Head Tilt

[gwhoosh]

How far does the head tilt when a bunny has Head Tilt?

I'm being really paranoid that my bunny might have it, even though everything is normal with her like playing and eating and pooping. But I just drove home with my friend and her bunny (4.5 hour drive) and now she tells me she's taking hers to the vet. She says he has a bad leg and it makes his whole body tilt to one side. But now I'm paranoid that it's really Head Tilt - and my bunny was in the backseat with hers!They were in sep. carriers of course. It's Sunday night now, and wedrove down Friday morning.

How do I know if her head is tilted or if she's just looking in a certain direction? Just - any information on Head Tilt at all would be great, I get worried so easily.

 

[TinysMom]

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

While I do recommend a vet visit, I like this site personally and have used their methods..

http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/ecuniculi.htm

 

[gwhoosh]

TinysMom, thanks, I've already been looking through those links.


At a site http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/ecuniculi.htm they list some early signs and one of them is"Lying close to the floor with headdown[sub][sup]"[/sup][/sub]Does it mean like this?

Do bunnies normally not lay like that? I thought she was just relaxing during the day, when she's usually sleepy like most bunnies are.

I'm worried now. And I'm more worried about the money. In the last 2months she was spayed ($200) and had x-rays for something the vet did nothing about ($130). I don't have a job, I'm in college.

 

[TinysMom]

First of all, she looks just fine.

Secondly, if I remember correctly (I'm sure others can correct me on this) - head tilt takes a bit of time to show up.

If she was exposed to something today that *might* have caused it - you won't be seeing it yet.

But if your doe has head tilt from those photos - then so does half my herd...

Peg

 

[TinysMom]

Look at these photos:

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-8/graphics/head-tilt.gif

http://www.lbah.com/images/rabbits/headtilt.jpg

http://www.ohare.org/images/need/sanctuary/lazlo.jpg

This is what head tilt looks like.

Peg

 

[JadeIcing]

My guy Ringo head-tilt survivor. The head is more at an angle.

These were recently. The new head seems to be working on the tilt.

From here down it shows more.

 

[dootsmom]

Bee-Bee, in full tilt.


Five months later.

http://www.whitescarver.com/gallery/Bee-Bee?page=1

 

[gwhoosh]

Poor little bunnies

I'm sure she doesn't have full-on Head Tilt, I'm more worried that she might be showing beginning signs of it. (My friend hasn't finished her vet appt. yet so hers may not have HT after all, I have to wait for her to call) My concern came because last night as I was posting this, my bunny was resting on my bed like this:

This morning, I don't see it as she plays, but maybe it was like that because she was more tired? Or could it be she didn't like my ceiling fan? (It was on high - my room is very hot for unknown reasons) I know rabbits don't like drafts.

If my friend reports that her bunny has Head Tilt, I will make an appt.right away. Otherwise maybe I'm just being paranoid!! I do that a lot!But she's my first baby, so I'm not always sure of what's normal and what's not.

Thanks for everyone's replies! To be sure if she tilts that much, I am rushing her to the vet!

JadeIcing, Ringo looks so adorable! I just was to squeeze him

dootsmom, Wow Bee-Bee made such a wonderful recovery! I'm so glad!




[edited because I messed up the image]

 

[JadeIcing]

Try a treat. Pick her up and see how she is. Get her to run around and see how she behaves.

Thank you Ringo is a very special little boy.

Aliciaand The Zoo Crew! (2007)andBreethe The Moo Cow Bunny

 

[gwhoosh]

So I guess her bunny does have head tilt.... Although she didn't say so directly.

She said the he has a parasite that is genetic that he got from his mom(?) I don't get this part. She said he was dizzy and trying to get his balance. So I said, It sounds like Head Tilt. Then my friend says,Yeah his head is tilted. I got mad at her for not telling me earlier!!She kept saying it was his foot! I asked her is she had asked if it was contagious (she didn't even have a thought that her bunny might have gotten mine sick too) and she said she didn't ask, but didn't think so.

Is it really not contagious?? If it is, I want to be able to treat her ASAP, especially before I have to go home this weekend. But they never actually touched, although they were in close vicinity for several hours... If it's not contagious and she doesn't have it, I don't want to take her to the vet because it makes her very very very stressed.Please, any advice anyone can give is very much appreciated!

 

[JadeIcing]

I would keep an eye on your bunny. If she really looks like something is wrong than take her in.

If she was exposed there isn't much you can do. From the sounds of it I say the chance is slim your bunny caught anything. Most of these things are catchy.

Feel free to Pm or catch me on any messenger except ICQ.

Been through this more than I like but I will help anyway I can.

Aliciaand The Zoo Crew! (2007)andBreethe The Moo Cow Bunny

 

[naturestee]

It sounds like the vet thought the head tilt was caused by E.cuniculi. This is not always the cause, but I'm guessing he didn't see any sign of ear infection which is the other most common cause of head tilt. E. cuniculi is a contagious parasite, but actually a very large percentage of rabbits have been exposed to it at some point in their lives and will test positive. They can live long healthy lives and never have a problem. Or they can get sick, and there are other symptoms such as eye problems, kidney problems, and nerve problems of the spine causing paralysis. There's no way of knowing if or when an exposed rabbit will get sick because the parasite can live in the body doing no real harm for years, then suddenly something causes it to be active such as something else affecting the immune system.

