Tam O Ham
Well-Known Member
hi all! Going to try to keep this story short. A few months ago I got a little lionhead from the local shelter. He's probably less than a year old at this point, unfixed and an absolute sweetheart of a little dude. About a month after getting him, I ended up having to take a surprise trip for a week and boarded him with the local vet. A little over a week after I got him back, his eating dropped off, poops got small, etc. He wanted to eat but would start on a strand of hay and then spit it out. I was worried he'd hurt himself or a tooth because he'd recently taken a panicked jump off the bed. Took him to an exotic vet this time. They put him under briefly, checked his teeth, took x-rays of his head and did a blood test. The vet couldn't see anything wrong with the xrays or his teeth but did say that his test came back positive for EC. The vet said that the pressure can build up in their heads and make it uncomfortable to eat (paraphrasing). She had me put him on Fenbendazole, SMZ and Trimethoprim, and Meloxicam. He's been on them for six weeks and we've got one more to go before we're done. He got back on his food almost immediately, poops went back to normal, has always been super energetic and bouncy and there are plans to get him fixed so that he can end his pining long distance relationship with my slippers after he's off the meds. My question is two pronged.
1. the big question. I ran out of Meloxicam about a week ago. The vet said that it was fine if he was off it and to keep up the other two meds. Thing is his poops dropped to horrifyingly small sizes the first two mornings he was off it and while they're almost back to normal now, and I didn't notice him having any problems eating, I've noticed he's shaking his head a lot (compared to the never of since he's been on his meds). Messing with his ears was one of the first things I noticed him doing after I got him back from boarding even before his food intake dropped off (and now I know its one of the symptoms). I started him back on the Meloxi today so we'll see if that makes a difference but I'm lost as to whether this means he still needs the anti-inflamation in the Meloxi after all these weeks or whether its possible something else is wrong, its the pain med part he needs and we missed something that has nothing to do with EC. I know no one's psychic here but thoughts/speculations about what it might be or what I should check?
2. I've never had a rabbit with EC before and internet searching is helpful and horrifying and I feel like what I do find is sparse on details. We haven't had any signs of head tilt. There was excessive peeing but its down to normal now that he's on the meds. I'm under the impression that this is a lifelong thing and stress can trigger flare ups. He's a single bun but I gather that he's pretty much contagious for the rest of his life. And humans (me) may or may not be able to catch it (how would I even know if I did)? I know this is a big group. Can anyone that's lived with a bun with EC give me some tips on what I can expect from this point out? (and frankly, are those medications the best ones for him? I've got exactly ONE exotic vet to chose from in the area and they seem to know what they're doing but so did my last exotic vet before I moved that missed my last rabbit having molar spurs for over a year). I know I'm kind of scatter shotting on this and I'm sorry. I'm not a new rabbit mom but EC is entirely new to me and I want to do the very best, and be prepared for things, as much as I possibly can. Thanks for any help. You all have always been big helps whenever I come darting in full of worries about bunny issues.
Samwise the (Very) Brave picture
1. the big question. I ran out of Meloxicam about a week ago. The vet said that it was fine if he was off it and to keep up the other two meds. Thing is his poops dropped to horrifyingly small sizes the first two mornings he was off it and while they're almost back to normal now, and I didn't notice him having any problems eating, I've noticed he's shaking his head a lot (compared to the never of since he's been on his meds). Messing with his ears was one of the first things I noticed him doing after I got him back from boarding even before his food intake dropped off (and now I know its one of the symptoms). I started him back on the Meloxi today so we'll see if that makes a difference but I'm lost as to whether this means he still needs the anti-inflamation in the Meloxi after all these weeks or whether its possible something else is wrong, its the pain med part he needs and we missed something that has nothing to do with EC. I know no one's psychic here but thoughts/speculations about what it might be or what I should check?
2. I've never had a rabbit with EC before and internet searching is helpful and horrifying and I feel like what I do find is sparse on details. We haven't had any signs of head tilt. There was excessive peeing but its down to normal now that he's on the meds. I'm under the impression that this is a lifelong thing and stress can trigger flare ups. He's a single bun but I gather that he's pretty much contagious for the rest of his life. And humans (me) may or may not be able to catch it (how would I even know if I did)? I know this is a big group. Can anyone that's lived with a bun with EC give me some tips on what I can expect from this point out? (and frankly, are those medications the best ones for him? I've got exactly ONE exotic vet to chose from in the area and they seem to know what they're doing but so did my last exotic vet before I moved that missed my last rabbit having molar spurs for over a year). I know I'm kind of scatter shotting on this and I'm sorry. I'm not a new rabbit mom but EC is entirely new to me and I want to do the very best, and be prepared for things, as much as I possibly can. Thanks for any help. You all have always been big helps whenever I come darting in full of worries about bunny issues.
Samwise the (Very) Brave picture
