When is the right time to start giving fenbendazole/panacur for rabbit showing symptoms of head tilt/paralysis?

[cookiesncream]

One of my Holland lop, around 4 months old is showing concerning symptoms that I suspect might be a start of head tilt.

A few weeks ago after giving his daily 0.2 ml dose of Ivermectin for a mild scabies treatment (currently cured) he started to get dizzy, collapse, and when recovered start to have head tilt for about 5-10 minutes before getting normal again. I thought he was just dizzy from the drug and shrugged it off, after that he went off to play, being normal again.

A few days ago his ears started to stand occasionally (picture below) for few minutes to an hour, and just today his head started tilting but has already gone back to normal by now.

Was this only a side effect of Ivermectin I gave him a few weeks ago or is this e cuniculi?

I don't have easy access to bunny healthcare professionals in my country currently, so over the counter drugs available online are what keeping my buns healthy until now...

Should I start the 28 days regiment of panacur right now? Or is there better dosage/regiment for now?

Below are some pics of his recently. His ears are standing up with occasional head tilt now and then... I'm so worried

 

[JBun]

The dizziness, collapse, and 'head tilt' your rabbit experienced was very likely due to receiving an overdose of ivermectin, not from e. cuniculi.

Firstly, rabbits should not be getting ivermectin every day for any reason. Usually it's given once every 14 days, at most once every 7-10 days. So giving it every day was one incorrect administration leading to an overdose. The next is the dosage you were giving.

Presuming you were giving the most common ivermectin concentation of a 1%, solution(which is 10mg ivermectin per ml of solution, 10mg/ml), giving 0.2ml means you gave 2mg of ivermectin to your rabbit, which is enough to treat a 10lb adult rabbit, which your holland lop is not even remotely that big or that old. Your rabbit is what, 2-3lbs at the most?

The usual dosage of ivermectin for treating mites is 0.4mg per kg of body weight. Full grown holland lops are usually 2-5lbs( or about 1-2.5kg), which would mean the dose that should have been given is about 0.04-0.1ml at the most, depending on your rabbits body weight. So you were not only overdosing on the amount given, but also on how often you were giving it causing the ivermectin to be building up in your rabbits system from the daily administration. In addition, young animals will also be more sensitive to ivermectin and a possible overdose occurring, which means that has to be taken into account when the correct dose is calculated. This overdose is what caused the side effects that you saw your rabbit experience, and that your rabbit is continuing to experience.

Medirabbit: ivermectin dosage for mites(ear mites shown)

Ivermectin overdose can cause permanent and irreparable damage to a rabbits nervous system, eyes, and organs, if it isn't outright fatal. So the head tilt you're continuting to see, is likely from sustained damage from the overdose. It could be permanent, or possibly over time could improve. It's also possible that critical damage was done to your rabbit and this could possibly result in the death of your rabbit in the next few weeks. But only time will tell the extent of the damage that has occurred.

IVERMECTIN TOXICITY SYMPTOMS

• "This on its turn disturbs normal nervous functions and causes a general blockage of the stimulus mechanisms in the CNS. The resulting cerebral and cortical deficits include mainly
  • Ataxia (uncoordinated movements)
  • Hypermetria (excessive or disproportionate movements)
  • Disorientation
  • Hyperesthesia (excessive reaction to tactile stimuli)
  • Tremor (uncoordinated trembling or shaking movements)
  • Mydriasis (dilatation of the pupils); in cattle and cats also myosis (contraction of the pupils)
  • Recumbency (inability to rise)
  • Depression
  • Blindness
  • Coma (persistence unconsciousness)
• As a general rule, young animals are more sensitive to overdosing, react stronger and prognosis is worse than for adult animals."

