HEAD TILT!! H E L P

[SSSBIGRED]

My poor bunny has been battling head tilt for months. The first time he had it the vet gave him Orbax. He was fine after a few days & did great for months. Next case he had gotten out of the yard & came home with a few injuries. We did Orbax again & he perked right up. This last round he’s not perking up. Went to a new vet & she trimmed his teeth but acted like I needed to face facts & let him die!!??? I told her I read good things about Zithromax & she gave me Baytril instead. ? He perked up right away on Baytril but still tilted a bit. He just finished Baytril a few days ago & is quickly declining. I begged another vet for help & he doesn’t treat bunnies but he gave me injectible Baytril for today & another dose Sunday. THEN WHAT DO I DO??? I’m so frustrated & losing hope!! Anyone else experience this?

[LBJ10]

How long was your bunny on Baytril the first time? I would be cautious with Baytril injections. If the vet isn’t familiar with bunnies, then they may not know the issues it can cause.

Azithromycin (Zithromax) is on the list to difficult to treat URIs. I haven’t heard of Orbifloxacin (Orbax) for bunnies. MediRabbit doesn’t list it.

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm

 

The problem with ear infections is that it can be difficult for the antibiotics to reach the inner/middle ear. Bunnies often have to be on the antibiotics for much longer.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

It sounds like you had good luck with the first vet-you stated it was a new vet who didn’t do well with your rabbit. Is there a reason you didn’t see the first vet? I would suggest that to start,

[Bam]

Azithromycin (Zithromax) is effective against bordetella bronchiseptica, one of the many bacteria that can cause ear infection/head tilt. But Baytril is effective against that bacteria as well.
I found this:
“Treatment needs to be aggressive and prolonged. If exudate (pus) is found deep in the ear canal, a culture and sensitivity should be done in order to determine the bacterial agent and which antibiotics will be most effective in eliminating the infection. However, if it is impossible to access the bacteria in order to do the culture, many veterinarians will opt to treat with one of the antibiotics usually successful in curing an inner ear infection, such as enrofloxacin, chloramphenicol or penicillin G procaine with benzathaine. If no improvement is noticed after 4 weeks, a change in antibiotic is recommended.”
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-8/head-tilt.html
It’s from the HRS, a trusted source.

[SSSBIGRED]

The first vet kept asking if we dropped him. I repeatedly told her “no way”. We don’t pick him up or carry him. No one dropped him. He literally twisted over night. The first time was the most violent. Eyes going in circles & he was so scared. She gave us Orbax & sent us away. Didn’t offer labs or anything. He got sick again a few months later & she gave us Orbax again & sent us away. I decided a different vet was needed the next time he got sick. She seemed more confident in her profession but doesn’t seem to think head tilt is a symptom of an illness. She doesn’t believe me when I say he gets better when treated correctly. I’m so frustrated.

[SSSBIGRED]

He took it orally for 10 days.

[LBJ10]

Yeah, 10 days of an antibiotic usually isn’t enough. Not with an ear infection.

[LBJ10]

Is the eardrum ruptured? You could try drops (antibiotic, no steroids) if the eardrum is intact.

[LittlePuffyTail]

You mentioned he had tilt and his eyes were going crazy. These are the symptoms of E. cuniculi which can be treated but the earlier treatment starts the better prognosis.

What area are you in? Maybe we can help you find a rabbit savvy vet.

[SSSBIGRED]

Current vet said his ears visually look fine. He had wax & she removed it when she trimmed his teeth.

[SSSBIGRED]

I’m in the Savannah, GA USA. Helping me locate a good vet would be GREAT!!! ??

[LBJ10]

That’s true LPT. Definitely something to look into. Doesn’t the direction the eyes are moving indicate (not 100%, of course) if it’s EC or an ear infection?

[LBJ10]

I don’t think any of these are very close:

http://houserabbitga.com/recommended-vets/

You could try calling the HRS there though. They may know of a vet in Savannah.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Thanks for listing those vets, LBJ.

I’m not sure about the eye movement. I know when Bindi had E.C with head tilt his eyes were moving side to side.

[Bam]

I don’t think nystagmus can say if it’s EC or an ear-infection, but you can to some degree determine where the lesion is located by looking at how the eyes move. An ear-infection is of course localized to the ear/s, but EC could potentially mess with the nerves from the semicircular canals so sideways nystagmus wouldn’t rule out EC.

Found this table:

What nystagmus can tell you in neurology? Clinical approach to nystagmus.

[LBJ10]

Thanks Bam!

MediRabbit also talks about it: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm

[Sparkles]

My precious 8 year old dwarf started having head tilt today. He seems to be blinking his eyes up and down. Doesn’t seem to have hearing loss and is drinking water. From what I can find on the internet it seems he has an ear infection. What are the best antibiotics? When the infection clears up will the head tilt be cured? How much does treatment at the vet run? Thank you.

[Azerane]

Posted By Sparkles on 5/02/2016 9:21 PM

My precious 8 year old dwarf started having head tilt today. He seems to be blinking his eyes up and down. Doesn’t seem to have hearing loss and is drinking water. From what I can find on the internet it seems he has an ear infection. What are the best antibiotics? When the infection clears up will the head tilt be cured? How much does treatment at the vet run? Thank you.

Hi Sparkles, you may be better off starting a new thread for your case. I understand it’s still head tilt, but your rabbit will have a different history etc and it’s best to start clean with a new thread for clarity of information. Still I’ll add a few things below.

I’m not sure what antibiotics are best for treating E.C, but a course of treatment often needs to run well after the symptoms have disappeared (a whole month instead of just two weeks). I don’t know how much it costs, but treatment is usually an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory (to aid with the tilt). Depending on the severity of the tilt and the length of infection, a tilt will not always go away but it almost always at least reduced to a lesser severity. The sooner you start treatment though, the better. I’m not sure on the cost of medications, it can vary a lot depending on where you live as well.

[jerseygirl]

Is his head starting to tilt or is it only the eyes you’re noticing. Are his eyes moving back and forth?
Prompt vet care usually means a good outcome. They can completely recover from tilt. Sometimes there is permanent damage which leaves the rabbit with a tilt but they adjust to that pretty well.
Vets usually start rabbits off on baytril.. They may also give panacur (an antiwormer) incase the tilt is cause by a parasite (E. cuniculi) but usually it is due to ear infection. Please ask for your rabbit to go on a pain med/anti-inflammatory like metacam.Ear infections are painful and a rabbit in pain can stop eating and go into gi stasis. (You can ask for different brand if they have another that is cheaper).

Where I live, general consults are around $60. With various meds added to that, you’d be looking and $100 minimum I expect.

Good luck! {{{Vibes}}} for your bunny.

Click here to start a new thread as this one is from January. 

[jerseygirl]

Sorry Azerane, I hadn’t seen your reply before I posted.

[Azerane]

No problem, that’s been happening to me too. Usually I want to write too much and by the time I post other people have beaten me to it.

[Author]

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