Head Tilt

[zippy]

Hello, I am new to this forum. I have owned rabbits for years. Last year, my last one died at age almost 10. My son decided I needed another one this past Spring.

This Summer, our central AC went out. Although BunBun laid on the (fan) vent, I think he may have overheated. He also stayed outside overnight one night. So, I am not absolutely certain of the cause.

Anyway, he started tilting his head to the side. Within 24 hours, he was having major troubles. It stayed hot in our house for several days, and he got worse. After we got AC going, he did not recover. He got really sick, and I thought he was going to die. He was flipping constantly at times.

On the day I took him to the doctor, I really didn't think he would be coming back home. They kept him 3 days, but he was not well when I brought him back home.

To make a long story short, I finally realized that he was just getting very dizzy. Heat made the problem much worse. As long as the temperatures are 70 or below, he does ok.

I eventually took him off of the antibiotics (Baytril) completely. He has taken Metacam, which seems to help if the temperature is above 70.

Prednisone seems to help with the dizziness, but the relief is not complete. I sometimes mix it with Meclizine, which seems to have a delayed positive effect the next day(maybe I am imagining this).

BunBun has mostly good days now, after about 3-4 months (and lots of trial and error). He can run on a rug - in large circles - for a minute at a time. He no longer strays off of the rugs, because of past failures on slicker surfaces. I take him outside, where he can find his favorite grass, for a few minutes at a time.

I have already spent about $500 on this illness, and I just can't afford spending hundreds more on expensive exotics visits. My local vet has reached the end of her expertise. Can someone clue me in on what is physically wrong with BunBun now? I believe he still has vision in his "down" eye, but he still will not hold his head all the way up, even on good days.

What are some other over-the-counter (like meclizine) medicines can I try for the dizziness?

Are there any therapies that I can perform to get BunBun to use the "down" eye, and stop holding his head this way? I have wondered what he would do if I put a "patch" over the "Up" eye, so that he would start using the other one. Of course, I can imagine that this technique might end badly. I just wonder if it is the head tilt that is making him be dizzy at this point.

Any helpful thoughts would be greatly appreciated. BunBun is still less than a year old, and is otherwise in good health. He is a very loving rabbit, and appreciates all that I do, but I hate to see him live his life being dizzy.

 

[zippy]

Since I have 18 views, but no replies, let me ask ask the questions differently.

Does BunBun possibly still have a parasite that is simply "under control", or is the problem that he has now the result of the initial condition? Does he have some condition in his inner ear that will be permanent? AND Is there any other treatments that I can give him for the dizziness?

For further clarification, I was caring for him night and day at first. Now, he eats what he wants, and even sometimes holds his head straight - or almost straight - for moments at a time when eating and grooming. His grooming habits aren't perfect, but he can stand on his hind legs and groom his back at times. He just has to be coaxed into moving around a lot, sometimes. Sometimes, he still flips, but I usually only see it once or twice a day now.

We have reached a plateau, but I want to go farther (without spending a thousand dollars that I don't have). I love my bunny, but I just don't have that kind of money.

 

[JBun]

I think in really severe cases of head tilt, that there can be permanent nerve damage. I don't know if there is some sort of physical therapy that you can do that would help. I don't have experience with a rabbit surviving head tilt so I'm not really sure what else you can do. There is a vet that comes on this forum occasionally, so maybe if he sees this thread, he'll offer some suggestions. I would just keep researching the subject online, and maybe you'll come across something that is helpful. There are a few members on here with head tilt experience so maybe when they see this thread they will chime in.

 

[Imbrium]

ray:

 

[Geoff]

I think the liklihood of a brain injury is highest, and unfortunately, not much other than time that can be done about that. Diagnosing these head tilts is not easy as there are few tests short of an MRI that can really allow one to visualize the inner ear and brain. Still, it can be done, along with some sampling of central spinal fluid. But realistically time is the best treatment and as long as your bunny can still eat and get about, there is always a chance he will improve gradually, or at least stabilize and learn to exist with his head tilt. Nothing over the counter I know of that helps much. Even meclizine rarely seems to help (though it seems pretty safe, too). Prednisone might be helpful temporarily, but it has such serious potential down sides that I generally avoid it unless there are simply no other options than euthanasia.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

I'm guessing that, at this point, his behavior is damage from the parasite and not symptoms, because wry neck bunnies usually head downhill fast.

For future reference, many breeders recommend this article and treatment by Barbi Brown: http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/ecuniculi.htm

I successfully cured a 5 week old kit using her treatment as a guideline (he only has a very slight, hardly noticeable tilt now- no other permanent damage). I ended up treating more aggressively than she did, so it was a risk with such a young bunny, but he pulled through with flying colors.

It sounds like BunBun is on the mend and doing pretty well, but maybe this article will come to mind and be helpful if you would ever have the same problem again in the future.