E. Cuniculi bunny

[Johanna]

Hi all, I really need some help. My poor little netherland dwarf bunny Gigi is having a terrible time. We have tested her for E. Cuniculi but are still waiting for the results. She can’t lift her head, has no balance and is rolling a lot. Her down eye is also weeping a bit but we are regularly lubricating it with eye gel. Thankfully she is eating and drinking really well. We are hand feeding her critical care, hay and greens and she is drinking lots of water. The vet has put her on Fenbendazole and some antibiotics, which she is taking very well. We have also set her up in a small space with towels protecting her from injury when she rolls.

However I haven’t seen much improvement in her condition at all. She has been taking the daily fenbendazole for 6 days now.

The vet has told us to take her in to be reassessed in 2 weeks but i’m concerned that i haven’t seen improvement.

Does anyone have any advice on how long it might take to see any improvement? It’s breaking my heart to see her like this, even though she seems calm and doesn’t seem to be in pain. I just want to do what’s best for her – I want to give her the best chance possible for a good recovery but also don’t want to see her like this!

Any advice or thoughts would be so appreciated!

[jerseygirl]

Hi Johanna

Sorry to hear you’re going through this with Gigi. I know it’s hard to see them like this but they do seem to cope and adjust to everything being upside down!

You’re doing everything right, it just takes some time to see results. It is fantastic that she is eating & drinking.

I went through this some years ago with my rabbit, Maple.

She also had rolling episodes and her down facing eye became dry, inflamed and the eyelid stuck open. I was worried about it of course but the vet wasn’t. I’m happy to report her eye was fine after she was back on her feet.

I think Maple was on her side for at least a week. It can take some time for the fenbedazole to combat active EC spores and then the body to heal any lesions on the brain. You could ask your vet whether they think adding in an anti-inflammatory med would be helpful. Either NSAID like metacam OR a dexmethasone injection. The steroidal injection can be helpful as they are fast-acting but are not without risk. Rabbits could only have 1-2 at most, I believe.  An oral NSAID can be given longer but can sometimes affect appetite. It’s worth a chat with the vet though.  The other meds do bring down inflammation in there own way.

It’s not uncommon for most of the improvements to come after the round of fenbedazole has finished. For example, a rabbit with head-tilt might improve some while on it but straighten up in the weeks following the course of meds. Plus, they’ve  usually they’ve become more accustomed to their head being tilted during the month of medicating but we if course want to see them straighten up as much as possible.

{{{Gigi}}}

p.s. this article covers a lot of ground and talks about potential timeframes for recovery.

https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/management-of-head-tilt-in-rabbits/

[Johanna]

Thank you so much for your reply. That really helped me!
How is little maple now? I hope maple is thriving. Thanks again so much.

[jerseygirl]

It was in 2013 when she fell ill and she did make a full recovery and went back in with her rabbit friends. 🙂

She had lost weight and it took several months for her to put that back on.

She passed away from unknown causes 18 months later. Sweet little bun, she was. x

[Johanna]

Sorry to hear that she passed away. It sounds like she had a wonderful life.

Thanks again for your reply, it’s really helped!

[LBJ10]

Jersey is right. It will take some time to see improvement, so don’t give up yet. There is evidence that an anti-inflammatory medication can help. Also keep in mind that some degree of head tilt could become permanent, even if she is fully recovered from the EC. It just depends on where the damage is. There should be noticeable improvement though.

[FluffyBunny]

I had a head tilt rabbit several years ago. Her E. Cuniculi symptoms were triggered by age and cancer, so my experience might not be as relevant. What I learned is that progress is very slow and gradual. It’s kind of like a human recovering from a major surgery or a spinal injury – recovery comes in fits and starts, and it’s not always linear. If there’s no other condition complicating the recovery, there’s usually improvement within several weeks. As you may already know, it’s possible she’ll end up with long-term issues such as a permanently tilted head or cataracts. Bunnies are resilient, though, and they can actually live pretty good lives with a disability.

The main advice I have is to keep her as clean as  possible. Disabled bunnies have a hard time reaching their cecals, and the last thing you need is a secondary infection. I gave my girl butt baths a couple of times a week, and we trimmed her belly hair short. I also massaged her paws and stretched her leg muscles every day, since she also developed arthritis from the E. Cuniculi and loss of mobility.  If she has a bonded partner and they’re still getting along, keep them together – it’s a huge help to have another rabbit who can help with the grooming.

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