Head tilt - recovery question

[Bun Slave]

Hi everyone - my bunny Nero had head tilt about 4 years ago, from which his tilt never fully recovered. He's been hit again with wry neck and at the same time some snuffles. Poor poppet.

He's 7 years old, Havana, 1.65kg. He gets .2ml of Baytril and .1ml of Metacam 2x daily. He gets chloramphenicol eye drops 3x daily. That started on Friday morning (5 days ago).

He's got no balance, but other than that he seems fine. He eats & drinks fine, poops are normal, no nystgamus, wants to groom himself and his bonded bunnies. His hind legs seem weak or out of touch with his front legs. With this 2nd attack his head is even farther over.

Just wondering about recovery experiences you've had, as I'm not sure if what I'm seeing is within normal recovery? I know it can take weeks to get things back to the way they were, but I'm curious to know if you saw an up-and-down level of recovery or if I'm beginning to freak myself out about this.

Thanks!

 

[jeanluc_pippen_merry]

ray: I wish i had answers but i hope the little guy gets well soon.

 

[Maureen Las]

Do a search of head tilt on the forum and there are many posts of member's experiences with the treatment of head tilt .
I would look into getting a vet who may take this a bit further in terms of meds. Baytril is not strong or effective enough for this type of infection; not a good drug of choice. You may need more than one strong antibiotic to clear it up. Chloramphenical is a great drug ( penetrates the blood /brain barrier) and this rabbit may benefit from getting this drug orally in addition to the eye drops . Injectable pencillin is another great drug

Meclizine is often prescribed for the dizziness and spinning

Thisdisorder does take a lot of work and patience on the owner's part but often persistence pays off in the long run .


medirabbit article

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Neurology_main.htm

articles from RO

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11840&forum_id=10
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=27901&forum_id=10

Vets in your area


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12111&forum_id=9

Our administrator , Pipp, see Dr. Joseph martinez

Please be patient and please let us know how he is doing ....

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Have you tested to see if it is an ear infection?

The vet Kept saying Over and over to me that it was E.Cuniculi, or Pasturella. So we took her word for it and did the blood work. Turns out it was an inner ear infection. The ears and sinuses are inner-connected. If the ears are messed up, the nose and eyes, etc. will run to.

My bunny was put on Metacam as a pain relief, which also helped the balence some I think.

The keep from him rolling, try propping him up with towels in a carrier without the top on it. Roll the towels up.

If you haven't gotten fluids for bunny, you might consider this as well. The Sub-Q fluids helped my bunny TONS and made a world of difference (she went into gi stasis)

In the case of E. Cuniculi,
Check out www.barbibrownsbunnies.com - she has LOTS of good information. I printed it off and gave it to my vet.

 

[Bun Slave]

Hi -

He gets meclazine and metacam as well.

The towel set-up I have for him is under the desk - towels on 3 sides, towel on the floor, room for his bonded buns to come in and hang out with him.

In fact, his snuggle buddy Newman thinks this towel business is silly, and will come in, push/pull one towel out of the way then lie next to Nero as if *he* is a towel! Full body contact. Nero loves it. Right now I'm looking in and both Nero's buddies are in there checking on him.

 

[ra7751]

Just happened to see this one. I would suggest disregarding the mentioned link to a rabbit site regarding E Cuniculi. There is still so much incorrect information about this affliction. A few things about EC. Almost all rabbits have been exposed to this parasite. Symptoms are gradual onset....not quick onsets. EC does not cause head tilt....repeat....EC does not cause head tilt. It does stress the immune system to allow opportunistic bacterial infections (as well as other infections). Tilt is caused either by trauma oran ear infection. Antibiotics or ivermectin is not effective against EC. Panacur is not effective against EC although most vets use it. That drug can't penetrate the blood/brain barrier which is where the parasite is. Ponazuril is the proper treatment. Steroids should not be used at any time with rabbits. The thought is that steroids can reduce inflammation in the brain....what it reduces is the power of the immune system and the immune system is the primary fighter against EC. Ear infections are quite a serious issue in rabbits and should be addressed much more aggressively than most vets have the knowledge to use. Drugs such as Baytril (or Cipro) and sulfa (like SMZ, sulfatrim, bactrim, etc.) are also not up to the task. In some serious cases, multiple drugs are appropriate.

Randy

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

ra7751 wrote:

Just happened to see this one. I would suggest disregarding the mentioned link to a rabbit site regarding E Cuniculi. There is still so much incorrect information about this affliction. A few things about EC. Almost all rabbits have been exposed to this parasite. Symptoms are gradual onset....not quick onsets. EC does not cause head tilt....repeat....EC does not cause head tilt. It does stress the immune system to allow opportunistic bacterial infections (as well as other infections). Tilt is caused either by trauma oran ear infection. Antibiotics or ivermectin is not effective against EC. Panacur is not effective against EC although most vets use it. That drug can't penetrate the blood/brain barrier which is where the parasite is. Ponazuril is the proper treatment. Steroids should not be used at any time with rabbits. The thought is that steroids can reduce inflammation in the brain....what it reduces is the power of the immune system and the immune system is the primary fighter against EC. Ear infections are quite a serious issue in rabbits and should be addressed much more aggressively than most vets have the knowledge to use. Drugs such as Baytril (or Cipro) and sulfa (like SMZ, sulfatrim, bactrim, etc.) are also not up to the task. In some serious cases, multiple drugs are appropriate.

Randy

^^Yes that's fine, I do know there is alot of varryinginformation on EC. However, Ireally do feel that Barbi Brown knows what she's talking about when it comes to bunnies. I think other bunny owners on herecan back me up on that one. I know that others here have taken bunnies to her for help, as well as going to her vet. {Of which i am very jealous. Because of where I live, I can't. =P} And,,,I must add I dealt with a bunny for 6 Mo with a very very serious case of head tilt. She has quite a bit of information regarding head tilt of which was a HUGE help to me.

 

[Bun Slave]

Quick update on Nero.....he's been up and down. Took him to see Olga at VRRA and she was able to provide some wonderful help and some medication.

We took him to see Dr. Upjohn today. We've got a month's worth of Azithromycin and he's doubled the Metacam. If Nero doesn't improve over that time, Dr. Upjohn says we'll need to consider quality of life (and I know what that means).

I know we're all hoping that every little bunny who gets written about on this board makes it. I would just like to say to other bunny owners with sick buns that I know what you're going through and you have my full support as you try to get your little fuzzbutt back up and binkying! We know these little buns are fighters!

:hugsquish:

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

I'll be praying for you and Nero! ray: