HELP!!! bunny with head tilt???

[Samantha1357]

One of my bunnies has started acting very strange, his eating slowed down and was watching his poops to make sure it wasnt stasis. Today I saw a ton of little rock hard poops, was about ready to rush him into the emergency vet for stasis when I noticed his head was tilted and he was having neurological problems.  His ears appear okay from what I can see. He is kind of rolling around and stuff. Texted my vet, thank god I have his personal number, he said it was most likely head tilt and will start him on antibiotics tomorrow morning. I went and bought another cage to separate him from the others and so he couldnt hurt himself with all the toys and stuff….anyone have experience with head tilt? Anything i should know or is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable?

[Sam&Rex]

My bun Rex had something similar when he was young (a neurological problem). My biggest concern would be your bun not getting enough food/water/hay due to being unsteady. I know with Rex I basically dumped the whole bag of hay all around him for easy access and offered him hand-fed pellets and water from a bowl (his preference) every half hour until we got to the vet. If his eating has slowed down then I would really watch him carefully. Maybe try some wet greens to try to keep things moving and keep him hydrated.
It’s good that you noticed it early and can get him to a vet soon!
I’m sure someone who knows more will be around soon to offer more advice.
Hope he feels better!

[LittlePuffyTail]

How is your bunny today? I would be concerned about hydration right now, if his poos are rock hard. Your vet should administer Sub Q fluids so he doesn’t get impaction.

Make sure you keep him in a comfortable area as he may be falling down or even rolling.

A few months ago, Bindi got headtilt, eye twitching and wobbliness all of a sudden. We caught it right away and treated with Fenbendazole for 30 days and he completely recovered.

Please keep us updated. Wishing your bun a speedy recovery.

[Samantha1357]

he pooped 12 poo’s last night, small, but bigger than the ones he had yesterday. I went and bought a smaller cage last night as they have a large cage and a pen and I didnt want him to hurt himself. He ate ALL his greens last while I was asleep, and ate some fennel and mint leaves this morning (they were very wet). Going to the vet at 3, its 12:42 right now. Vet said we will do injectable baytril and if dehydrated fluids, he doesnt appear overly dehydrated and there were some poos by the water bottle. He didnt want to drink out of a bowl when I offered it, even squeezed some kiwi juice into it (kiwis are his favorite) but didnt want it. So anything i give him i make sure its nice and wet. I think he might have nibbled on his hay, or he just move it around. I gave him two oxbow timothy treats and he ate those where yesterday he wouldnt touch them. I put down 20 pellets next to him last night (oxbow timothy) but he didnt touch those. His regular diet consists of 3/4 oxbow timothy based and 1/4 oxbow alfalfa based. Im very careful about what they eat and they only get two small pieces of fruit a day (a blueberry, or a strawberry cut in 1/4’s, or a slice of kiwi cut in 1/4’s). They always have plenty of timothy, oat, meadow, orchard, and botanical hays and grasses available to them (all oxbow, of course), This week was their first week without alfalfa in the mix but i still give them alfalfa hay cubes as treats. Will update when we get home from the vet

[MimzMum]

Hoping your bun is doing okay and still eating greens well. Mimzy got severe headtilt in June and he ate almost exclusively vegetables. I also had to learn to give sub q fluids at home while he couldn’t drink from bottle or bowl for a few months.
Treatment beginning a.s.a.p. after symptoms begin are key to recovery, however depending on the cause of the infection sometimes you’ll need to run a longer than usual course of antibiotics or more than one. Mimzy was on two to three months of oral baytril and yet didn’t fully clear it up, so we tried a few others to help knock out the infection. (Still not sure if it was e.cuniculi or deep ear infection.)

Your vet may also want to prescribe a gut motility drug and some meclazine (anti-vertigo drug to stabilize balance) to help your bun with any tummy upset/stasis and wobbliness. You can learn gentle neck massage techniques if bun will allow it to help his muscles from becoming stiff and keeping his head permanently wonky.

You can place rolled towels along his pen walls to help him not hurt himself if he starts rolling badly. Also some metacam would be good for any pain/immflamation associated with head tilt.

