Possible Head Tilt

[Bifur The Bunny]

I hope I am posting this in the right place, if not please let me know. I want to abide by the rules. Anyway, I have a serious situation that I need help with. Yesterday I noticed my 3-month-old Netherland Dwarf bunny acting a bit outside his usual range. A typical morning includes him following me around the house like a puppy, playing, binkying and doing the bunny 500 for about 10 minutes. He’s very active, but not yesterday. Bifur seemed to only want to stay under my bed pressed against the wall. He wouldn’t come out to eat, and would only accept his food from my hand. I watched him for a while, then I noticed it. He began walking in a circle like he was dizzy. His head was a little tilted and his eyes kept flicking left to right along with his head, involuntarily. Absolutely freaked, I rushed him to the vet and she guessed it was one of two things: An ear infection or a parasite. After the exam, she said his eardrum was clean and assumed it was a parasite, and gave me an antibiotic to administer once a day. I gave him his first dose last night and it seemed to provide some aid. His head stopped twitching for the most part, and his eyes seemed to calm down too, but neither completely gone. I could tell he was still dizzy, even though he tried to explore and do his usual thing, but would just stop and look like he just got off a rollercoaster. This resulted in him barely eating and drinking. I tried to hand feed him a little bit of everything, he wouldn’t even accept a banana, his absolute favorite treat. He just looked too dizzy. I gave him some critical care this morning which he reluctantly accepted. This seemed to help a little more since he has eaten a little today as well as drink water. He even pooped again for the first time in hours. Now that I have given you all the whole run down, I am here to ask if anyone else has had this happen to their precious bun and if so, is there anything else I should be doing? I understand with how lethargic he is, this could lead to GI stasis and  I want to do everything I can to prevent that from happening. Any advice is welcome and encouraged. 

[kurottabun]

Is the vet rabbit savvy and did they mention what parasite specifically? There is a parasite called E cuniculi that affects a large percentage of bunnies – one of the most common symptoms of this is a loss of balance/head tilt. Typical treatment involves something called Fenbendazole (the common brand name for this is Panacur). Antibiotics is normally given for an ear infection and not EC, so I find it quite odd that your vet prescribed an antibiotic.

[Gina.Jenny]

We went through something similar with one of our buns recently, thankfully,he pulled through and has improved amazingly. He was given an anti-imflamatory injection, metacam, baytril and panacur, to cover all possible causes, though a stroke was thought most likely, we treated for the other likely causes to be on the safe side. food and hydration are essential.

I’ll link to the thread on our bun, so you can read if it might help?

https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/168474/Default.aspx

[Bifur The Bunny]

I was told she was excellent at working with small animals, and that included rabbits. She didn’t specify what kind of parasite, and she wasn’t even sure if it was the true cause. She confirmed it wasn’t an ear infection that she could see, and prescribed me Panacur. Since Bifur is only 1.5lbs, she couldn’t cut the right amount of powder and just told me to go to any pharmacy to get the liquid form. I would like to point out that the communication at this vet clinic was subpar at best. The vet told me it was over the counter and the receptionists both told me it was a prescription. And they were not nice about it. Anyway, after striking out at every pharmacy I was getting nervous. It was pushing 5 pm and I knew places were going to be closing soon. I got ahold of a pharmacist at a grocery store, who also workes as the on-call pharmacist at a Co-op and wanted to check if they had it on their shelf. I drive to the co-op and was told that SafeGard goat dewormer would do exactly what I needed it to. It doesn’t say Fenbendazole, but it is working. His head tilt is gone and he isn’t flicking his eyes or head. He still gets a little off balance from time to time but he’s always been a little clumsy. I’m on super high alert right now so I may be overseeing things. I’m rambling again, but the point is, I still don’t completely know what caused him to get ill. It’s a little frustrating to just be told what it’s not. The vet said if a week of his meds don’t seem to be working or he is getting worse than come back, but he is improving and I am very thankful for that.

[Bifur The Bunny]

Oh, Gina, I am so sorry you had to go through that with Podge. Since I am so new to BinkyBunny, I haven’t gotten familiar with many users and their bunnies, but I can say for certainty that I will never forget about your sweet Podge. I am so glad he made a full recovery. This being the first time dealing with a health scare on my bunnies behalf, I was (and still am a little) going crazy. The first picture of him on that thread made me so happy. He looks like he’s giving the camera a half smile. So sweet. My baby boy is actually doing much better. He is eating and drinking like a champ, and he even seemed to be a little playful this morning. He is still resting more than usual, but it is only day three, and I’m thinking the lack of eating from being so dizzy caused some tummy upset. When I noticed him no longer accepting food even from my hand,  I IMMEDIATELY gave him a dose of Critical Care. I wanted to prevent any chance of GI stasis. He still has pretty little poops though, is there anything else I should be doing? 

[LBJ10]

Typically, when it’s unclear if the cause is bacterial or EC, the vet will prescribe both an antibiotic and an anti-parasitic (Fenbendazole/Panacur). Antibiotics do affect EC somewhat, but it does not send the infection into remission like an anti-parasitic does. This is likely why you have seen some improvement, but he has failed to get better with the antibiotics alone.

If he is experiencing vertigo, the vet can prescribe medication for that. If he cannot eat on his own, then you can hand feed him Critical Care and syringe him some water. If it is EC, you may not see improvement for a while, even after proper treatment (Fenbendazole) is administered.

[Bifur The Bunny]

That makes a lot of sense. Luckily, he has made some amazing progress. This morning he was much more himself. He came out and greeted us and begged for his leafy greens like he always does. He still has moments where he seems to be a little off balance, but he has always been a little clumsy. I was only prescribed an anti-parasitic and told to administer Critical Care if needed which was only a few times. 24 hours ago he began stuffing his face with his hay and drinking again. He seems to have gained his appetite back his sassy personality. He even tried to binky this morning, but he still gets a little dizzy pretty easily. 

[Ellie from The Netherlands]

Glad to hear that he’s getting better! He looks so adorable ^_^

[LBJ10]

Glad to hear he is improving. Keep us updated!

[Author]

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