Ronnie has head tilt

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Little Bay Poo

Little Bay Poo

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Location
Fairfax, Virginia, USA
Chris called me this morning to let me know that Ronnie isn't doing well. I've been so busy lately and have only been able to see the bunnies twice this past week, so I didn't see any warning signs of Ronnie's condition. According to Chris, Ronnie wasn't like this last night, and the tilt just happened today. I was at the apartment on Monday and I didn't notice anything wrong with him. I'm at the apartment right now, and it's not looking good.

Ronnie's head is pretty severely tilted and he keeps twitching his eyelid. He has a vet appointment in 2 hours. I can say that from what Chris was telling me on the phone, it didn't sound too bad, but when I got here and saw Ronnie...he's a pretty sorry sight.

Ronnie is still eating hay, and a few pellets if put in front of his face. He's drinking a lot of water and pooping normally. He is loafed against the back corner of his cage with his head tilted and close to the floor. Ronnie is 3 and a half years old.

I'm not sure what could have caused the head tilt. His food and hay are both from the same batch that we've been using for a while, and Billy seems to be doing fine. We are both afraid to touch Billy without washing our hands for fear that this is contagious, but Chris said that he did pet Billy once earlier today after petting Ronnie.

I'll go take a picture of him (even though I'd hate to remember him like this) and post it in a few minutes. I hate to see him suffering like this. Will update after the vet visit later today as well.

Robin
 
I'm sure you already know that both Alicia (JadeIcing) and I have head tilt bunnies - and they can live good lives even with head tilt. I say this to say - Do NOT let a vet convince you to put him down. He can even overcome this....Pet_Bunny's Pebbles has also had head tilt.

I'd definitely ask the vet to look deep inside the ears for any signs of infection as that is a common cause of head tilt. Of course- there are other causes too.

Anyway - I guess what I am trying to say is - "don't freak out"....this is manageable and can be dealt with. Depending upon the cause, it is even possible to have a full recovery.

Here is a picture of one of my head-tilters....Minnie....

DSCN5077.jpg


and another one that shows her tilt better...when she's resting..

DSCN5083.jpg


She has a full life here in spite of her tilt - she loves to run and play and have a good time.


 
Thanks Peg. To be honest, I didn't even know that a vet would suggest to put a head tilted bunny down, so it's good to be prepared for that just in case. I would definitely be against that option, and be perfectly fine with taking care of a tilted bunny. I guess it just scares me to see him looking like this, and reading things that suggest that they have little chance of survival after being tilted.

I was petting Ronnie for about 10 minutes...it seemed like the only time that he was truly calm. He is resting now but has periods where he tries to get up and walk around and goes in circles. He tried to get up and walk around his cage only to fall on his side. His balance is really off. I took a few pictures of him to show how badly he is tilted:

DSC08626.jpg



DSC08627.jpg



Even when he is resting he continues to scan with his eye. I filled his food bowl to make it easier for him to access his pellets and put a handful of hay on the floor for him. I'm not sure what to do about the water...I don't know if he can access the bottle by himself, but I'm afraid to put in a bowl because I don't want him to trip and fall in the bowl and get himself all wet.

Robin
 
You may want to talk to your vet about this - and once again - I would really encourage your vet to do a culture or check for ear infection - although it can be many other things.

BUT...what you may want to ask him - is if it is ok to use Bonine (human medication for car sickness) with Ronnie.

I use it all the time with my head tilt bunnies - I think Alicia uses it with Ringo. I crush it up and put it in some baby food and give it to mine that way (or just crush it and add some water and syringe it into them).

I have used 1 tablet twice a day when they're really bad - I think Alicia might use 1/2 tablet twice a day - not sure.

Randy (ra7751) told me about using Bonine....

I know he looks bad to you - but from his photo - he's not tilted nearly as bad as I thought he would be. And getting him to the vet so quickly...means he has a much better chance of recovery.

We have one little buck - who had head tilt (his name is Ziggy) - he had it for about 3 or 4 days and was on shots and it just went away after about the fourth or fifth day....and to look at him now - you'd never know he had it...unless he's really really tired - then he might tilt his head a bit.

I'll be watching the thread to see what your vet says!

By the way - when I had my first head-tilt bunny - a vet told me, "It's best to just put him down so he won't suffer..".

That's why I said what I did.


 
Oh dear, not Ronnie! I hope it's just an ear infection and your vet can get him some strong antibiotics to clear it up quickly. Maybe he just caught a cold due to some stress in the environment. Bunnies often have pasturella and other bugs living dormant in them, and if they get stressed, their immune system can't keep it under control and they get sick from it. It could be anything from a change in the weather, to molting, to not seeing his mommy as much that stressed him out. I'm glad you noticed it soon, and I hope your vet can help!


As for water, I would also be worried about having him get wet with a bowl because he's already sick and getting wet could make him sicker. Can you put the bottle right by where he likes to sit and put it closer to the ground so he doesn't have to stand up to get it?

:pray::pray::pray::pray:for you, Chris, and your adorable crew.
 
You've already got a lot of experienced advice ..
I personally have not dealt with head tilt but I doknow that most of the vets here would want to euthanize the bun and would have little knowledge of treatment.

