Head Tilt?

[BooBooBunny]

One of my bun’s seems like he may be showing signs of head tilt.  He seemed normal last night but this morning when i went to give them breakfast he was tilting his head very slightly to the right.  What makes it more noticable is the ear on that side is just kind of flopped over (he is a ductch bunny, so the ears are usually straight up or angled forward), if he hears a noise the other ear moves but the rightr one just hangs there.  It looks like possibly he can’t move it.  He ate his pellets and some hay, and a piece of dried papaya but that ear still looks unnatural.  I called my bunny vet’s office, but the Dr. is out until next week.  I am waiting for them to call me back to see if any of the other vets there would be able to take a look at him. 

I was hoping someone who has had experience with head tilt or knew more about it could give me some advice, is this something that can wait til monday to be seen by a vet (I’m not waiting til next week thats for sure, i’ll have to figure something else out) or does he need to be seen by an emergency vet today?  Of coure these kinds of things always happen on weekends.

I recently got a puppy a few months ago (who of course is very interested in the bunnies and is by their pens several times a day wondering why they won’t play with him), he is up to date on his shots except he needs the last series of a few sometime soon.  Could he have possibly passed on something to my bunny?  And I have three other bun’s, one of whom is bonded to and lives in the same pen with the bun with head tilt, so how concerned should i be that if it were a bacteria or parasite that he could pass it on to the others?

Thanks in advance for any advice or help.

[Sarita]

It would be unlikely your puppy transmitted something to your rabbits.

I would at this point not even want to speculate on whether he has a parasite or anything like that that could be passed on since you do not have a diagnosis. When you mention about the sound in the ear, it sounds as if it could possibly be an ear infection. I truly hope you can get him to a vet soon for a physical examination as that is the only way to know.

Vibes for your bunny.

[MooBunnay]

I have not dealt with head tilt before, but from what I understand it is something that can progress very quickly, and the sooner it is treated the more likely it is that the bunny will eventually be able to get back to a normal life. Is there only one vet office that you can get too? If not I would start calling around to see if there is anywhere else you can take your bunny, especially if things start to get even worse, such as your bunny’s head tilting ever further, or your bunny getting dizzy or disoriented. If he does start getting dizzy and falling over wrap him in some towels and get him to the vet right away because he will need vet diagnosis and treatment right away. I’m sure that the outcome is even better if you can get your bunny to the vet before he gets to that stage.

[BooBooBunny]

Thanks for the help and advice guys.  Well after calling around to several vets, I found one that had emergency office hours (ie evening hours on saturday) who was also knowledgeable about rabbits.  We just got back, the vet said it is indeed an inner ear infection ( your guess was right Sarita) that has damaged the nerves to his eye and ear , it may or may not be reversable.   According to the swab the Dr. took it is a yeast infection, which is said is common in outter ear issues but not inner ear infections.  So its possible that there is still bacteria or something else causing it.  For the next week Chinny (the bun in question) gets an ointment (animax) in his ear once a day and an oral baytril suspension twice a day.  Hopefully between those two medications it will get rid of the incfection and the head tilt will reverse. 

Has anyone ever had/heard of a yeast infection in rabbits ears?  I’m wondering how something like that happens, how was it introduced to the ear and what made it thrive in there?  Obviously yeast likes warm dark moist places, but stil I’m wondering if theres something in his enviroment that exascerbated it.  Its sad and surprising that my first clue there was something wrong was the head tilt and floppy ear this morning, he was fine last night…

Thanks again for the help, and any more help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[RabbitPam]

I’m sorry I can’t give you any new advice, but am sending healing vibes to Chinny. You’ve done your best to get prompt attention and treatment. That’s going to help him a lot.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{get well soon, Chinny}}}}}}}}}}}

[Sarita]

Yeast infections seem to be very common in rabbits. I don’t think it’s the environment other than the ear environment which you cannot control there.

Healing vibes to your baby.

[Barbie]

Awww, vibes to Chinny! Hope he gets well soon. Good job for getting him to the vet as soon as you noticed he wasn’t quite right.

