So 5+ weeks into Willow's treatment for something that caused head tilt it appears that while she has recovered for the most part the head tilt may be permanent. She is adapting nicely - even tried to escape the shower today which did result in a couple of rolls but even that is something she has become quite proficient at (she just tucks in and goes with it as opposed to the back twisting tilts early on that had me so panicked). Occasionally I walk in and her head looks almost normal but then it goes back to tilted so while I hold out hope I need to prepare myself for the possibility that this is permanent. Does anyone have any experience with a permanently tilted bun? Any suggestions? This morning I finally was able to manuever her in a position to check out the down side and most of the hair is gone so I am not sure if any attempts to clean that side will do anything but stress her out. We have about 2 weeks or so left with the Panacur and once that is done I hope to be able to reintroduce her to her bunny buds and take my shower back!
Any experience with irreversible head tilt?
- Thread starter Mdailey
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I'm so sorry to hear about Willow! Has she been checked for an inner ear infection? If not you may want to have her seen by a vet immediately. I found this link about head tilt, hope it helps: http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-8/head-tilt.html Also, adding a little non-distilled apple cider vinegar to Willows water will boost the immune system if it is an ear infection that she's fighting. Apple cider vinegar is a natural antibiotic. Add 1 T / Gallon of water. Hope this helps, get well soon Willow and hang in there Willows mom!
Daisies - thanks for your reply to my post. Yes she was treated with multiple antibiotics for weeks, but it wasn't until we added the Panacur that she started to stabilize so I don't think it was an ear infection (no signs that we could see) but I suppose anything is possible. She is back to her happy loving self and of course the only thing that is different to her is her perspective of her world. I would love to see her back with her bunny buddies but I am concerned that I won't be able to monitor her food consumption as well as I can when she is by herself. She has gotten rather spoiled mowing through a $6.00 clamshell of organic greens every other day so I need to cut back on the greens to "encourage" her to eat more pellets and hay which I will do slowly over the next month. Thanks for the tip with the apple cider vinegar. I have 10 bunnies so that will be something that I will run out and pick up today.
I had a head injured rat with a permanent head tilt, my best suggestion is to make absolutely sure she's not put on high places without your body blocking her every step. Aside from that he adjusted just fine and was almost a normal rat, although he circled almost constantly as another effect of his head issue. I made sure there were hammocks under any shelves in his cage to prevent his falling.
warminwisco
Well-Known Member
Say one of my buns has a bit of a head tilt last 2 days. Ear infection, e caniculi so I will take hm to the vet. iS there a test to see if e caniculi is in theri system active or not? If there is I will take the other one with me for treatment if there is any. Thanks
warminwisco
Well-Known Member
Now his head looks OK, he is 9 months old better get him checked. Lucky we have a cheap vet at least last time. 25 dollar office visits
How do the ears look? Are they actually clear/free from any strange "stuff".
I find it somewhat strange that panacur helped- as that's for internal parasites more than anything else.. Which leads me to say it's likely not an infection if it responded to no antibiotic treatment... did your vet actually culture or just throw antibiotics at it randomly?
I find it somewhat strange that panacur helped- as that's for internal parasites more than anything else.. Which leads me to say it's likely not an infection if it responded to no antibiotic treatment... did your vet actually culture or just throw antibiotics at it randomly?
Millinex - could be coincidental but it was only then when she was able to stabilize. We had a physical therapy day on Sunday with her outside in the yard and I am not sure who enjoyed it more. Couple of rolls here and there when she tried to run too fast but a very nice 45 minutes. Her head actually straightened up outside a little but as soon as I put her back inside it went back to tilted. She has gained back all of the weight she lost and then some and is eating her pellets with vigor. Other that the head tilt a very happy and what I believe to be healthy bunny and the only thing that we did different was to add the Panacur. Normally I am a get to the bottom of it kind if gal but I am just so grateful for her recovery that I am satisfied with the little bit of mystery. What I would really like to know if there is any special care I should provide to her down side? The hair has been lost and the eye is a bit dodgy but there are no odors or anything that I can detect.
Millinex - ears were always perfect - nothing any one of us could see. My original trip to the vet was the local e vet with very limited rabbit experience. Since I had been down this road twice before with Ozzie & Rexy (100% recovered) I would probably have declined any cultures thinking that Baytril was all I needed. She initially responded very well including the head tilt going away but the refill I received may have been mixed improperly so after 8 days of progress she declined rapidly. Once I refilled the Baytril and added the Septra we made baby steps of progress - but it was one day up and two days down. When the Baytril was eliminated and the Panacur added it was more good days than bad.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Baytril may have been one of the problems that might have made things worse to begin with... I've seen it do some really nasty stuff to animals before including burns, scaring, death.. Give her time and see how she progresses over time, sometimes they straighten themselves up in time- but slight head tilt isn't something you can "fix" or "help" all that much in same cases, and ends up only being a small inconvenience for the rabbit.
I haven't had any bad experiences with the Baytril - both Ozzie and Rexy recovered 100% after only 2 weeks on that medication only. It's been 6-8 years since the others had their battles - this time it was very different. I will keep that in mind for future reference though.
RabbitGirl101
Well-Known Member
I have a rabbit that has a permanent head tilt. He is able to move, eat and drink just fine but when he is excited he runs in circles and bobs his head up and down. He also needs to e watched because he is alway spilling his water and food. In addition to that he will try to stand up on his hindlegs and fall over. Because of that I make sure he has a nice layer of hay in his cage so it softens his fall. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I kind of skimmed through your post so I think I answered what I read.
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