It sounds like he is experiencing nystagmus accompanied by dizziness . This is why he loses his balance. This is a very uncomforable situation for a bun sort of like vertigo in a person..the whole world just whirling around. I hope your vet prescribes the type of drug that Peg suggested..I think that antivert is also used.

I will give you the links on head-tilt but you can get a lot of help right here with those that have tilted rabbits

Hope the visit goes well


http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11840&forum_id=10
 
I don't have any medical advice, just wanted to say I'm thinking of Ronnie and I'm sending him good vibes and hugs :hug:.

I was stunned when I saw this, must be very heart breaking for you, poor little Ronster Monster :cry4:.
 
:pray: Poor Ronnie, and poor you! :hug:

Please let us know what your vet says and whether he's comfortable treating for head tilt. A number of us can probably provide our vets' info for him to contact about treatment and care.

For now, do you have another carpet or blanket to put in the cage? It might keep him more comfortable to have soft stuff in case he rolls or falls.

It's great that he's still eating and pooping!
 
Thank you everyone for your prayers, thoughts, well wishes, and advice :)

Ronnie is back from the vet. They took a few cultures and will be testing for E. Cunniculi and Pasteurella. The vet gave us the following medicines to administer orally by syringe:
  • Meloxicam 0.1 cc once a day
  • Meclizine 0.2 cc twice a day
  • Panacur 0.2cc once a day
I believe one of the above three medications is for the dizziness, I'm not sure what the other two are for. In addition we are to give Ronnie a subcutaneous shot of 0.12 cc of Pen G once per day for 7 days...stop for 3 days...again once a day for 7 days.

We've just finished giving him the syringe meds, and he got his first shot at the vets today so we won't have to do that until tomorrow.

The vet seemed to think that whatever Ronnie has, he has carried for a long time and may have gotten from his days at the breeders. He may have been stressed recently which caused the head tilt to appear. Until they do the tests, however, they will not know the cause of the tilt.

The vet also says that Billy was most likely exposed to whatever Ronnie had back when we first got Ronnie, but that Billy's immune system is in good enough shape to not show symptoms. So Billy is alright, and Ronnie is showing these symptoms because his immune system isn't as strong right now.

I've replaced all of Ronnie's old cage carpet with new carpet squares that we just bought at Kmart. Ronnie found the one spot in his cage that was not covered in carpet and decided to lounge there! When he gets up he moves around in circles, but he is able to navigate to his water bottle and drink normally. Hopefully when the medications kick in he won't feel so dizzy and will be able to eat something.

Will update again as necessary.

Robin
 
Meclizine is for dizzyness, Metacam is for pain, Panacur is to treat EC. I'd call and ask about antibiotics though as an infection is very likely. Otherwise, looks good!
 
naturestee wrote:
Meclizine is for dizzyness, Metacam is for pain, Panacur is to treat EC. I'd call and ask about antibiotics though as an infection is very likely. Otherwise, looks good!
Click to expand...
We have gotten Pen G to give him once a day, is that an antibiotic? I think the Panacur might actually be for de-worming...I remember the vet saying something about that. So it looks like the three syringe meds are more to make him comfortable and a precaution with de-worming, while the Pen G is the actual treatment.

Thinking about mixing a pellet slurry and trying to feed him that with one of the larger syringes we bought in the baby section. The vet didn't say much about force feeding him...only that we should take him back if he doesn't eat. I've come across threads where people mention Critical Care, but I'm not sure what that is or how I would get it.
 
Critical care is a totally nutritious supplemental feeding for a sick bun. You can syringe it or Sometumes the buns eats it on his own. it can be obtained by calling the oxbow 1-800 number but cannot be ordered on-line.

http://www.oxbowhay.com/link.sp?page=CriticalCare

I am sort of curious about the use of penicillin G on an off 3 days thenon again basis. If it is procaine usually is given every day..if it is bicillin usually every other day

might want to ask your vet why off 3 day??
Hope Ronnie improves with all your care :)
 
A couple of things: it sounds like your vet has all the bases covered. Pen G is an antibiotic. Panacur was developed to deworm dogs, horses, etc, but in general it's just an antiparasitic drug. EC is a parasite, actually a protozoan, so Panacur can treat it. Ivermectin is also given for EC.

Critical care can be found at some specialty/boutique pet stores, although it's usually only available through a vet and Oxbow's website. Other things you might want to feed him are canned pumpkin, or if you can't find that, pumpkins are in season and you can just roast it in the oven. It's really quite easy and makes your house smell great. It's a good, mushy, wet source of fiber. Some people give rabbits Nutrical (which is made for dogs and cats) to keep them eating when they're not feeling well. It's a liquid high-calorie food that comes in a tube and may help him get energy. Make sure you get a rabbit-friendly flavor, not liver!

Finally, since he was looking for the only non-carpeted area of his cage, maybe he's too warm? I'd feel his ears to make sure that he's not too warm. Just a precaution, but you never know, sometimes the things we do to make our pets more comfortable have the opposite effect!

good luck and healing wishes--
 
I just saw this thread!

Poor Ronnie.. get well soon, ok? We're sending lots of prayers and good vibes your way :pray::pray::pray::pray:
 
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