Mimzy was very sick for a couple of weeks after he first showed symptoms and the rolling got so bad I feared he’d have to be euthanized. Although he still has a 90 degree head tilt he is back to his new normal and a happy and affectionate bun who still enjoys the world which he now sees from a different angle.
Also your bun might need some cream or drops for his “down” eye if it looks like it might get irritated.
Good luck to you. Please keep us updated.

[MimzMum]

Also…please be careful feeding pellets to a head tilt bunny to prevent possible choking from the angle of the neck.

[Samantha1357]

Back from the vet, since I caught it right away it should be easy to clear, very very very small tilt of the head. Doing doxycycline and metacam. He is eating his veggies VERY well now, can I give him unlimted? he is only 12 (almost 13) weeks old. I also took some pellets and soaked them in water so its kind of a mush now. He is in a smaller cage still with his letterbox food and water and its very cushy with blankets

[Samantha1357]

Charming is doing SO much better. Took his second dose perfectly. TONS of poops, still a little small but theyre softer and more normal shaped. Eating his hay, pellets, and veggies…playing with his toys too. Since it got caught at the early stage he will recover much faster. He does miss his buddies though and they miss him. Ive noticed Rascal is becoming depressed without charming so im putting him in the pen with the others for some supervised play time tomorrow

[MimzMum]

Sounds good that he is doing better.
Was not sure about how many veggies a twelve week bun should have. I guess mine were all eating unlimited veg at that time in their lives though.
Has your vet suggested treating any of your bunnies’ buddies preemptively? Sometimes a round of fenbendazole is done in case of possible e.c. infection. (One of the possible causes of headtilt.) You can maybe just call and ask instead of making further appointments.
Did the vet say what the possible cause was?
Continued vibes for Charming.
(P.S. Are you a Once Upon a Time fan perchance? )

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m glad to hear Charming is doing better! (Love the name!)

I would also like to know what the vet thinks caused the tilt.

[Samantha1357]

I already asked him when we were there if we should to antibiotics on all of them and he said no he wouldnt and if i start to see anything start them right away. He believes it was caused by the Pasturella bacteria (snuffles). Although none of my bunnies had it, one of my buns I got, his litter mates got snuffles, so we are assuming that is how the bacteria got into my house.

Update today: lots of pee, but its more red/orange than usual, assuming thats from the medication. A lot more poo today and it is softer and a little bigger. He ate some of his pellets last night and all of his veggies. Active now and regaining some of his balance chewed on his favorite willow toys.

Question though….Ive been introducing a new veggie every 3-4 days…I havent been giving Charming any of the new stuff though, good call? Or am I being overly cautious. I just figured if there was a poop problem I didnt want to have to guess if it was from something new or something i need to be concerned about.

Charming went in to see his buddies today, didnt go too well. He was fine with Rosie and Rascal but he and Derek were chasing eachother. I took Charming out so he wouldn’t get hurt. But Rascal is becoming so depressed without Charming, he just hides under his little activity center and sulks. When I put charming in the pen Rascal came out and was happy and cleaning him. I feel bad

[LittlePuffyTail]

Id say it’s best to give him veggies he’s used to for right now. You certainly don’t want any tummy problems to deal with.

Is Charming where he can see Rascal? Could you put just Rascal and Charming together for now?

[Samantha1357]

Yes, They have a full room to themselves. 3/4 of the room is fenced off with a pen which has their cage inside it. On the other side of the pen is Charming’s cage. Rascal, Rosie, and Derek all come right where Charming’s cage is and try to squeeze through the bars (they can’t). Today Charming got to join his buddies and Rascal is finally being Rascal running, playing, and doing binkies. They slept together and cleaned eachother. Ill feel bad taking Charming away tonight but I need to make sure he is eating/drinking/pooping/peeing and how much he is so I can make sure there arent any underlying problems. After his 14 day round of antibiotics I will let him stay with the others full time but until then he needs to be locked up at night.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Awww…well at least they had some time together. They will be back together soon.

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