Head Tilt (RIP)

[Wabbitdad12]

Mr. Smores my chocolate dutch has had a rough life. He has had various ailments and injuries, but he has always made a good come back.

He has had head tilt for about a week, and has been onantibiotics but it does not seem to corrected it. Smores is eating and drinking o.k. which is good, but just send some healing vibes his way if you could.

Thank you

Dave

 

[tonyshuman]

Dutch love from Tony and me! Cmon Mr Smores!

 

[slavetoabunny]

Lift that head up high Mr. Smores!! You're worrying your daddy too much. Lots of good bunny vibes are being sent from Florida.

 

[ra7751]

Dave...was a culture performed on those ears? What is his body temp (rectal)? What antibioitics is he on? Is he on pain meds? Does he present nystagmus (rapid movement of the eyes back and forth)? Is he spinning or very unstable? Ear infections are very often treated far too conservatively by vets. These infections should be attacked with the big guns firing from multiple fronts. We have a couple of rabbits here that will be forever tilted and another with a brain stem infection with multiple neurological issues due to improperly treated vestibular infections. Not trying to scare you by any means....just want you to know how important it is to treat aggressively.

Randy

 

[pumpkinandwhiskersmom]

Get better soon, Mr. Smores....you're worrying your daddy and all the rest of us. Sending healing prayers your way....Grace

 

[polly]

Ok is it just me that clenches my butt cheeks when i hear or see rectal temp??

Mr Smore's luv ya please get all better sending big scottish nethie nose rubs to you

 

[juliew19673]

Big hugs to Mr. Smores..:hug:

 

[naturestee]

Poor little dude. I hope he feels better soon.

LOL at Polly! No, you're not alone.

 

[Wabbitdad12]

ra7751 wrote:

Dave...was a culture performed on those ears? What is his body temp (rectal)? What antibioitics is he on? Is he on pain meds? Does he present nystagmus (rapid movement of the eyes back and forth)? Is he spinning or very unstable? Ear infections are very often treated far too conservatively by vets. These infections should be attacked with the big guns firing from multiple fronts. We have a couple of rabbits here that will be forever tilted and another with a brain stem infection with multiple neurological issues due to improperly treated vestibular infections. Not trying to scare you by any means....just want you to know how important it is to treat aggressively.

Randy

Randy, no culture has been performed yet and I haven't taken his temp (Polly :laugh:your not the only one who clenches their butt cheeks when rectal temp is announced!)

I haven't observed any rapid eye movement, I've been looking for that,he has only been unstable when I put him back into his cage and then only for a second. He is otherwise acting normal, in fact my wife heard a big commotion coming out of the rabbit room this morning, she quietly looked in and Mr. Smores was racing around his cage like normal and chewing on his cardboard house. He has been on sulfamethoxazole, this is an antibiotic I have used on a couple of my other buns for the snuffles.

I know your not trying to scare me, I appreciate your concern and comments, I treat any possible illness in my herd as serious. I am trying to get him to my bun savy vet on Friday, but I've got to balance getting my daughter to school and going into work early so I can take Mr. Smores in later in the day.

Normally my wife would take him infor me, but sheand her family are going on their yearly Morrel mushroom hunt in Michigan leaving me and my daughter behind, she is not yet old enough to go, father in-law's rule is youhave to be at least 14. I digress, anyway if any of you are wondering what a morrel mushroom is they look like this. They go for $45+ per pound because they cannot be grown commercially.

Personally, tromping up and down hills looking for a fungus is looney to me!

 

[tonyshuman]

i saw some of those mushrooms in the backyard the other day and was really scared of them because they looked dangerous. the weirder looking the mushroom, the more likely it is to be poisonous. at least i know now that i don't have to watch the bunnies like a hawk around them, but i don't think i'll be eating them anyway... i only pick what i know for sure is safe!

 

[ra7751]

Hi Dave,

I am a little concerned about the use of the antibiotic without a proper culture. Sulfanomides are not very effective against some of the pathogens that might be found in an ear infection....assuming it is a bacterialinfection. "Snuffles" (I hate the term)is really a legend rather than a real condition but it usually means an upper respiratory infection caused by a bacteria known as pasteurella multocida. But this bacteria can invade any body tissue including the ears. Using antibiotics without a culture canlead to resistant bacteria that is more difficult to control....we are seeing that more and more as well as seeing some pathogens that we have never seen invade rabbits until recently. I rarely use sulfa drugs as first line treatment against most pathogens....same story for Baytril. We have seenquite a bit of resistance to these drugs from pasteurella. Bear in mind here that I am not a vet but the rabbits I treat are much sicker than most vets will ever see....and we have dealt with torticollis quite a bit.

There are a number of things that can cause tilt other than an ear infection, but an infection of some typeis the most likely cause. We have had tilt caused by mites....didn't see any sign of them visually, took a slide and a scope. We have had yeast infections cause tilt. And if it is yeast, continued use of this antibiotic can make that infection worse. There are a few other possibilities but they are remote chances.

