E Cuniculi

[bullsgirl80]

I have two bunnies that I rescued shortly after Christmas. I found them in a box, on the side of a building, in the snow. I quickly grew fond of both of them and decided to keep them instead of surrendering them to my local shelter. I named them Sid & Nancy.

Nancy has been healthy since the day I found him. Sid on the other hand, has not. Back in April he had an upper respiratory infection and was quickly put on medicine. After 10 days, it went away. Last week I noticed Sid stopped eating/drinking. He seemed very out of it. Took him to the vet and he was put on a liquid food diet. The doctor didn't find any blockage in his stomach and to her, he sounded fine.

After 2 days of force feeding him, he started eating on his own, was not lethargic anymore. He was the happy bunny I was use to seeing. Fast forward two days later. Sid started becoming lethargic again, not eating, not going to the bathroom. His eyes were always half way shut. He was just a miserable bunny. I called the vet and they said to start up with the liquid food and to watch him. So I did. He didn't change, just got worse. The next morning I woke up and Sid was laying flat in his litter box. Couldn't move, heavy breathing. He pretty much looked like he was dead. I rushed him to the vet. He was soon diagnosed with E Cuniculi. The vet explained to me exactly what that was and the outcome of it. He told me there's a 50/50 chance the meds will work and since Sid was so bad, he told me to brace myself for the worst. I was told if Sid didn't improve at all by the 10th day on the meds, they wouldn't work at all and I would have to put him down

I quickly started the meds and for the last two days I have seen Sid improve. He is more alert, ears are up, he started eating on his own and drinking. He is slowly starting to use more of his back legs, where two days ago they were completely paralyzed. Last night he hopped across the floor. His two back legs are still dragging but you can see that he is somewhat able to use them to hop just a little. He has that will to move again, even though he's having somewhat of a tough time. He started coming out of the corner of the cage and was being more social. He is now able to lift his legs and clean them and his face. He could not do this two days ago. If he tried, he just fell right over. He's able to go to the bathroom and not defecate all over himself like he was two days ago. He is still a little wobbly at certain times but nothing like he was.

I am assuming the medicine is working and I'm very hopeful my sweet Sid will recover from this. I guess my question is, has anyone had a bunny/rabbit that was diagnosed with E Cuniculi and see their rabbit show quick signs of improvements, then all of a sudden got worse again? I'm so happy to see him trying and making great improvements, but I'm also so scared he will one day get really bad again and the meds not work. I know time will tell and every bunny is different. Just was wondering if anyone else out there experienced this and saw great improvements and what the outcome of that was.

Thanks

 

[Zaiya]

That's so sad - why would anyone just leave two bunnies in a box in the snow?!

I've never had experience with this problem, but good luck with him!

 

[JBun]

Often when treating EC, there sometimes can be a slight downturn, then the rabbit will continue to improve again. It's hard to know what the extent of the damage will be. Sometimes there will be some permanent damage, and sometimes there is a complete recovery. Is your vet treating with panacur(fenbendazole) and metacam? Any other meds? Sometimes it can take longer than 10 days to see improvement, so I'm a bit surprised the vet would recommend to pts after only 10 days, but it looks like you are seeing some improvement early on. It's important to keep up with the meds for at least the 28 day minimum. Some vets will even prescribe it for longer. And it may be necessary to retreat for the EC later on, as it can sometimes reoccur.

I did have a rabbit get EC, but it was several years ago. He got head tilt and got better the first time he was treated for it, but it reoccurred and he didn't survive the second time. My sisters' rabbit has had it for almost 9 years, and has had several reoccurances. But because she has stayed on top of it and promptly gets him treated when she sees the first signs of it, he's come out of it fine.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/tilt.html

 

[majorv]

We've had some experience with EC, but ours was very different from yours. Did the vet do any blood tests? That's the only way to tell if your bunny has an active infection or not.

 

[bullsgirl80]

I don't know what the meds are that he gave them. I will have to look when I get home. He is on one med to kill the parasite and another for his upper respiratory infection. The vet said that the med for the cold works well with the parasite meds. I know this is not helpful because I don't know the names. He did tell me to use the meds for 28 days. He basically said that if Sid shows no sign of improvement by the 10 day then the meds will never work.

Yesterday morning I gave him the meds and the liquid food. When I picked him up to put him back in the cage this slime came out of him. It was mixed with feces. When I went to wipe him, I lifted his tail and there was this string of thick slime hanging from him. I gently pulled it out. I freaked out because my first thought was maggots. Even though I had been cleaning him every time he was going to the bathroom, and he is indoors, I just thought the worst. I called the vet and took him in again. They examined the slime string thing and said it def wasn't maggots and it could have been a parasite that was attacking his intestine and the medicine killed it. Then he just passed it that way

I just checked on him at lunch and he seems fine. He seems to almost be using both legs. He still has a slight drag though and has difficulty turning. He didn't get the head tilt. Well, he hasn't so far.

The vet did tell me it could always come back. Right now I'm watching the other rabbit Nancy. Since they come from the same mother its very likely that he will get it. I know nothing about where they came from. They are only 7 months old and I found them when they were roughly 1 month old.

He seems to be improving and I hope he continues. I don't want to see him take a step back

 

[bullsgirl80]

No blood work was done. They said it would show up any but doesn't mean the rabbit is infected. The vet said if we tested Nancy (who is not infected) would show up positive.

 

[JBun]

The slime that you are seeing can be because of a few things. It's caused by inflammation in the digestive system, and will sometimes happen after a rabbit has had GI stasis, and the gut starts moving again. It can also be mucoid enteritis, which can be caused by harmful bacteria. And also a parasite called coccidiosis, can cause the mucous in the droppings. If there is a bacterial problem, specific meds need to be given for it, if it's coccidiosis, a specific anti parasitic needs to be given. Did the vet happen to do a fecal float test, to check for bacteria and coccidiosis?

Typically the meds used for EC are fenbendazole 20mg/kg once a day for at least 28 days, metacam to bring down any inflammation and for pain control or in very severe cases, corticosteroids are used as a last ditch effort only because it weakens the immune system, and an antibiotic like baytril is often given to cover the possibility of an infection being involved. Immediate improvement is usually a really good sign, and could mean there will be little to no lasting damage done by the EC. Hopefully this will be the case. Even though many rabbits have been exposed to the parasite, not all rabbits will have a problem with it. Often it is rabbits that have other health problems or ones that stress easily, that are most prone to being affected by EC. So your other rabbit may never have a problem with it, even though Sid does. Has your vet also put Nancy on a preventative course of the fenbendazole?


http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Generalities/Enteritis_en.htm
http://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/gutstasis.asp
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/exo...ls/rabbits/parasitic_diseases_of_rabbits.html

 

[bullsgirl80]

I'm happy to report that Sid is back to normal!! Can't even tell he has this awful disease!! He's still on the meds and I have a follow up vet visit when he's done with the meds. Nancy, thank god, has not shown any signs of this either. Thanks to everyone who commented and gave me great advice!!