organic carrots, cilantro and Kay-tee timothy hay. We noticed her poops were a little weird and large, then a day or so later, they got smaller and misshapen. Not the normal medium, dry round pellets we typically see. Thinking it may be gas, we administered Simethicone and some massage but did not notice an abnormal belly. We measured the quantity of water she drank and it was only 1/4 of a cup.
Yesterday the poops started becoming larger and her energy was coming back, but now it seems she has a slight balance problem the last couple of days. It is not a constant problem happening every time, but I’ve noticed she won’t sit on her two hind legs for cleaning as usual, and she has occasionally taken off suddenly and tripped sideways. Also, she is sitting on the cold brick rather than on her typical carpet tile. She seems more interested in chewing wood bark than in her food (not normal at all).
Last thing we noticed was some discharge in her eyes that we’ve been cleaning the last couple of days.
Any experts out there that could recommend something? Or should I get her to the vet?
Thank you in advance!

[Azerane]

I’m sorry to hear that your bunny hasn’t been feeling well. All of those symptoms would make me quite concerned, especially the weight loss and the problems with balance and I’d definitely recommend a vet visit as soon as you can. There must be something going on causing these issues. Let us know what the vet says

[Deleted User]

Definitely take her to the vet! When a bunny rather eat lots of cardboard or other materials over food (eating not just chewing), then that is a gut issue. Hope you fine the problem soon!!

[Deleted User]

It could also be an ear infection or EC, by going off the loss of balance. So getting her to the vet is important right now.

[Bam]

I was thinking EX right away, so you should get her seen and under treatment asap. E cuniculi is a single cell parasite that can attack the central nervous system and cause loss of balance among other things. It can also affect the GI system. Treatment consists of Panacur (fenbendazole) for at least 28 days, plus other meds to relive the symptoms (antihistamines against vertigo and nausea, Metacam against inflammation and pain, Baytril because it is believed to have some effect on the parasite).

[catablink]

Hello again everyone,
Thank you for your responses and advise. I took my bunny to the vet after seeing a bit more head tilting; although minor, I just want to know she’ll be all right. They did blood work… no real concerns there and then they did the parasite test (EC), but I have yet to receive the results.
She is on meloxidyl, simethicone and turmeric for good measure. Good news is her poops are basically back to normal and her appetite and energy are getting much better too. She seems more stable; not tripping, so we are somewhat relieved. Please keep your fingers crossed that her test comes back negative for the EC and we’ll take it from there.
Thanks again,
Catablink

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