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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
- This topic has 17sd replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 11 months ago by
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Whilst I was away in Maui this week (after Belle made her recovery from a 2nd bout of stasis), Ferdinand stopped eating and my bunny sitter called to say "he was looking at her strangely". Another pal stepped in and told me that Ferd was hopping then falling over… at which point my trusted bun vet came to the rescue and took Ferdinand away to treat him for head tilt (which seems to be called wry neck/torticollis as well). Ferd is back home after two nights away, in a padded cage and is on lots of drugs and hopefully is on the mend – he ate his dinner of cilantro, mint and banana and drank from a bottle when put in front of him but has problems with his balance and his head is still to one side. Obviously it is v. distressing to see him like this and it came on v. quickly… any advice from Bunny parents who have experienced the same situation are welcome
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Well head tilt can be due to an ear infection or e.cuniculi, and can actually be due to other things too (injuries, mites etc etc), but the first two I mentioned are what I am used to seeing. Do you know which this is from? The treatments are completely different and if he has e.cuniculi he needs the proper treatment fast. EDITED HERE:But I am sure your vet already thought of that! That is the first thing to consider when seeing symptoms of possible e.cuniculi – in that case, the faster a bunny is treated with meds for e.cuniculi the better! Hopefully it is just a simple ear infection and can be easily treated.
Five years ago Rucy had head tilt and was circling but it was due to an ear infection and she got back to normal within a week. Hers came on very fast too – overnight. I do remember it being very distressing for me too! Just hated to see her like that. It is torture to watch, so I feel for you. Just give him some extra love and take a deep breath.
One of the things I have really learned from experience is how incredibly strong these these little creatures are! They handle it better than we do. Bailey went from almost barely being able to walk due to weakness in her hind legs (due to e.cuniculi), to hopping around and learning how to scratch her ears on her own again. I felt so sad thinking she must be so confused and upset not being able to walk, but amazingly, she started gaining much of her strength back and though I doubt she will ever be fully back to normal, she has found ways to adapt. And even during her most weakest points, she still had the strength to munch down her food like normal and schooch over near Rucy to see what she was up to. Her disability seemed like just a minor annoyance to her, but nothing that she ever got down or really distressed about – she left those emotions to me.
So really, all you can do is all you can do, and after that, you just take a deep breath and help him heal. It’s good that he has Belle, as they do better with a buddy. .
It’s going to be okay. Sending of healing vibes to Ferdinand and peaceful vibes to you.
Keep us updated.
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No big updates on the Ferd front – he’s literally on six different drugs and is eating/drinking but still is unbalanced and his neck is twisted, so just feeding and petting is v. odd. It seriously seems to be more painful for the human to see and treat – and I miss him binkying by the baby gate when I wake up (and sitting on the sofa, table, any other surface!). I just hope he recovers enough to have some of his old habits back – it would be v. sad if he can’t do his happy dance anymore
On a positive front he’s in love with one of his drugs which is a butterscotch flavor – the local Safeway filled the prescription and couldn’t believe it was for a bunny. I can’t wait for the junk mail that Ferdinand Thompson is going to start receiving!
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Awe poor fella. So it really is head tilt and not an inner ear infection then? At least he does like the one script, I do recall having to fill a script at a Walgreens and they were agog because it was for a rabbit. I never got any junk mail though. *fingers crossed*
I know you probaby have everything all set up for the guy, but what does help is one of those pet beds with the roll sides where he can lay comfortably. You can even roll up a towel and leave in places where he chills, also for practicality a water bottle rather than a crock and you may want to mount it higher up for him (you probably already know that). I have seen a rabbit fully recover from head tilt with the help of scripts from a vet and acupuncture therapy. It was nothing less than amazing, I even remember his name, Sergei. He was the sweetest little thing. -
OH, I’m so sorry to hear he has tested positive. So many bunnies test positive, 1 in 4, but many luckily never have symptoms. Do you know if his titre levels were high?
Bailey is on Ponazuril – it’s supposed to be the latest and greatest. Some even hoped for it to be the cure. Too early to tell. So far this drug seemed to help Bailey out, and she hasn’t had any negative side affects on her liver from long term use so far. Many of the drugs used for E.cuniculi do have the potential to cause liver damage so hopefully your vet has asked you to return in a month or two to do tests for that. Bailey is due for a test in a a few weeks, and her titer levels for e.cuniculi will be tested to see if they are high (which is usually when symptoms are accompanied) or they are low, which means it took care of the parasite….for now….or forever. Keeping fingers crossed as really there has never been a cure in the past.
Also, bunnies that do end up with head tilt can do very well once their brain adjusts to the new view. Also, you should contact Marcy at SaveABunny and ask her about "Cameron". He had head tilt due to e.cuniculi – his was severe, and was like that for a long time, but someone adopted him and worked with him with massage therapy, and my understanding is he improved so much.
With Bailey, not only do I give her meds, but I give her leg massages and gently do leg circles that the vet showed me – to help stretch out her legs. I know this makes a big difference, because if I don’t do it for a couple of days, she doesn’t hop as well. I still have to clean out her ears for her since she can’t do it. I usually do it once a week or more if I see her shaking her head to get out something (usuallly a gross loose piece of wax)
I don’t know the exact massage for head-tilt, but it has something to do with massaging the neck area to help with the contracted and expanded muscles due to the tilt. But again, I don’t know how to do that, so check with Marcy and see if she’ll put you in touch with Cameron’s owners.
Again, I am so sorry. As long as Ferdinand is eating and pooping normally, then he’s doing much better than all of who are worrying about him.
I wanted to pass along some info about Ponazruril – here is a Q&A to a rabbit savvy vet, Dana Krempels, on all.experts.com. The person is asking about switching over to Ponazuril, scroll down to read Dana’s answers. It might be something you want to discuss with your own vet.
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/E-Cuniculi-hind-limb.htm
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/Ponazuril-anti-inflammatory-meds.htm (this one is actually regarding my question about Bailey)
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