Is this E Cuniculi?

[KaylesB]

Hello!
I am new to the forum, but I am really hoping someone can give me some insight.
Just to start off, no, I do not have access to a rabbit savvy vet.
I am a Holland Lop breeder.
I typically treat my rabbits myself naturally and with farm/livestock medication used for rabbits. I have had no issues in my 6 years working with rabbits treating them myself.

Now for my issue/question..
One of my rabbits developed this spot on her eye seemingly out of nowhere. She has no other symptoms. She eats and drinks normally. She has normal waste. She still acts the same and has her normal energy levels. She also appears to still have vision in the eye in question. My first thought was an eye injury somehow as the spot is red/orange, not white like most E Cuniculi photos I have seen. She has had it a few days as I watched to see if it would heal on the recommendation of others. It has not grown or diminished in size. It looks the same as when I discovered it.

Does this look like E Cuniculi to you guys? And if so, what do you recommend as treatment?
I have Panacur Rabbit already as it came in a first aid kit I bought for my rabbitry. I have not had to use it until now. It has instructions for a rabbit around 5lbs, but as a Holland Lop, my doe is closer to 3 1/2 - 4lbs. So what would the Panacur dosage be for a rabbit her size?
Or would Safeguard work better? Would the paste or liquid be best and what would the dosage be?

Or if you do not think it is E Cuniculi, what are your thoughts on what it could be and a possible treatment?
I appreciate any and all help!

 

[JBun]

Hello and welcome to RO. There's no issue with breeders on this forum. I myself, started out with an interest in breeding when I first was on this forum. All rabbit lovers are welcome here. Though we do have policies of conduct for all members, regardless of their particular interest in rabbits, so as to ensure the peaceful and congenial sharing of knowledge and rabbit care on the forum.

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/rabbitsonline-forum-policy-and-decorum.10320/
Health related questions can be posted under this 'Health and Wellness' subforum, or breeding/showing type health topics or other breeding/showing specific topics, I would suggest posting under the 'Rabbitry and Showroom' subforum, as to get the best responses from other breeders/showers on this forum, that will have more knowledge on those particular topics. Also some breeding/showing topics that could be sensitive in nature to the average pet owner, should only be posted under the 'Rabbitry and Showroom' subforum, while still following the forums policies.

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/how-to-post-on-the-forum.92892/
Back to your health questions. Yes, that could be e. cuniculi induced uveitis. The red is likely from bleeding around the lesion. The usual treatment for EC is with fenbendazole 20mg/kg, for at least a month. Though the antiparasitic may help control spores elsewhere in the body, it isn't going to fix the lesion eruption in the eye. Sometimes the appropriate prescription eye drops may help, then it's mostly waiting to see if the eye can recover from the damage itself. If not, and if eye drops don't help and the eye worsens, then surgical removal of the eye is usually necessary.

E. cuniculi associated uveitis

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Encephalitozoon_cuniculi
GWExotics: e. cuniculi infection in domestic rabbits

I would always recommend working with your knowledgeable rabbit vet for determining the best diagnosis and treatment options for your rabbit. But whichever course you take, fenbendazole is what is typically used for EC treatment. Panacur Rabbit can certainly be used, however I don't think one tube will last a month. Fenbendazole is available otc online and at farm stores in the US, as Safeguard goat dewormer liquid 100mg/ml bottle, and so would be an off label use for treating a rabbit. I would strongly urge not trying to use the equine/large animal paste as it can be difficult to dose accurately for small animals like rabbits. The Panacur Rabbit paste is fine though, and if that tube isn't enough, I would use the liquid safegaurd for accurate dosing.

https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
Another possibility other than EC, could be an infection from a deep corneal ulcer, though usually it will present more as clouding on the surface of the cornea. But if infection related, it would require antibiotic ophthalmic eye ointment/drops. To be safe, I would want to treat for both EC and a possible eye infection.

Medirabbit: corneal abrasion and ulcer

Medirabbit: eye diseases

 

[KaylesB]

Oh wonderful! I am so used to having to say something before posting things.

Thank you so much for all the info!
The TSC near me has a liquid safeguard goat dewormer so I will get that today. Do you by chance know the dosage for liquid safeguard? And if it would be safe for young rabbits (8 weeks old)? The young rabbits aren't exhibiting any symptoms, but they are the Doe's babies so I'm not sure if I should go ahead and preventatively treat.

I have Terramycin eye ointment I will use to treat the eye infection side of things.

 

[JBun]

The dosage for fenbendazole I stated above, 20mg/kg. Total dosage for each animal/rabbit is based on the animals weight and how much of the active ingredient(fenbendazole) is in each ml of the liquid suspension. In this case there is 100mg/per ml in the safeguard liquid goat dewormer, so would be 0.2ml per kg of body weight. I use 1ml syringes as a very minimal amount is needed and you need the fine dosing capability. Also I make sure to shake up the bottle to mix up the contents, ,before drawing up the dose(as indicated on the bottles instructions).

Whether or not it's safe to treat young animals and at what age, I certainly wouldn't want to treat a kit under 8 weeks unless absolutely necessary. And because it's off label use and I'm not a vet, I can't really be giving specific advise. I can just give general knowledge of common treatment and what I would do. Because Panacur rabbit is actually meant for rabbits, you could look at the instructions on that to see what age information they give.

 

[KaylesB]

Okay thank you.

The panacur rabbit says its for use in rabbits 2.5kg (5lbs) or larger. It doesn't have instructions for smaller rabbits. And as a Holland lop, she is only around 3 1/2 - 4lbs and of course her 8 week old babies would weigh even less. Thus the reason I wasn't sure if I could even use the Panacur rabbit.
It says for a 5lb rabbit to give them 2 clicks of the preloaded pen (paste).

 

[JBun]

According to the panacur rabbit instructions:

"Dosage and administration Panacur Rabbit should be administered orally by squeezing the paste from the syringe into the side of the mouth. Administer 1 syringe graduation per 2.5 kg bodyweight (20 mg/kg fenbendazole) daily for 9 consecutive days. Routine dosing of rabbits is recommended 2-4 times yearly. "

This would mean that 1 graduation would contain 50mg of fenbendazole. If there's no way to subdivide this to smaller doses, then you wouldn't really be able to correctly dose it for a rabbit smaller than 2.5kg. There is a little leeway on dosing, as I've read of some vets dosing as high as 40mg/kg. But I wouldn't try and give it to a rabbit smaller than 4lbs. If you're getting the liquid safeguard, I would just wait and use that.

 

[KaylesB]

Okay. That's what I was thinking.
Thank you so much for all your advice and helping me confirm what I was already thinking.
I will stick with the liquid safeguard instead