please... some advice about ear infection/head tilt?

[potatorabbit]

hi all, my rabbit potato was neutered over a week ago and we brought him back to the vet today to get his stitches out. It went well.

But 2 days ago I thought something was weird with potato, I saw he was really sticking his paw in his ear while itching it and that left ear was also hanging a bit lower (although he has some lop mixed in to him and has great ear control and rotation lol this ear was odd.)

Then yesterday I noticed he became more frustrated in the morning and trashed his cage and his head was kind of leaning to one side slightly where his ear was being floppy. So luckily we were heading to the vet today...

The vet noticed this as soon as he took potato from his carrier and told us he would take an examination and xray. (he would take an xray of his belly anyway to check how the neutering op went) and he said potato has a bacterial infection/inflammation in his ear which is making him tilt his head and lower his ear.

During all this time potato hasn't stopped eating hay or pellets and is drinking water and pooping. What I am confused about is the head tilt is not always happening. Right now I am watching him eat hay and his floppy ear is raised and his head is not tilted. So only sometimes he tilts his head a bit? I think it's when he hops around he seems a bit off kilter by a few degrees sometimes lol...

He otherwise seems in a good mood, grooming and laying on his belly and hopefully isn't in pain (although I am in pain watching him like a hawk and panicing at everything he does lol)

The vet gave us a week of antibiotic (pink powder we put into water and syringe feed but we are terrible at giving potato medicine and I usually have to make it into a paste and put it on a piece of fruit/treat) and vet said he may need up to a month or more on the medicine and we need to come back and see how this medicine is working for him at the end of the week.

He also gave him two injections before we left and said to start medicine at midnight tonight and give it every 12 hrs.

Sorry that was so long. I'm quite worried after reading info online. My main questions are:
What does it mean that we only see him tilt his head/drop his ear sometimes?
Should I be feeding him more hay/pellets/something else during this time?
Anything important I should know? Or tips for giving medicine? This isn't my first time raising a bunny but I've never had one be ill before.

Thank you so much for reading. Here's a pic of potato now... http://i.imgur.com/j37jQZ0.jpg

 

[RavenousDragon]

1) The head tilt itself is being caused by something (bacteria, inflammation, anything) pressing on a nerve called the vestibulochochlear nerve (or CN VIII depending on what you read). I would assume in this case, inflammation. If it comes and goes, it is the inflammation coming and going pressing on that nerve. This is quite common in mild ear infections.

2) Keep him on his usual diet- if you notice he's losing weight you can up the pellets a little bit, but hay is the most important. Really, that shouldn't be the case and you should keep him on a diet.

3)If paste on fruit works- DO THIS. I tend to try to find anything I can to get my pets to take antibiotics (or any meds) on their own so that it's less stressful (I will of course force it in them if i have to do so). Just watch for diarrhea. Both too much fruit and antibiotics can cause it- and it's a bad sign in rabbits.


Keep us updated on how he's doing!

 

[potatorabbit]

thank you so much for the information and advice! It's a relief to read it.

I'll keep an eye on his weight and pooping and hopefully he won't turn down the medicine in fruit. I'll post an update on his recovery!

 

[JBun]

Do you know what antibiotic the vet prescribed(want to make sure it is a rabbit safe one as some can be fatal if given to rabbits orally- eg. penicillin, amoxicillin)? Also did the vet prescribe the anti inflammatory meloxicam? If not, this is usually prescribed for this type of illness and is important for them to have it as it reduces inflammation which can worsen symptoms, as well as providing pain relief. If you don't know what injections were given, I would also want to know what those were as well. I'm always very careful about knowing exactly what meds my vet is giving or prescribing, to make sure everything is correct.

Antibiotics can sometimes upset a rabbits GI system, so keep a close eye on his poop. If it gets slightly mushy at all, he may need more hay in his diet, which should be unlimited and free fed anyways. If you normally feed any high starch, sugary, or high carb treats/foods, I would hold off on those to minimize the chances of an upset to your rabbits gut microflora, and this will also in turn usually increase hay consumption. And as RD mentioned, if you see pudding like or watery diarrhea due to the antibiotics, this is often a very serious emergency and you should contact your vet immediately.
http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/Unsafe_medication/dangerous_antibiotics.htm

Yes it can be normal for the tilt to worsen at times, especially when the rabbit is experiencing movement(either him moving or you moving him), which is why rabbits with this will often not want to move around much as it makes them feel dizzy and disoriented.

Giving meds, sometimes doing a bunny burrito(wrapping in a towel) works.

Here's some good info on head tilt and ear infections in rabbits if you haven't read it yet.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm

 

[potatorabbit]

thank you for the information and links Jbun! I am not sure what is the type or name of medicine or injection I need to ask my vet to tell me the name of it when I go back in a few days, unfortunately I have some language barriers where I am living so it's also a bit hard to ask or be told all the information I need but I will get someone to help me ask them and write it down.
All I know is the medicine is pink powder in small packets, I give one packet every 12 hours. I was hoping there was a name on the packets but it just has the logo for the vet, I tried to google what rabbit medicine can look like but I'm not having luck seeing anything. (after 2 days he doesn't have any strange/different behaviour after I give him the medicine and eating, drinking, pooping is normal so I hope it works out ok)
the place I am going to specializes in rabbits and exotics so I kind of put a lot of trust into the vets there, but still I hope they can give me more info.
thankfully I tested putting the medicine into mashed up oxbow pellet and potato has eaten it well, I was worried about giving him the fruit that it might upset his stomach. as usual I will keep giving him his unlimited hay supply

thank you again!