Unbalanced bunny?

[MaciBear]

So today I noticed my 7 yr old holland lol had a crusty nostril, goobery eye and can't walk well. I can not get him to the vet until Monday afternoon.. I am thinking either a bad URI or maybe pasturella. I hope he makes it til Monday but until then is there anything I can do besides keep him hydrated and fed?

 

[squidpop]

You could wash his goobery eye out with some black tea. I like to make eyewash by boiling a cup of water, stirring in 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt (uniodized salt), and about 4 black tea bags. If you can find some Willow that would be really good- it has the same ingredient as aspirin and might make him feel better- even just the twigs are good for rabbits.

And, just a bit of extra advice- if you can find a really good rabbit savvy vet it can really make all the difference- some regular vets may only rarely ever see a rabbit in their practice so not really able to diagnose and treat as well as a specialist.

 

[MaciBear]

I have a vet that has seen my rabbits before. I am just hoping he makes it. I feel like a bad bunny momma..

 

[squidpop]

Awww.... don't feel like a bad bunny momma. These things happen and you're doing everything you can do.

 

[MaciBear]

I am thinking he had a stroke.. He has no pupillary light response.. His right side of his face looks a little droopy. He falls to the left as well. If this is the case, Gizmo will become a house bunny when I move. I am torn a about what to do with his bonded buddy..

 

[ChocoClover]

You should consider at it might be an ear infection, which are very serious. If he tilts to one side when he walks, that might be the case.

 

[MaciBear]

Well the vet couldn't find a cause for his issues. He may have an impacted bulla but not sure. She gave me antibiotics in case of an infection and Metacam for inflammation. We will see how he does.. He still don't have fast PLR..

 

[JBun]

Based on the symptoms you describe, an ear infection does sound likely. Ear infections can also be a cause of facial paralysis. Did the vet take any xrays?

Antibiotics will usually need to be given for several weeks, and sometimes even months. If your vet prescribed baytril, it may not be effective and you may need to switch to one that is more effective on ear infections in rabbits, like chloramphenicol, azithromycin(in rare cases causes digestive problems), or injectable penicillin.

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Mo_rabbit/Mo_rabbit.htm