Is Baytril the best treatment for head tilt?

[f_j]

As some of you know, we discovered on Friday that my girl Penelope has slight head tilt. Our vet prescribed Baytril and we will be going back for a re-check this Friday. I know a few members here have bunnies who have survived head tilt, and I am wondering what treatment did your bunnies get? Was it Baytril? Can we expect the head tilt to go away completely? Or will the Baytril just stop it from getting worse? What if it doesn't work? I am getting so worried about our girl. She is eating, drinking and acting completely normal, which I'm hoping is a good sign. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

 

[TinysMom]

First of all, in what I am about to say...I want to say first..

I am not saying "do not see a vet." I highly recommend vets and they can test for the causes of head tilt.

With that said, I have treated six cases of head tilt - my latest run is doing laps around the room with a slight tilt to her head - especially when she is tired...but she usually sits upright lately. This is amazing to me since I thought we were going to lose her due to weight loss about 3 weeks ago.

I (and most breeders I know) use Barbi Brown's methods for treating head tilt. You can read about it here:

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

In the past, I have also added the products Systemajuv and ViraStem (or something like that) from Rabbit Medicine Chest. However, I noticed that echinacea was the first ingredient in one of those products and I went a cheaper route with the last 2 cases of head tilt I had.

a. I did the ivomec and piperazine per Barbi Brown's instructions.

b. I bought echinacea capsules at the grocery store and added them to baby food w/ some canned pumpkin mixed in. I started out with the contents of 2 capsules per serving of baby food (I used about half a jar at a time with about an equal amount of pedialyte and pumpkin).As I noticed how much it helped my rabbits - I upped it 1 capsule per time to about 5 capsules per session. The more they got - the better they seemed to do - but I didn't want to over do it. I was treating 3-4rabbits at a time as some of my former head tilt victims had a bit of atilt again (which I've noticed can happen if we get a cold snap or if they get a bit dehydrated).

c. Once they were not rolling (yes, I had some rolling) - I started giving them exercise time on the floor. At first they laid there. Then they sat up. However, I found that if they were given a large free area to play in - eventually they would start doing laps -and that the more laps they did - the more their head straightened. Call me crazy...but it has worked for me so well that a breeder friend went out and bought a playpen for her wry neck rabbit and guess what? Its working!

I've never used Baytril with a wry neck rabbit so I can't tell you how it works. I wish I could help you more.

Once again, I am not saying you should not see a vet. If Barbi's methods did not work so well for me, I would go to a vet. However,because they have worked so well for me in the past, I use them first now.

Peg

 

[Haley]

The only thing Im wondering, is there a difference between head tilt treatment when its due to an ear infection and when its due to something like EC? Do you know, Peg?

Because I think with Penelope, if Im remembering right, it was something that came on very quickly, which makes me think ear infection. Did your vet look in the ears of give you ear drops?

Im just wondering if treatment of head tilt depends on which is causing it?

 

[f_j]

Haley - To be honest I'm not sure. I assume she looked in her ears because she gave her a full exam...she didn't say that she had an ear infection though. No ear drops. That is what I am a bit confused about as well - how can we know we are treating the head tilt properly if we don't know for sure what is causing it? My vet did mention that she has another treatment we can try if the Baytril doesn't work...I'm not sure what it is though.

 

[TinysMom]

This is part of what Barbi has said on her site in the history section:

During the last twenty years as a rabbit breeder I have seen a great variety of ailments, injuries and mysteries appear throughout my herd and those of friends but the most challenging and perplexing certainly must be Wry neck.
Here is what I have found and the conclusions I have reached through research and necropsy.
I believe E.cuniculi is far more common in rabbit herds than commonly accepted and is the most common cause of "Wry Neck" and other symptoms.
I know that is manageable and treatablecontrary to the opinion of many animal health professionals. I only wish I knew for certain where and how it begins. I suspect, but cannot confirm that rabbits contract the parasite in hay which is infected by rodents or birds in the hay fields or from other livestock that were previously pastured there. I doubt that it is acquired in pelleted feed since most of it is subjected to heat in the processing which would limit the possibility of the parasite surviving from alfalfa field to pellet. Another recent conclusion is that there is quite often a relationship to deydration.

Now for my personal comments.....here is how we've seen it develop.

Case A: Buck Jones - brought on by dehydration....reoccurs about once a year usually with the change of weather and he still has slight head tilt - it was better before Connie passed away now its getting a bit worse.

Case B: Puck - yes our beloved Puck got wry neck last August and we almost lost him. He has had it off and on since then. We'll get him over it and running around and he'll either get a draft or dehydrated and it is back again.

Case C: R2D2 - R2 had probably one of our worst cases of wry neck - or next to the worst. I thought for sure a couple of times we might lose him - and laugh as much as you will - but using the Rabbit Medicine Chest products every 15 minutes for 4 hours stopped him from rolling....after 3 days of having it every 3-5 hours...he was sitting up pretty well. Anytime R2 gets in a draft or gets a bit dehydrated ...we struggle with it again. I looked at him today and he's doing pretty darn good.