BooBoobunny, sorry to take over your thread, but I had a question that is pretty relevant… I’m dog sitting for my parents right now (at their house), and Teddy, who has chronic ear infections, has one right now. The vet did a culture and said it’s yeast this time, and has given us some meds to use on Teddy. I’ve been treating and cleaning Teddy’s ear (after which, I always wash my hands) but also petting and loving on him… and then I go home to Leroy. Is it possible for me to bring something from Teddy to Leroy this way?

[BinkyBunny]

Well, as odd as this sounds, I am glad that it was an ear infection and NOT symptoms of e.cuniculi. Everytime I hear “head tilt” I worry.

I’m glad the vet took a swab to determine whether it’s bacteria or yeast so it could treated accordingly. Infections can just happen even with the best care. Just one of those things. Sometimes infections can be related an underlying illness causing immune problems, a reaction to a parasite like mites abcesses/tooth issues, but most of the time it’s just one of those things – like how we get colds/infections.

When I asked my vet how to prevent infections she said the only thing you can do is make the environment is clean and dry make sure litterboxes are changed regulary, but even with the best care, it’s just one of those things that can happen.

Hopefully your bunny will make a full recovery, and even if there is a permanent tilt, most of the time, the brain will learn to adjust and the only one that will notice the tilt will be you.

Keep us updating, and I’m sending healing vibes!

[BooBooBunny]

Thanks everyone for all the well wishes and healing vibes! I will definately update, hopefully as he progresses towards recovery. He is still about the same as this morning, but hes eating and drinking, and his BFF/husband/bonded mate is being pretty gentle with him (ie no agressive humping for once, which must be very difficult for him) which is good to see. He must sense Chinny isn’t his normal self. He’s not too thrilled about either the oral med’s or the ointment, but i guess i can’t blame him for that. I just hope he is not in too much discomfort, poor guy.

Thanks again everyone, its nice to know Chinny has people pulling for him!
‘

[Desma]

I am going to guess that yeast infections are more common in lop eared rabbits because of the air circulation? I know that dogs like cocker spaniels have ear problems because of that . I am hoping that because Hunny is an indoor rabbit that she will never have anything like that.

[Furface]

Posted By Barbie on 11/07/2009 04:33 PM
Awww, vibes to Chinny! Hope he gets well soon. Good job for getting him to the vet as soon as you noticed he wasn’t quite right.

BooBoobunny, sorry to take over your thread, but I had a question that is pretty relevant… I’m dog sitting for my parents right now (at their house), and Teddy, who has chronic ear infections, has one right now. The vet did a culture and said it’s yeast this time, and has given us some meds to use on Teddy. I’ve been treating and cleaning Teddy’s ear (after which, I always wash my hands) but also petting and loving on him… and then I go home to Leroy. Is it possible for me to bring something from Teddy to Leroy this way?

I sent you a message

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

What makes it more noticable is the ear on that side is just kind of flopped over (he is a ductch bunny, so the ears are usually straight up or angled forward),

Whenever my bunny Kahlua is in pain (physical or mental-ie. greiving) she has one ear down. So it may not be a symptom per se. But you should let the vet know when he/she sees your bun

I am going through this right now as well-{{VIBES}} to both of our buns

It can wait until Monday I’m sure, but it won’t go away on it’s own-so make sure you show up on your vets doorstoop first thing tomorrow morning -and keep us posted please!

[KatnipCrzy]

Some yeast and bacteria lives normally on the skin (very small amount)- it is when conditions become ideal (damp, moist, trauma, etc) that one or the other or both can “thrive” and cause an issue.

[BooBooBunny]

thanks again everyone for the continued advice and insight. He is acting like his usual self today, normal posture and body language, appetite. The only thing that gives away that hes ailing is that ear. So hopefully that means the infection is going away and hes not in much discomfort from it.

Giving him the medicine twice a day is more of a battle each time though. The ointment in the ear, well hes just not gonna like it and theres not much i can do. But the oral medication (which is the one he gets twice a day) he absolutley wants no part of. Im sure its not so much the taste but having the syringe shoved in his mouth. I’ve tried putting a towel over his eyes to calm him but it doesnt seem to work, his white paws and jaw are becoming stained pepto pink since thats where most of the stuff ends up (or on me, or on the floor…). Not to mention I’m afraid hes gonna hurt himself with the violent thrashing and wriggling to get away (nor am i thrilled about the scratches). Does anyone have any tricks or tips to make administering the oral med’s a little less difficult??