Ivermectin is a very concentrated and strong medication/antiparasitic, and should not be used by those inexperienced in giving medications, without the supervision of a knowledgeable vet. When ivermectin is used, it needs to be done with great care and correctly, or you risk causing an overdose and the possible death of the rabbit. If you have an experienced rabbit vet in your country that can help you with the care of your rabbits and prescribing the correct meds at the correct doses, that would be the best way to go about treating health conditions with your rabbits. If you absolutely don't have access to a semi decent vet with even a little bit of knowledge to help with your rabbits health conditions, I would suggest being much more cautious when treating your rabbits with medications.

Medirabbit: ivermectin

https://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2344

 

[cookiesncream]

The dizziness, collapse, and 'head tilt' your rabbit experienced was very likely due to receiving an overdose of ivermectin, not from e. cuniculi.

Firstly, rabbits should not be getting ivermectin every day for any reason. Usually it's given once every 14 days, at most once every 7-10 days. So giving it every day was one incorrect administration leading to an overdose. The next is the dosage you were giving.

Presuming you were giving the most common ivermectin concentation of a 1%, solution(which is 10mg ivermectin per ml of solution, 10mg/ml), giving 0.2ml means you gave 2mg of ivermectin to your rabbit, which is enough to treat a 10lb adult rabbit, which your holland lop is not even remotely that big or that old. Your rabbit is what, 2-3lbs at the most?

The usual dosage of ivermectin for treating mites is 0.4mg per kg of body weight. Full grown holland lops are usually 2-5lbs( or about 1-2.5kg), which would mean the dose that should have been given is about 0.04-0.1ml at the most, depending on your rabbits body weight. So you were not only overdosing on the amount given, but also on how often you were giving it causing the ivermectin to be building up in your rabbits system from the daily administration. In addition, young animals will also be more sensitive to ivermectin and a possible overdose occurring, which means that has to be taken into account when the correct dose is calculated. This overdose is what caused the side effects that you saw your rabbit experience, and that your rabbit is continuing to experience.

Medirabbit: ivermectin dosage for mites(ear mites shown)

Ivermectin overdose can cause permanent and irreparable damage to a rabbits nervous system, eyes, and organs, if it isn't outright fatal. So the head tilt you're continuting to see, is likely from sustained damage from the overdose. It could be permanent, or possibly over time could improve. It's also possible that critical damage was done to your rabbit and this could possibly result in the death of your rabbit in the next few weeks. But only time will tell the extent of the damage that has occurred.

IVERMECTIN TOXICITY SYMPTOMS

• "This on its turn disturbs normal nervous functions and causes a general blockage of the stimulus mechanisms in the CNS. The resulting cerebral and cortical deficits include mainly
  • Ataxia (uncoordinated movements)
  • Hypermetria (excessive or disproportionate movements)
  • Disorientation
  • Hyperesthesia (excessive reaction to tactile stimuli)
  • Tremor (uncoordinated trembling or shaking movements)
  • Mydriasis (dilatation of the pupils); in cattle and cats also myosis (contraction of the pupils)
  • Recumbency (inability to rise)
  • Depression
  • Blindness
  • Coma (persistence unconsciousness)
• As a general rule, young animals are more sensitive to overdosing, react stronger and prognosis is worse than for adult animals."

Ivermectin is a very concentrated and strong medication/antiparasitic, and should not be used by those inexperienced in giving medications, without the supervision of a knowledgeable vet. When ivermectin is used, it needs to be done with great care and correctly, or you risk causing an overdose and the possible death of the rabbit. If you have an experienced rabbit vet in your country that can help you with the care of your rabbits and prescribing the correct meds at the correct doses, that would be the best way to go about treating health conditions with your rabbits. If you absolutely don't have access to a semi decent vet with even a little bit of knowledge to help with your rabbits health conditions, I would suggest being much more cautious when treating your rabbits with medications.

Medirabbit: ivermectin

https://parasitipedia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2344

Thanks for replying Jbun, however I only gave him Ivermectin for 3 days straight at that time and have stopped completely by now since the scabies are gone. Sorry for wording the dosage as daily

But his symptoms are showing again now (the head tilt, minus paralysis). Should I be concerned?
I think he's eating well and still his usual self for the last month. Hope he gets better and the damage don't last...