Falling?

[buck rogers]

Ella has been falling onto her side lately when shes going up to the 2nd level of her cage. We have a stool that she uses, but I'll have to attach another NIC pannel to make it easier for her(I'm going to do that now) But even sometimes when shes out she seems to act like a daredevil bunny) So I guess my question is does anybody else's bunny fall?

 

[rabb1tmad]

Some bunnies are more sturdy than others but if this is out of character for your rabbit then I would investigate this further. Is Ella always falling onto the same side?

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

Your post brought back memories of our beloved Yoda. He started doing the same thing as he had amulti-level condo and he would stumble sometimes. We then noticed that sometimes one of his legs dragged ever so slightly. Turned out it was the first clinical sign of a protozoan infection known as e cuniculi. Just a possibility. Could be a slight ear infection causing vertigo, maybe a little arthritis or may just be a clumsy bunny. Might be worth a physical by a highly skilled vet just to be sure.

Randy

 

[buck rogers]

Thanks for the replies. We think she's just a clumsy bun...but we will be going to her vet asap(the best rabbit vet in our town) and have her give her another check up.

Thanks again!

 

[ra7751]

Hi again,

I'm sure your vet will do this...but take a really good look at the ears. If there is any debris, at least do a cytology (most vets can do this in-house) to see if there is any bacteria in the debris. If nothing is found, especially in an older bun...I might look at arthritis. But if no root cause can be found....I would insist on a titer for EC. Some vets are not aware of this condition. In the US....unless something has changed, there are only a couple of labs capable of performing this blood test. It is not the cheapest of tests but won't break the bank either and it may provide important info. In the mean time...watch the actions of her rear legs paying close attention to the movement or lack of movement should she stumble.



Randy

 

[rabb1tmad]

My first thought when I read the post was EC - when Starksy had it the vet said that rabbits with EC will generally fall to one side, hence the question. I would seriously keep a close eye. Good luck x

 

[ra7751]

Just another observation....we have dealt with quite a few EC positive rabbits coming into rescue. Something that is quite odd....the paresis always started in the left rear in every case. Don't know if that means anything in particular but it is something we are watching as we have another potential EC positive rabbit that came in a few weeks ago....and he is showing a slight paresis in the left rear quarter....interesting.

Randy

 

[buck rogers]

I think I wasn't clear on my first post...Ella does't just walk around and fall...I think she wasn't gaging the distance to her stool correctly or it would move a little and then she would fall. Now that she has a new nic pannel as a stool she hasn't fallen. She has been to the vets for checkups often and she has one booked for this monday. Should I still ask about EC?

 

[buck rogers]

Sorry...I'm being selfish and bumping since Ella's doctors appointment is Monday morning. She hasn't fallen since I put in the new pannel...Randy do you still think she might have one of these problems? Should I ask the vet?

Thanks soooo much!

 

[rabb1tmad]

It could have been something to do with the stool I guess. If she doesn't fall at all nowthen Iwouldn't worry, just keep an extra eye on her. By all means mention it to your vet, it won't hurt.

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

I think I would error on the side of caution. My first experineces with EC was with Sabrina and Yoda. At the time, nothingat allwas known about things like this...unfortuntately, some vets still don't know about it. The early indications were a little stumble every now and then, a miss hopping into or out of the litter box or falling off a ramp in their multi level condos they were living in. We lost Sabrina and we really didn't know why. Yoda started by dragging a rear leg ever so slightly. Then it would look like on of his rear legs would "give out" as he hopped up his ramps causing him to fall over. Then he got all better.We thought it might have been due tothe configuration of hisramps...so I modified them so we thought that was the end of that. In a few days, he started doing it again...only more pronounced. We came in one afternoon and were getting our buns ready for the trip to our beach house when we noticed that Yoda wasn't acting right. We let him out on the floor and he fell over into a spin. He was in a panic and so were we. We rushed him to our vet and discovered he had an ear infection. We treated and he got better. Again, in a week or so, he started presenting the stumbling again and starting having urinary problems. Another infection. Treated and better. In another week or so, he started showing the leg problem again...but this time, he was on his side and couldn't get up. This "yo-yo" effect went on for quite a while. The problem was E Cuniculi. It was causing his stumbling due to the neurological issues it causes. The infections and continuing neurological issues were due to his immune system mounting an ever increasing counter attack. It is a "wasting" disease in which you can actually see the life being pulled out of them.

I hope this is a case where I am way off base and totally wrong. But we have seen EC so much now that we easily recognize the early signs...and we are able to start treatment earlier. If it is EC, it is quite difficult to successfully treat but there are some good possibilities being researched by some of the top researh vets. Again, hope I am wrong...but I would error on the side of caution.

Randy