Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum DIET & CARE Pasteurella, E Cuniculi, Ear Infection? HELP

Viewing 6 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • cmitro
      Participant
      4 posts Send Private Message

         Hi Everyone, 

         

        Im new on this forum because I need some help for my precious bunny. Last monday (a week and 2 days ago) I woke up to find my rabbit Alfie scared and hiding. This isnt normal for her so I spent some time trying to get her to come out. As soon as she did I noticed something terribly wrong. Her head was tilted to the right and because of this she was having lots of trouble walking. I freaked out and took her straight to the vet where they took xrays (which came back normal, other than the fact she had no food in her tummy) and examined her. Her ears has puss in both of them so the vet gave me Baytril for pasteurella, metacam, Baytril Otic ear drops and Critical Care to hand feed her 4 times a day. I started her on these medicines right away and noticed a great improvement. She fought me for the critical care but the vet said as long as she was still eating, I didnt need to give it to her so I stopped the critical care. By Saturday, she still had a slight tilt but was able to get around well and was eating, drinking, kissing and snuggling. 

         

        I woke up Sunday to a huge change. Alfies head tilt was extremely worse (worse than day one). My vet is closed on Sundays so I took her to the emergency clinic where they checked her over and told me her ears were looking a bit better. She told me that im giving Alfie all the right medicines and that there is nothing else she would perscribe and that I just need to wait it out and hope for the best. I followed up with my vet the next day (monday, one week after this began) and she told me I need to bring Alfie back. I took her back to the vet where she also gave me Panacur for the treatment of E Cuniculi. We started her on the Panacur that night. 

         

        Tuesday was a normal day, woke up and gave Alfie her medicines, she was still standing normally. When I arrived home from school at 5 that day, I took her out of her cage to see if she had improved. As soon as I put her on the bed, she fell once and couldnt get her balance. She began frantically rolling over and over and over again and I couldnt stop her. For fear she would snap her neck or break something, I put a blanket over her and held it tight. By this time, I let her calm down and tried to let her walk again. This didnt work as she just rolled and rolled and rolled once more. This went on for about two hours and by this time her vet was closed so I called the emergency vet again. They told me to bring her in so I placed her in her carrier with LOTS of padding. She just layed on her side and rolled during the car ride. By the time we got there she was under all the padding and on the bottom of the carrier on her back. 

         

        At the vet she was lethargic and just layed on her side the entire time while they assessed her. They pretty much told us that this was it and she should probably be put down. They left the room to let us say goodbye to her and came back about 20 minutes later. The vet checked her ears one more time and Alfie managed to get her balance and stand back up. After the vet saw this she told us that they can keep her over night and monitor her for a hefty price or we can take her back home with us and care for her there. She gave us eye lubricant as Alfie wasnt blinking as much as she should and sent us home. The night went pretty well. We managed to feed her lettuce, carrots and hay and a few treats. When I woke up this morning, I noticed she hadnt touched her water or food and there was no feces or urine in her cage at all over night. I have been watching her closely today and she is eating lettuce and hay out of my hands but not drinking at all. I make sure the lettuce is covered in water when I give it to her but I fear that its not enough. She has barely moved from the same spot all day and her head tilt is still just as bad. 

         

        She also has nystigmus (eye rolling) which got better after the first day, but came back. Today she tried to move in her cage and had one of her rolling fits again. I sat with her and tried to calm her and helped her get her balance back. 

         

        What I really want to know is if it looks like my chances with her are good and might improve and if not, at what point do I even consider putting her down? I will do anything to save her life as I feel like I couldnt live without her and I want her to make a full recovery. But I also dont want her to suffer and I dont want to put her through a life like this if she will never really get better. 

         

        Help please? 

         

        Caitlin


      • Sarita
        Participant
        18851 posts Send Private Message

          Hi Caitlin – I’m so sorry you are going through all this.

          I guess I would say, that I would not make any hasty decisions and it sounds like you aren’t, which is good. Does your regular vet see alot of rabbits? If not, I would seek a second opinion from a vet with more experience with rabbits. If not, then I would go back and ask the vet to do some further testing (blood work titer and a culture) and I would ask them if they would take a more aggressive route with treatment.

          It can take time for head tilt to get better and sometimes a rabbit can live with this condition well with some extra care from their owners to keep them comfortable as long as they have the will to live and a good quality of life.


        • cmitro
          Participant
          4 posts Send Private Message

             Hi Sarita,

             

            Alfies regular vet is the most educated vet for rabbits where I live. Other than her normal vet, she has seen 2 vets at the emergency clinic who have both told me to stick with it and wait it out. It just seems to be getting worse though and i dont want her to keep suffering. This has been a very emotional week for me and im trying to stay positive, though its very difficult to see her go through this.


          • Sarita
            Participant
            18851 posts Send Private Message

              Totally understand. I think I would have a discussion with the normal vet and ask if there is something more that can be done. I would ask if she can do a culture on the puss to determine if it is indeed pasturella or something else and see if there are other medications that it is sensitive too that you can try. I do agree to stick with whatever you decide to do and give it time. You may need to be on the current medicine for longer than is normally prescribed unless your vet decides to switch you to something else based on the culture.


            • Sarita
              Participant
              18851 posts Send Private Message

                Also, I know it’s distressing to see your rabbit in this condition – it’s hard because you feel helpless, but don’t give up hope just yet and don’t make any decisions while you are emotional.


              • cmitro
                Participant
                4 posts Send Private Message

                   Just an update:

                   

                  Had a difficult day today. Alfie lost her balance a few times but was able to get back on her feet. The last time she lost her balance she was rolling for about 4 hours (while i tried to hold her still and get her balanced again). Eventually I got her on her feet after hours and was able to give her all her medicine AND food. She is currently eating and LOTS. hopefully she can stay stable throughout the night. 


                • Sarita
                  Participant
                  18851 posts Send Private Message

                    Healing vibes to Alfie – you are doing great :~)

                Viewing 6 reply threads
                • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                Forum DIET & CARE Pasteurella, E Cuniculi, Ear Infection? HELP