Head Tilt: Causes and Treatment

[Gabby]

Stucilme wrote:

I'm sorry to hear that. My mini lop, Bubba, has arecurrent tilt. He is on his fourth go around. Heusually recovers in about a week or two. He loses no interestin food and eats well. The earlier he gets on antibiotics thelesser his symptoms. If treated in the first day, he doesn'thave any falling over or circling incidents. He just startedpenicillin last night, I have gotten pretty good at givinginjections. I am scheduling him for an MRI at the Universityof Illinois. He has already been through testing forEnsephelazoia (?sp) a brain parasite that most buns test pos. for evenif not in their system. Thankfully not Bubbathough. His vet has referred him to the U of I even though wedrive an hour and half to take him to a great vet, they just can't do abunny MRI. Wish us luck. Looks like my $20 impulsebunny is going to be a little more expensive than I told my boyfriendhe would be. He's only 2 and has had a broken legtoo. Pray for Bubba. Thanks all. I'llgive you any info. to help you out.:?

brice is doing good, it'll be 1 year in march off of meds, he seems tobe stuck in the 2:00 postion. But when he is sniffing intently orchinning things he can straighten his head out. Best of luckWith Bubba's MRI I hope it gives you some answers, and some more hope.He will be in our thoughts.

Oh I should mention his head used to be perfectly upside down.

 

[Carolyn]

Was reading this morning that one person treated Wry Neck by injectingpenicillin (meant for pigs!). One shot every day for three days. Theyalso used Sofradex ear drops (for humans) in both ears every day.

They had to hold the rabbit up so that he could drink and eat, clean him off because he'd been lying in his own muck all night.

The owner didn't see any improvement for two weeks straight, but one morning discovered that the rabbit was up grazing.

-Carolyn

 

[LuvaBun]

Wow, that's interesting. Any idea what the causewas? Wonder what made them try the methods they did, but I guess you'lltry anything to get a result, and, thank goodness, it seems to haveworked for them.- Jan

 

[Carolyn]

Jan,

They were breeders and had a farm. They were members of the Rabbit Breeders Association of Tasmania.

They had checked every rabbit book they owned and those that hadanything about it said there was no cure and it was caused by a middleear infection or a brain lesion. They traveled their own path on thisone.

I don't know how it worked out in the end though - how long the rabbit lived if it helped the tilt at all.

-Carolyn

 

[m.e.]

Isn't penicillin dangerous for bunnies???

 

[Carolyn]

I wouldn't try this at home. As I said, not sure what the rabbit's lifespan was in the end.

I'll try to contact the people, but not sure if they've moved on or not.

-Carolyn

 

[dr_peter_kraz]

Thank you for the new information. I also liked the list

 

[dr_peter_kraz]

He is so cute

 

[Gabby]

m.e. wrote:

Isn'tpenicillin dangerous for bunnies???

You are not suposeto give it orally, but it can be used by iinjection, and putting insidethe holes left by an abcess(stitched closed of course)

 

[Carolyn]

*bump*

 

Carolyn : they forgotone , they forgot toinclude the Strep virus , whichcan cause wry neck syndrom .

 

[Carolyn]

Thanks for pointing it out, Gypsy!



-Carolyn

 

Your welcomeHon was skimmingthe board and cameacrossed the post , made aquick call to my vet andlisted what you had listed onhere and hetold me they forgot the important one no onelooks for which isStrep virus have i mentioned ILOVE my Vet !!!! lol

 

[Carolyn]

Gypsy!

-Carolyn

 

bows less than gracefully and falls on face lol.

 

[Stucilme]

Update on My Bubba. He does have someinner ear damage. His head tilt is very minimal. Hecan hold it completely straight if he really tries. I justtell everyone he is unique. Most people don't even notice thetilt it is so minimal.

 

[Carolyn]

Thank God, Stucilme.

Thank you for the good news!



* * * * *



*Carolyn helps Gypsy up*



-Carolyn

 

Carolyn , My Vet calledme back , little booger wentand did some moreresearch , hecame back withnot only strep butSaph bacteria can get into thebrain also causeingthe tilt , when ilisted to him earlierhe sai yes to all what wasposted here as wellas the parisitesand strep btto call me backWOW now thats a vetto keep lol ( i am iam ) lol he aslo hadencouraging words forDarlin but i will post that in theother thread

 

[VNess2010]

I just read about Brice's story!! How sad and touching!! Sorry you had to go through that Gabby!!

But it got me very worried! It seems like rabbits get sickwithout any warning. I know that this may be because they hide symptomsvery well, but in Brice's case, he was fine one day and really sick thenext!! I'm just so afraid that my bun, Cosmo, will be perfectly normalon a night like tonight, and then wake up the next morning withsomething horrible!! I just don't understand how these thingsrandomly happen....I don't want to live in fear! But the goodthing is, the vet I take him to, is a 24 hour emergencyhospital!

Can anyone calm my fears?

-Vanessa

 

[Gabby]

VNess2010 wrote:

I just read about Brice's story!! How sad andtouching!! Sorry you had to go through that Gabby!!

But it got me very worried! It seems like rabbits get sickwithout any warning. I know that this may be because they hide symptomsvery well, but in Brice's case, he was fine one day and really sick thenext!! I'm just so afraid that my bun, Cosmo, will be perfectly normalon a night like tonight, and then wake up the next morning withsomething horrible!! I just don't understand how these thingsrandomly happen....I don't want to live in fear! But the goodthing is, the vet I take him to, is a 24 hour emergencyhospital!

Can anyone calm my fears?

-Vanessa

alot of the problem lays inrabbits hide their illnesses verywell, part of surval instinct from the wild, sick or injurred animalsget picked off first in the wild. the best bet is be preparedand know you rabbit very well and make the best possible arrangementsin adance, know who is availble to you just incase and then goodnesswill you'll never have to use that. many buns go their entirelives being perfectly happy and healthy, but when they do get sickwatch out. I know that prob doesn't help calm your fears any,but I think it's best to be prepared for what ever the worst could bethen you are not caught offguard.