[BinkyBunny]

It helps if you are able to hold his mouth and position him so his bum is up against you so he can’t back away from you. You can sort of lean over him securing his body with your arms and your abdomen/chest, and then with the with one hand gently hold his mouth/face still, and with the other administer the med in from the side – going sideways into his mouth. That way he will swallow at his pace and not aspirate. Hopefully that makes sense. Others might have tricks that work best for their bunny.

Let us know what finally works for you.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Sorry to hear about your bun’s ear infection.

I’ve dealt with many ear infections (both bacteria and yeast) with my Mini-Lop. He is really hard to give oral meds to as well but I found routine works best. Do his meds at the same time every day and immediately offer him a small, favorite treat (bananas are a big hit at my house). My bunny eventually got better with the meds because he would know the treat is coming.

Make sure to keep an eye on bunnies weight. When Bindi was on Baytril his appetite was reduced and he lost 1/2 a pound (he only weighs 4.12 lbs so half a pound is quite a lot.)

Many vibes for a quick recovery!!! {{{{{{{Chinny}}}}}}}

[Jenna, Chubs & Comet]

Comet didn’t like the taste of the pain meds the vet gave him after his neuter, and obviously hated me coming at him with a syringe. I squished up a little bit of banana and mixed the syringe of medicine in itand he ate it all up no problem! You could try that!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

BB Bunny-I was suggested to see this site http://www.onthewonk.com/
and they have a yahoo group (My yahoo disabled rabbit group suggested it) http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/OnTheWonk/

It’s been good to hear about other rabbits getting through it-you may like the site and group as well.

But don’t leave us-we’d like to keep hearing how things are going Please keep us posted!!

How are you doing water-is your bunny still drinking? I’m doing syringe water now, but I think we’ll be doing sub-q soon

[MooBunnay]

I’m so glad to hear you were able to get treatment for your bunny quickly, and that they were able to diagnose the problem. Hopefully he will be doing better very soon! Good luck with the antibiotics, I know what a pain they are to administer sometimes. The highlight of my medicine giving is once when Grace managed to get me to shoot myself in the face with her syringe-ful of Metaclopramide! *ew*

[BooBooBunny]

Thanks so much for all the continuing support and advice! Sorry that my update’s a bit late, stuffs been crazy around here, you know how it goes.

Anyway, we went to the vet wednesday night for Chinny’s follow up. The Dr. took a swab of his ear and no more yeast or bacteria. Yay! His eye on that side looks better, normal light response etc. and closes normally, but the pupil still points in slightly a different direction than the other eye. But nothing the doc thought would effect his quality of life. His ear seems like it keeps improving, very hard to notice that its different than the other one now unless you already knew there was a problem, and he definately looks like he has muscle control of it again to some degree (now it only flops back down when he isnt happy, such as when the vet is checking his ears :p). The vet said he doesn’t expect any rabbit this happens to to ever be completely the same as before, but Chinny seems just like his old self. Hes continuing to eat well and drink, all in all im really happy with his progress.

The only treatment from now on is some drops to break up any wax or debris in the ear, once every week for the next three weeks and then about once a month forever, just as a preventative measure. The Dr. said he was pleasantly surprised at how quick Chinny recovered because a lot of bun’s he see’s don’t do so well, and that I was lucky i noticed it soon enough with him to get him started on treatment quickly. To me this really illustrates how important it is to inform yourself on possible medical issues that could arise, so that you are prepared for them if they should happen. Had I not happened to have read and heard about heat tilt in bunnies and how serious it could be, I probably would have just wondered why he was holding his ear that way and not worried too much about it until it continued to get worse, I’d of never guessed it was an emergency issue. I’m really grateful for sites like this that help bunny owners educate and prepare ourselves.

So thanks sooo much everyone for all the help and healing vibes, it was so nice to know there were people who understood what Chinny was going through. Many thanks and much appreciation from Chinny and I!

[Monkeybun]

Glad to hear he’s doing better *snuggles for Chinny!*

[BinkyBunny]

Yeah!! So great to hear Chinny is recovering well.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

GREAT NEWS!! Yeah Chinny!

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