head tilt relapse?

[hophophop]

hi everyone,

my bunny has a nasty case of head tilt resulting from battling e.c. last year.  he won the battle but the permanent head tilt is a daily reminder of his costly fight.  his appetite and zest for life, however, has never wained.

this past week, we noticed that his front right paw is weakened…and as a result, he’s been “rolling” quite often.  as such, we’ve had to confine him to his cage as the smaller space helped prevent rolling.  we know that weakness in the limb is often associated with e.c. so we immediately became concerned of a possible relapse.

we took him to see his vet today and she said that considering he’s healthy in all other avenues, it is possible he’s suffered a relapse of e.c.  so he was immediately put on antibiotics to fight off any possible e.c. infection.   all of which brings back horrible memories of last year.

anyway, wondering if there are any other bunnies out there who have suffered through front or hind leg weakness resulting from e.c….and if so, thoughts and/or advice on how we can help our little guy get stronger.  obviously, medicine and exercise should help.  has anyone else out there gone through what we went through….where the bunny successfully fought off e.c…..only to suffer leg weakness/rolling symptoms that might suggest a relapse?

-hophophop

[MooBunnay]

Hello hophophop!

I’m sorry to hear that your bunny is having some trouble with this legs. I emailed our forum leader BinkyBunny because she had a bunny with E.C. that had some hind leg issues from E.C. so she might be able to provide you with some more insight.

What is your bunny’s name? He is very lucky to have owners like you that are quick to notice signs of issues and get him to the vet ASAP. I have heard that Yahoo Groups has a disable rabbit group that may be of some help to you – have you looked into that?

[bunnytowne]

I am so sorry this has happened to  your precious bunny.  I have no experience with e.c. and hope I never have to.  I wish you the best you and your bun.   Sorry I have no information to give you.

[Beka27]

oh no! i’m glad you were able to help him thru this before and he’s living a happy life. hopefully this small relapse is something that can be resolved easily.

[hophophop]

thank you everybody for your support.

moo- i hadn’t heard about the yahoo support group but i’ll look into it.

our little guy’s name is toffee…he’s a dutch with tan coat and swirly dark stripes…..super delicious! i’ll post a pic when i can.

[BinkyBunny]

I’m so sorry for what you are going through.   Bailey had e.cuniculi, and though she didn’t suffer head-tilt, her symptoms were isolated to her hind legs.

You said your bunny is back on antibiotics.   What is the name of the drug she is receiving right now?

Bailey was treated with with Ponazural – (one of the newest drugs on the market for e.cuniculi)  The treatment helped stopped the decline, and then there were other things I did that may have helped her get better:

1. The vet gave me some Physical therapy exercises to help her.  Each night I would put her on her back on my lap, gently massage her legs where they would be night from being “tucked” under all the time (as she couldn’t stretch them out so much.).  I would gently and slowly do leg circles for her.  Vet recommended  20 times clockwise, and 20 times counter clockwise. Over time, she could increase how much she could stretch them out via this.  

2.  Then after the PT, I would give her an obstacle course  between the living room and the bunny room.  I would scoot behind her to encourage her to move. I started with three laps and increased it over time to eight.  I’m sure we would have gotten to more if she hadn’t passed away.  (which, as far as we know was not directly related to E.C)

3. Accupuncture:  This is where the fastest and biggest improvement happened.  I am STILL amazed how well that actually worked.  My vet was taking classes and she offered accupuncture for free so she could get her training in.  Well, I thought,  “What a deal!  I have no idea if it works or not, but my vet is very rabbit-savvy, and so of course I gave it a try.  It was amazing.   I think that the PT and the obstacle course helped strengthen, but her coordination got so much better with Accupuncture. 

So in the end, it all worked together, and she was actually getting very strong and confident again.  I know you emailed me and asked me about if her passing may have anything to do with E.C.    She suddenly passed due to a digestive issues (can’t remember the name of it now – something like enerotoxemia -  It’s when their own night cecals become toxic to them.)   It can be due to stress, diet, and…well just the unknown.   Her diet was very healthy.  It could have been due to stress since I had to leave town for two weeks and her whole routine was thrown off.     The vet felt like it was just one of the unknowns. But of course, I’ll never really know. 

I’m sending out healing vibes for your bunny and peace and happiness vibes for you.   I know this is hard to watch.   But Bailey really loved life, and was such a loving spunky girl throughout.

[Deleted User]

It sounds like you are getting some great advice. Our bunny Boston had head tilt earlier in the year, so I understand how difficult it is to watch, especially the rolling. Sounds like Toffee is a fighter though and I’m glad he has that zest for life!!!

I don’t have much advice for you, but we are sending lots of healing vibes your way and hope the meds help!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I don’t have any good advice for this but BB has you covered! Your bun is in my thoughts, {{VIBES}}

[hophophop]

thank you guys for all your advice and prayers…and thank you ms binkybunny….your response is especially appreciated

right now, we’re giving little Toffee two meds: panacur liquid 100mg (white liquid)…and enrifloxacin liquid 20mg (pink, fruity flavored liquid). both aid in fighting off e.c. toffee hates the white stuff but LOOOOVES the sticky sweet pink stuff. and it’s no surprise, he’s always had a sweet tooth.

i really liken e.c. to cancer.. you can fight it off, but it can come back. but having gone through this once before, we knew the signs…so when we saw him lean and roll again…we assumed it could be e.c. making a comeback and knew to rush him to the vet. our vet told us that (e.c.) is something that can afflict a bunny over and over…even after he’s fought it off before.

we’ve given him two days’ treatment since our last posting. the good news is that he’s showing a return in strength. before, he couldn’t even stand (his crippled right paw leaving him a tripod like support with only three limbs) but now he’s able to make circles and move about. he still trips and rolls a few times here and there…but nowhere as bad as two nights ago. when he regains a little more strength, we’ll take him out of the cage and begin muscle stretching therapy. (again, thanks binkybunny for confirming what we already knew to do.)

we’re hopefully Toffee returns to his usual jovial self soon. he’s such an amazing being. so strong, so happy, so loving.

[Deleted User]

yay toffee!!!!!

bunny hugs from Boston to Toffee!!!!!

[KatnipCrzy]

Glad to hear that you are seeing some progress!  And thanks for the update- if someone has something similar in the future and pulls up this thread it will give them some hope that your bunny is showing he can fight this off again!

Julie

[Beka27]

yes, please keep us posted. we’re all pulling for Toffee!

[hophophop]

btw, toffee’s the tan colored creaminess on the left side of my avatar. his brother, charcoal, is the shiny opal on the right.

[BinkyBunny]

Sounds like he’s doing better.  That’s such good news.

I also forgot to mention a great new – http://www.OnTheWonk.com – It was recently started as a resource for people who have bunnies with head-tilt.

They have also started a yahoo group that focuses on bunnies with head-tilt –http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/OnTheWonk/

 

Keep us updated.

[hophophop]

hi BB- this are great resources…thank you so much.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Awww your buns are gorgeous!! I’m glad to hear there’s some progress! {{VIBES}} We all have our fingers and ‘ears’ crossed for you at my house.

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