Bunny with head tilt

Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie here but having seen what a supportive community you are I thought I'd ask you guys for some advice.

I took my 6 month old bunny Theodore to be neutered on Monday and unfortunately we have had a pretty traumatic time since. During the op Theodore died twice but thanks to the amazing veterinary nurse we managed to get him back. Afterwards Theodore had to be syringe fed as he wasn't eating himself however by Tuesday morning the effects of the anaesthetic seemed to be wearing off with him being a lot perkier and was eating a bit himself. However Tuesday evening he took a turn for the worse and was showing the tell-tale head tilt signs (head tilting, no coordination, unable to stand or balance and moving in circles). We rushed him through to the vets and he gave him some antibiotics and sent us a way with panacur (apologies if I've spelt that wrong) and some recovery food to syringe feed him again. Since then he has improved dramatically with the head tilt almost gone and him eating his pellets all by himself. He is however still having trouble eating for himself where hay is concerned (he grinds his teeth right above the hay but doesn't actually have it in his mouth unless we put it there) and although he is moving in straight lines he is still bumping into walls. I am worried he may be having trouble with his eyesight and coordination.

I have basically just come here to ask for any advice you may have regarding this subject. Can eyesight be recovered if he does have a problem? What kind of recovery rate am I looking at? Any advice or tips you can give me would. Be very much appreciated. I haven't slept for three days looking after my little boy and it's breaking my heart seeing him this way. Thank you for your help, here's a picture of Theodore from before he was poorly, looking his normal cheeky self.

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If they had to revive him twice I'm wondering if this might be the aftereffects of oxygen deprivation? No different in humans. You may have to wait and see if it's temporary or permanent, or if it's something else.

How is Theodore doing now???

Hi, sorry for the late reply! Theodore is doing really well and seems to have made a full recovery! He's had the all clear from the vets and seems to be able to see perfectly fine with the exception of occasionally running full speed into things when he gets excited. He's still getting his confidence back and won't walk down the stairs on his own but we've certainly made a lot of progress in a relatively short period of time! The only problem now is that our other rabbit, Matilda, will now have nothing to do with him when they were best friends before. I'm putting this down to Matilda reaching sexual maturity and becoming very territorial so I've made the decision to have Matilda spayed next week. I was going to wait a little while, what with the ordeal we went through with Theodore but I think it will be best for all of us to get her done as soon as possible so that we can bond them again.
Here's a picture of Theodore and Matilda together - they were the cutest couple!

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I'm glad to hear that he is okay😊 your buns are so cute!

It's so good to hear that Theodore has recovered well. Not getting along with Matilda is likely her reaching puberty as you said, but could also be made worse by the fact that he was taken away (to the vet) and came back smelling different. I have heard of rabbits that have had to be re-bonded after one is taken for a vet visit, to avoid this, most people take both rabbits together, even if only one needs to be seen.

Thanks guys! Matilda had her pre-op today and is booked in to be neutered on Tuesday. So fingers crossed everything will go smoothly this time. I shall definitely be doing group vet trips in the future!