Case D: Blue Max - Blue Max just came down wtih head tilt a bit ago and I have NO idea where it came from. He actually shared a carrier with R2(both boys are intact) during this last episode and I believe that being together helped them both get well faster.

In each of these four cases - they were my smallest males I have.

Case E: Blueberries N Cream - Talk about a shock....Blueberries was not only a few days from delivering a litter...but large...and suddenly - she had head tilt. The only thing I can think of is that she was by R2's cage and although I had vanodined it....perhaps she caught something? I don't know - I treated the cagewhen I pulled her out. She had her babies (which I fostered out)...that's right - she delivered them just fine even though she couldn't pull fur. I was in shock. Blueberries has been binkying for the last few weeks now and she runs and plays and just has a good old time.

Case F: Our latest case- Baby. At first I thought Baby was fascinated by the ceiling fan because she always loved to sit and look up at it. Then one day I looked at her and it became very obvious that she had wry neck. She had just been weaned...:X Three weeks ago I thought I was going to lose her - she was losing weight rapidly. I would often hold her and say, "Remember our motto, "Baby is going to beat this. Baby is going to beat this."I'd go to bed at night and think, "There is no way Baby will beat this..." but after her second dose of the ivomec - she started picking up and doing better. When we came home from the show this weekend she was doing laps and tripped Art (or tried to) and she dashed out the open door so we had to catch her. She still has a bit of a head tilt when she's tired - but other than that - you wouldn't know she'd been sick.

I just rememebered - we did have one case that died - a baby that was about 2 weeks old in September of 2005...maybe 3 weeks old. The eyeswere open but it developed head tilt and was gone within just a few days. It was heartbreaking.

Anyway - that is my experience.

Peg

Haley wrote:

The only thing Im wondering,is there a difference between head tilt treatment when its due to anear infection and when its due to something like EC? Do you know, Peg?

Because I think with Penelope, if Im remembering right, it was something that came on very quickly, which makes me think ear infection. Did your vet look in the ears of give you ear drops?

Im just wondering if treatment of head tilt depends on which is causing it?

 

[Haley]

Does she appear to be itching her ears or anything like that? And is the head tilt full blown or just slight? Do you have a pic?

Its difficult because I think treatment is different depending on whats causing the tilt. The treatment Peg uses and is successful with is (I think) for a parasite. An ear infection can also cause tilt,but that would be something to treat with an antibiotic.

If your vet isnt sure on the exact cause, it might be best to try Peg's suggestions ust in case. Id rather do too much treatment than not enough.

 

[f_j]

She doesn't seem to be itching her ears or anything. The head tilt is slight, not like the more extreme pictures I've seen. Sometimes it is difficult to see the tilt, other times it is more obvious. I don't have a picture but I can take one tomorrow.

 

[f_j]

Peg - thank you for sharing your experiences. It gives me hope that Penelope will get through this. I'm just a little overwhelmed with all of the information about this condition - it is a bit confusing.

 

[TinysMom]

I'm back from a late night supper w/ my hubby....thought I'd check in on this thread.

I will say this....most of the breeders I know personally follow Barbi Brown's methods as a "first line" of treatment for head tilt. If we don't see results by the second dose of ivomec then it isn't ecunniculi.

HOWEVER...I have yet to see it not work out...and the treatment is so inexpensive.

The ivomec paste was under $10 I think. The piperazine was about $4 at the feed store (it is a de wormer). I've been advised to use Safeguard(panacur) with my ones that still have a bit of a tilt to help them and I'm goign to start that later this week....and the echinacea was about$6 for 100 capsules. If you have someone around who has horses - they may already have the stuff and let you use some since it only takes 1drop of piperazine per pound of weight and a tiny amount of ivomec.

I will say that I do look at their ears a bit but I don't have anything to go in and look at them - but even then with ear infection - I find myself wondering if it is the e cunniculi manifesting itself somehow.

Good luck with the treatment - your rabbit can have a long and healthy life - even with head tilt. If you looked at Baby now...and she was my most recent "victim" - you might wonder if she had head tilt...barely...but then she'd start running laps and you'd be like,"nope..must be my imagination...".

Peg

 

[Haley]

f_j wrote:

I'm just a little overwhelmed with all of the information about this condition - it is a bit confusing.

It is very confusing! Like a lot of illnesses with rabbits, there just isnt enough info and research out there. Thats why this forum is so great because we as pet owners, rescuers, and breeders, can share our experiences to hopefully make things a little easier on ourselves and our bunnies. Its amazing how much info I get off here and the internet that my vet has no clue about (and its usually the right info!).

If I were you,I wouldtry Barbi's suggestions on her web page, maybe print them out and show them to your vet if your enervous about doing it on your own?

I'll be praying for your little one. You've been through too much lately

 

[Maureen Las]

Several months ago my friend in Ill. told me one of her female buns had veryslight head tilt. She went to an exotics vet who diagnosed an ear infection but did not prescribe drops for the ear but only Baytril.