Ok, so that's probably very confusing. The gist of the matter is, your rabbit may have already been exposed to E. cuniculi before this. Whether she was exposed before, or if she did accidentally get exposed to it by your friends rabbit, the odds are that she'll be fine. You can take her to the vet and explain the situation, then say you'd like to do a course of Panacur (most commonly used drug for E. cuniculi, although breeders often use Ivermectin) as a preventative. Honestly, I don't see too much of a need, it's more for your peace of mind.

Right now, your bun doesn't appear to have a tilted head tome. My buns often lie down like that. The main things to watch for are problems with balance and constantly holding her head tilted.

 

[rabb1tmad]

gwhoosh wrote:
Is it really not contagious??

A parasite that can be passed from the mom - sounds like e-cuniculi. It can be passed on from urine spores too. Normally by the time there are any signs of head tilt it's not contagious anymore. I have experienced head tilt with both of my bunnies now, presumably from this parasite -they both seem fine now. Both were treated with a 28 day course of Panacur.

From your photo your bunny looks really chilled out and relaxed - mine often lie like that. Best thing to do is keep an extra eye on your little one. My bunnies early signs included loss of balance, lethargy,grinding teeth. They didn't show any loss of appetite. Check your bun whileshe is asleep - mine displayedmore of a noticeable tiltwhen asleep.

I'm sure your bun will be fine - it doesn't hurt to be over-cautious as it's always good to catch the signs of illness early.

 

[gwhoosh]

Normally by the time there are any signs of head tilt it's not contagious anymore.

rabb1tmad, I just remembered they had contact about a month ago for a weekend. I was out of town and the same friend was caring for my bunny.The 2 buns weren't out at the same time, but shared the same room and could sniff through the bars etc. The ill bunny didn't show any signs then.

It sounds like the vet thought the head tilt was caused by E.cuniculi. This is not always the cause, but I'm guessing he didn't see any sign of ear infection which is the other most common cause of head tilt.

naturestee, I think the vet ordered a blood test to be done, so I guess they aren't sure yet what causes his tilt. He was perscribed some medications though.



Thanks for everyone's advice and knowledge. I feel so much better now I'll keep an eye on her though!

 

[murph72]

Having just done the e.cuniculi thing with my little Pudge, I can say I wouldn't be too terribly worried if I were you. Unlike your bunny, my second bunny shared a room, litter pan, food, etc with Pudge and she has shown zero signs of the tilt. From my research I have also found that most likely she got it from the spores found in the urine (because the e.c. starts in the kidneys) of an infected rabbit (whether that was mom or someone else that had that pen at the rabbitry we do not know).Sharing a room without being able to step in the infected bunny's pee should not be an issue as this is not an airborne disease.

Having experienced the whole gammit with Pudge and e.c. I can say that I wish I would have known more about this before I had to treat it. It was a lot of work to care for, but I'm glad I didn't put her to sleep like many suggested. Her tilt was so bad that it was probably a 20 on the clock and all she did was roll uncontrollably. Today she has less of a tilt than Ringo...but I hope she recovers as perfectly as Bee- Bee

 

[gwhoosh]

Thank you for all your reassurance everyone I think I was just being paranoid! *hits self on head* We're back at school from our break and she seems fine.

My friend's bunny isn't doing so well I'm afraid His tilt wasn't so bad, but I think it's gotten worse. When it came time to drive back on Sunday, we tried putting him in his carrier and he couldn't deal with it. His head tilted so much he almost was sitting on his head. We tried propping him with towels but his head kept sliding down under him. My friend decided he couldn't make such a long drive because he couldn't find his balance so she decided to leave him at home. I think she's a little worried because her mom has to medicate him and she isn't totally comfortable handling him. She'll be going back this weekend,hopefully he'll be better so she can take him back with her! Please keep this little guy in your thoughts.

 

[murph72]

Please tell your friend not to expect an immediate recovery. It will probably be very slow...I doubt that it will come around in one week. The care of these EC bunnies can be pretty intense if they can no longer sit up (mine laid on her side and rolled repetatively). The best medicine is to try to keep the bunny as calm as possible, but it is going to need some pretty intensive care for awhile. I had at least two months where I actually questioned if she would improve. I didn't give up and she's now hopping around her bedroom and chomping on a carrot as we speak.

 

[gwhoosh]

He's not as bad when he's in his cage or in the living room, but in his carrier he couldn't stand, even though we weren't moving yet. I think she knows that he needs a lot of care,that's why she wants him here at school with her. It takes 4.5 to drive home and $100 in gas and toll, so she can't go home every weekend and her mom can't give him the best care he needs. I guess she's kind of in a difficult place, he needs to be up here with her but it's so far for him to travel when he can't sit up.