Another reason to reconsider the current use of this antibiotic is that the vet might really want to do a culture....and being on antibiotics can alter the results even if the bacteria is not sensitive.

Please try to make arrangements to get your bun to a rabbit savvy vet as soon as possible. There is sometimes a limited window of opportunity for a completely postive resolution to head tilt. Again, not trying to scare you, but just to try to get you good info. We have a rabbit here named Snow White. I mentioned her in my earlier post. Her vestibular infection was mistreated. Oddly enough, the vet these people took her to has the worst reputation of any vet I have ever known..but he correctly diagnosed the problem. But the people didn't quite follow thru on the treatment. She is nowquite unstable and she actually goes into a flat spin when she is set down. And it's worse when she is in unfamiliar territory. That is a condition known as "positional nystagmus" and is, as with Snow White, an indicationthat the ear infection has moved into the brain stem. Hoping Mr. Smores doesn't have anything serious.

Randy

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Oh no

ray:

 

[JadeIcing]

I could not agree with Randy more. A culture is the best thing to do. Two of my boys were sick for a long long time. One with headtilt the other with sneezing and chronic discharge.

With the strains they had the first meds before the culture were meds that were not of any use. So it was wasted time. I blame myself for Ringo's condtion. If I had read more to begin with or asked for things sooner maybe he would have had a better chance of recovering.

Now he has a permanant tilt, his balance is not always perfect and he can't get all the freedom and attention the others get. Everything has to be done different for him.

Help? (update)

Rolling Bunny(With Pictures and Video) (NEW SETUP!)

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Thank You everyone. I hope to find out soon what is the matter with him, I feel so bad about not taking him to the vet sooner.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

How is Mr. Smores doing?

Not to hijack, but, yeah, I have gone mushrooming, it's fun and they're soo good!:inlove: (We should pm cooking recipes!:biggrin2

 

[Wabbitdad12]

He is doing ok. His head tilt has not gotten better or worse, he is still active and eating, drinking ok. I am trying to work in a vet appointment asap.

Mr. Smores has a strong will and he knows he is so spoiled. He is still checking on his "ladies" in the cages next to him.

Thank You for checking up on him.

I will send you a pm on recipie(s) on Monday after my wife gets home with her fungus treasure.

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

Hi,

I have a bunny that has reovered from Head Tilt. Your bunny head won't start to pick up for quite a few more months. My little guy Fluffy in Oct. was found in cages rolling over and couldn't keep his balance, we rushed to the University Vet clinic and he stayed there for about 3 days. He was giving multiple drugs to take, some for the infention and 1 for the dizziness. When his Head was Tilted he would run in circles, Wait he still does some days. We noticed his head was fully up right in Feb.or Mar. when he finally lifted his head. Hope this helps. give my love to your bunny.

Rebecca

 

[Wabbitdad12]

Mr. Smores is doing o.k. He is eating, drinking, shredding cardboard and relieving himself ok. He still has his head tilt though. I haven't been able to set up a appointment with my vet yet. I know this should have been done asap and normally I do. So please don't tell me what I should have done or be doing.

Sometimes there are things going on that take precedent and right now those things don't allow for a bun vet visit or meds. He is getting the antibiotics I have already, his dietary habits are being closely monitored, he is otherwise doing ok and has learned to compensate for his new look on life. I wish I could do more for him, but I can't, he is very well loved and cared for.

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

Wabbitdad12 wrote:

Mr. Smores is doing o.k. He is eating, drinking, shredding cardboard and relieving himself ok. He still has his head tilt though. I haven't been able to set up a appointment with my vet yet. I know this should have been done asap and normally I do. So please don't tell me what I should have done or be doing.

Sometimes there are things going on that take precedent and right now those things don't allow for a bun vet visit or meds. He is getting the antibiotics I have already, his dietary habits are being closely monitored, he is otherwise doing ok and has learned to compensate for his new look on life. I wish I could do more for him, but I can't, he is very well loved and cared for.

There is no need to be rude, I never told you what u should and shouldn't be doing.I had to personally rush our bun in, because he was turning over and wouldn't stop, which we found out was because of an inner ear infection which then lead from him turning over to his head tilt. He still has a small head tilt, but he is recovering slowly and surely. Now that he has learned to rewalk on his hands and feet he is running all over the place like a madman like before. We seriouslly thought of putting the bun down when we rushed him in late at night because my sister and I don't make a lot of money and it'd cost us around $150/night to have him in. Though we eventually said it didn't matter to us. We'll do whatever it takes.

He still has his hormons in tact even though he's a fixed bun lol, still goes wild when he gets to play with our female bun that lost her mate who is going through her own problems that we're monitoring, but so far it looks like she's just an old bun, and that's what old buns do.

 

[juliew19673]

do your best for Mr. Smores (thats all that you can do) and I know the pressure and guilt when you don't have the funds. best of luck and update with any new developments.