I thought to myself that this was not adequate treatment but didn't say anything. To my surprise and a happiness her bun recovered completely.

I am not saying this is the norm but it does sometimes occur..I guess

 

[TinysMom]

I just want to point out that although Barbi Brown talks about what she does and gives recommendations...she also tells folks AT THE TOP of the page to go to a rabbit-savy vet. I'm sure she does this partly for legal reasons....

But still yet....she states that she is giving her opinion based upon her experiences...

Peg

 

[JadeIcing]

It is something you can fight as Peg stated she has. I also have my route was the vet. Baytril helped keep his under control but his was severe.

I know several rabbit owners who have gone the baytril route and buns are happy healthy little guy.

 

[naturestee]

One thing I will say is that Baytril, while often effective for ear infections (one cause of head tilt), will not do anything to treat E. cuniculi- another major cause of head tilt. IMO if the vet isn't sure exactly what caused the headtilt, it's best if both these possible causes are treated for. Vets usually prescribe Panacur for EC, although Barbi Brown's Ivermectin treatment has had some very good results too.

Have you checked the Rabbit Health References? There's lots of info there. You could print some of it out and bring it to your vet if you have questions.
Head Tilt

 

[JadeIcing]

Yup all that and more.

 

[Maureen Las]

I have to admit none of my buns have hadhead tilt but with all this good info I would feel much better in getting it treated if it occurred. I did not know specifically that ec head tilt did not respond to baytril but I just thought that it was too conservative a treatment for any head-tilt
Now I know why it happened to help my friends bunny with an ear infection.

I never heard of barbi brown tx and thanks peg

 

[f_j]

Thank you everyone. I am taking Penelope back into the vet on Friday morning, so I will discuss the alternative treatment with her then. So far the head tilt is still very slight and doesn't seem to be getting any worse, thank goodness.

 

[TinysMom]

Its no problem - I heard about her from some breeders if I remember right when I had my first wry neck case.

My concern about using baytril (if it isn't an ear infection) is the fact that I thought the rabbits could build up antibodies or something against the medicine so it wouldn't be as effective in the future.

Plus when I had my first wry neck case and called the vet ~ they had not really experienced it and said I could maybe try the baytril I had on hand but that many times rabbit suffer so much that they need to be put down.

I mentioned this to a breeder and when she got done fussing - (I had to put the phone away from my ear for a bit due to her language and tone)~ she said..."ok..now here is what you do...".

I think vets are great - I really do. I just think that many times they have limited experience with rabbits and I don't think there's much of a way to keep up on rabbit research like maybe dogs and cats....whereby breeders deal with rabbits every day and we often network and stuff...

I'm probably not making sense.

Anyway, I'm not saying don't go to your vet and don't do what the vet says. But I would take along the information from Barbi's site and get their input.

Oh - and in the head tilt cases I've had - it was so severe they could not keep their balance and would roll and their eyes were really funky.

Also - in each case, they were usually better within 2 weeks - maybe a slight head tilt - but not a lot. I also need to give them ivomec every 3 months for prevention....

Peg

angieluv wrote:

I never heard of barbi brown tx and thanks peg

 

[rabb1tmad]

I have experienced head tilt with both of my bunnies but we have yet to establish what caused the tilt.

For Lacey my vet suspected ear infection or e-cuniculi and gave treatment for both - Baytril (orally), Panacur and an anti-inflammatory. Lacey's tilt was not as severe as others I have seen but she did have nystagmus - her eye rolled up and down inarhythmical motion - this stopped after the anti-inflammatory. She has recovered extremely well - left witha very slight residual tilt no-one else even notices. She was a little off balance to start with but has adapted and is back to normal now - it took around 6 months for this to happen.

Starsky had a tilt only whlist sleeping and this was accompanied by loss of balance (hind legs only). He was also shaking his head a lot and scratching his ears. Again, he is being treated for ear infection and e-cuniculi again using Baytril (orally) and Panacur.He was tested for e-cuniculi but all the vets can tell from this result is that he has been exposed to the parasite at some point in his life.Starsky isn't 100% but his tilt has completely gone and his balance is back to normal.

What I don't know is if it was the Baytril or the Panacur that worked. But I will say the same as others - if the e-cuniculi treatment isn't working after a few days it is unlikely to be that. If Baytril isn't working then your vet may consider a combination of other antibiotics. Panacur is so cheap though that if you start a course it doesn't do any harm to complete it.

The fact that Penelope is eating and drinking is a really good sign. I felt sick every time I saw my rabbits with their tilt but they both seem ok now.

This link may help although I wouldn't read too much into the prognosis sections as I think they tend to look at worst case scenarios.Personally I have heard about morepositive outcomes to head tilt than negative -http://www.mth.kcl.ac.uk/~llandau/Homepage/Rabbit/headtilt.html

 

[f_j]

Peg - I have one questions about Barbi's method. Is only for those severe cases where the head tilt is so bad they are rolling? Or can I do it with Penelope even though hers is so slight?