Louie

[BEAUKEZRA]

My 5 year old Louie has developed head tilt after some unexplained weight loss. On the first vet trip (before the head tilt started) the doctor felt a hairball so we decided to make some dietary changes to try and get rid of it.

On the 2nd visit the hairball had shrunk somebut he had lost more weight so we decided that we would do some blood tests if this continued but later that day I saw Louie fall over and I just fell apart. I was convinced that he was dying and that it was cancer or kidney failure causing the weight loss.

The head tilt started the next day and we started him on antibiotics. It became so bad that he couldn't walk around or eat. I had to syringe feed him. I was devastated and still convinced that he was dying.

Now, it's been about a week and a half and Louie has decided that he is not going anywhere. He is walking around much better and although the head tilt is still there he has improved so much. I've stopped crying and now I'm full of hope. He can eat his greens and hay on his own but I do have to help him with water and his Critical Care. I'm also giving him benebac since his poop is kind of mushy. He was having some poop issues before the antibiotics as well.

Unfortunately his eye that is turned down is having some issues but he is getting drops now and I'm putting some lubricant around the whole eye. It's pretty irritated and his eye was closed shut but that's improving now.

I guess I'm posting this in case anyone who has been thru this can give me some words of wisdom or encouragement. Some healing vibes for my boy would be appreciated as well :biggrin2:.

Heather

 

[Maureen Las]

We have had many bunnies on this forum recover from head tilt. Usually the cause of head tilt is a deep inner ear infection, sometimes it is e-cuniculi

Jade -Icing (Ali) is our head tilt specialist and she has had several buns that have permanent tilts but no active infections. You can pm her for expert advice or read some of her threads on care

the process of recovery can be slow and tedious and you must be sure that he is kept on a strong antibiotic for a lengthy period of time.

sounds like you are making good progress

here are our library articles.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11840&forum_id=10

keep us up-dated

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

BEAUKEZRA wrote:

My 5 year old Louie has developed head tilt after some unexplained weight loss. On the first vet trip (before the head tilt started) the doctor felt a hairball so we decided to make some dietary changes to try and get rid of it.

On the 2nd visit the hairball had shrunk somebut he had lost more weight so we decided that we would do some blood tests if this continued but later that day I saw Louie fall over and I just fell apart. I was convinced that he was dying and that it was cancer or kidney failure causing the weight loss.

The head tilt started the next day and we started him on antibiotics. It became so bad that he couldn't walk around or eat. I had to syringe feed him. I was devastated and still convinced that he was dying.

Now, it's been about a week and a half and Louie has decided that he is not going anywhere. He is walking around much better and although the head tilt is still there he has improved so much. I've stopped crying and now I'm full of hope. He can eat his greens and hay on his own but I do have to help him with water and his Critical Care. I'm also giving him benebac since his poop is kind of mushy. He was having some poop issues before the antibiotics as well.

Unfortunately his eye that is turned down is having some issues but he is getting drops now and I'm putting some lubricant around the whole eye. It's pretty irritated and his eye was closed shut but that's improving now.

I guess I'm posting this in case anyone who has been thru this can give me some words of wisdom or encouragement. Some healing vibes for my boy would be appreciated as well :biggrin2:.

Heather

we generally feel guilty/too little too late,syndrome,,-with rabbits it seems to always be something --that is why i advocate a diet largely of grasses-(non digestible fibers.)-and a small amount of quality lowfat pellets.//.everthing starts in the mouth,teeth and must go all the way through-.//.-louie may have got stressed out,,quit eating an significant amount of grasses--,opportunists(bacterias.)-assist,,aid-then-infection sets in-.//.there is then significant health loss,,everything starts mounting expotentionally,- sometimes things are reverseable but the timer is running and we have to notice even subtle changes in behavior to be of any help.//.these bacterias never really go away,,but they must be maintained by the rabbits natural imunue system--it is there own eco.system-which if not understood gets impaired and bad health results--please don,t take this the wrong way it is just a fact,,rabbits are prey animals,,naturally they will hide any weaknesses from predators(us)-,,sincerely james wallerray:

 

[BEAUKEZRA]

He hasn't had any problems eating which is why the weight loss was so alarming. His appetite has always been good and he didn't have any behavior changes until the head tilt started. The cause of all this is still a mystery but he's a fighter. If he doesn't give up then neither will I :biggrin2:.

 

[ra7751]

Head tilt is something that needs to be treated very aggressively. In the abscense of trauma, the most likely cause of tilt is some type of infection (not necessarily bacterial) in the middle and/or inner ear. Most of the time it is bacterial. This may or may not be secondary to EC. My suggestion is to attempt to culture any debris in the ear for bacteria. Next, another blood panel but have it sent out for EC titer. This test is available only at a few labs in the US. The titer will come back positive but that isn't what you are looking for. Contrary to what your vet may tell you, EC does not by itself cause head tilt....that is old info that is still out there. What EC does is compromise the immune system which allows opportunistic organisms to make an appearance.

If it's bacterial, it is most likely Pasteurella. The most effective drugs against this pathogen are Azithromycin, Penicillin or Convenia. I do not use sulfa or Baytril as they are losing their punch. There is a "newer form" of Baytril called Zeniquin that is a possibility but I understand it's quite expensive.

Some rabbits respond well to Meclizine for the vertigo. Some do well....it doesn't work at all in some. Supplemental fluids are essential especially if there is an underlying kidney issue. Fluids will also help manage body temp which tends to be get uncomfortably elevated with an ear infection. And as you are doing, keep the "down" eye lubricated. The gel type tears are more effective than drops. And the "down" side is the side of infection.

I generally treat ear infections with all guns firing. An improperly treated ear infection can migrate to the brain stem which leads to an entirely new set of problems.

Randy

 

[BEAUKEZRA]

Thank you. I willask about more aggressive antibiotics but he does seem to be doing well on Bactrim. Luckily my vet is the #1 guy for the Gainesville Rabbit Rescue so I'm pretty confident in his knowledge but I will mention what you said. I just hope that the head tilt isn't secondary to something much more serious like cancer or organ failure because of the dramatic weight loss beforehand. I am going to do whatever I can to help him. Thank you so much.

P.S I don't think I would be comfortable giving him injections

 

[ra7751]

Very few vets still use that drug. In the past, it was the top line drug. Just monitor the gut closely as sulfanomides have been linked to Tyzzer's Disease. The drug can be very rough on the beneficial bacteria in the gut. I have never had much success with that drug but hopefully the outcome here will be different.

Randy

 

[BEAUKEZRA]

Louie's doing much better now. His head is still slightly tilted but I don't need to lubricate his eye anymore and he moves around rather normally. He wobbles from time to time. He's still very thin and I'm not sure how I can fatten him up a little. He is free fed pellets but that doesn't help. I've been slipping him some oats when his buddy Bernie isn't watching and he gets unlimited hay and greens every morning. He's also still getting a round of antibiotics every month for a week at a time. I don't want to syringe feed because that causes him too much stress. I'm sure he wouldn't mind some extra treats but I don't want to load him with too much sugar. Any tips for fattening him up? Thanks.

Heather

 

[tonyshuman]

What about adding some alfalfa hay or alfalfa pellets to his diet? Glad he's doing better.