Emergency! My doe has head tilt - wry neck!

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

bojay

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
275
Reaction score
0
Location
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Hi all. It's 3am and here I am researching head tilt.

It came on so suddenly. She was fine yesterday....although Idid notice she didn't eat or drink...and last night before bed, mydaughter and I went to "tuck the bunnies in" and we noticed Biscuit'shead tilting. I went to bed but couldn't sleep, so I checkedon her and she had gotten worse.

Her eyes are "twitching", she's circling, falling down and in somewhatof a panic. I'm holding her right now and her breathing isvery quick. She's not the sort of bun that likes to be held,but seems to appreciate it right now.

I will be taking her to the Vet first thing in the morning and I'marmed with lots of great information about causes and treatment.

I'm worried about the kits too.

What a bummer.
 
Oh my...I wish I could help you, but I have no idea about wry neck other than what I have read.

Are you sure they don't have an emergency vet in your area?

I'll keeping your bunny in my thoughts and prayers.

Jenn



 
So Sorry. As written by Gabby:

* * * * *

http://hometown.aol.com/savagerabbit/Brice.html

If you have any questions about Brice's battle with his inner earinfectionplease feel free to ask, either in the message or byPM.

I posted a link to a page about one my buns who had an inner earinfection. The problem with head tilt is it can be caused bymany things, and they need to be ruled out to help solve what iscausing the reaction. It could be leisions on the brain, adeep inner ear infection, (at first my buns inner ear infection onlyshowed up on radiographs it was a week before you could see i bylooking into his ear) a parasite, or a disease, or even astroke. Fiding out what has caused it, will help decide whatit should be treated with.

My Bun Brice did not respond to baytril we had to use another drug. itis very importain to be sure you bun stays hydrated andeating. Watch the poops to be sure your bun is pooing ok. And make sureyour bun is drinking. Buns who have a head tilt quite often don't eator drink as wel, because they have a hard time holding them selves longenough in the possisition o do so. plus I believe the just don't feellike eating from feeling "dizzy".

I would try keeping him very comfy, prop him up with blankets and ortowels if need be, and keep that bun hydrated. Wry neck is really onlya symptom of something else wrong in the bunny's system. mybest to you and your bun

* * * * *

Will keep your baby in my thoughts and prayers.

-Carolyn


 
hotchocolatewithsmarties!!!!! wrote:
i'm praying

please keep us posted

lol
I'm a bit confused. Did I miss something? What is lol for? Whatdid I miss? I didn't see anything amusing in the post or the reply. Idon't get it.



Bojay, I will be keeping you and your girl in my prayers.

Tina
 
I bought Rabbits USA on Saturday and last night Iread one of the articles.Surprisingly it was on headtilt. This is what I have learned:HeadTiltis an treatable condition and there are many causes forit. You should try to make Biscuit as comfortable aspossible, she may also feel dizzy due rabbits ears help them keep theirbalance. You vet should perform: a complete blood count andplasma chemistry panel, an E. cuniculi titer (which may be repeatedevery two to four weeks), Pasteurella DNA PCR test of anydischarges found in the head and neck area, and Radiographs(x-rays) Please note again that this information is what I havegathered from the "A Good Head On Its Shoulders" from the 2005 RabbitsUSA magazine.

-Ashley
 
We lost a bun to torticollis in thepast. Those who have offered advice have given you goodinformation. Hope you have a rabbit savvy vet and you canafford the proper diagnostic tools and testing.

Will keep you and the bun in our prayers!

Buck
 
dajeti2 wrote:
hotchocolatewithsmarties!!!!! wrote:
i'm praying

please keep us posted

lol
I'm a bit confused. Did I miss something? What is lol for? Whatdid I miss? I didn't see anything amusing in the post or the reply. Idon't get it.



Bojay, I will be keeping you and your girl in my prayers.

Tina
I'm thinking "Lots Of Love" was the intent.
 
Prognosis: Bad

Fortunately at the last rabbit show I went to I got the name of thebest rabbit vet in my town and they gave us an appt first thing thismorning.

Here is what the Vet recommended:

Dexamethasone .125mg every 48 hrs

Chloramphenicol .9ml every 12 hours

Panacur .9ml every day 5 days

Oxbow Critical Care Slurries daily with medicine and when needed

We ruled out ear infection from the get go....and I'm told it'sprobably a viral thing based on the acute onset and the eye twitchingthing. It could be (I don't know the spelling but soundslike) E Colickulitus. The Vet spent a good hour on our case,which I thought was awesome. Invoice total: $71US

Treat for 7 days, if quality of life doesn't improve, we may have toeuthanize. Her head tilt is at 180, she's experiencingvertigo(diziness).

The virus is probably already passed to the kits (if it is a virus) andcan be passed to the rest of the rabbits via spores in theurine. Fortunately, Biscut has been inside away from the herdfor at least 30days.

As for how she got it, she may have already been carrying the viruswhen I got her 3 months ago. Here's the harsh reality if thatis true. I did something to stress her out for her system toget attacked. It might have been the breeding, or the food,or, well, I really don't know what I did, but I feel really bad aboutit and need to think things out.

If Biscut does pull through, she will be a pampered house bunny.

Thanks everyone for all the support. I'm going to startanother thread about what I should do with the kits. The Vetsaid to isolate Biscut and supplement feed the 28 day old kits.

 
:( Bojay, I'm so sorry :(

I'll keep her in prayer. Maybe she'll come out of it since you got her to the vet's so quickly.


 
So sorry.

You and your little onehave my prayers.

-Carolyn
 
Wow...what a lot tohappen and deal with in such a short amount of time. I've got to handit to you, you were right on top of things. You didn't waste any timein getting your research done, getting to the vet, making gooddecisions....If only everyone could think and react so well incrisis. Now, let's pray that it pays off. You and your bunnywill be in my thoughts and prayers. Keep the updatescoming.

RaspberrySwirl
 

Latest posts

Back
Top