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Forum DIET & CARE Advice on E.Cunculi

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    • LunaLove408
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        Hi guys, 

        I have a little dwarf hotot, her name is Luna and shes about six months old. One month ago I came home to Luna titled to the side in her cage have a sizer like symptoms. Her eyes were rolling side to side and she had no balance. I freaked out and (of course it was Saturday afternoon,) I took her to the emergency vet and they gave her fluids, took her blood, and gave me Baytril to give her for 30 days and Pancur for 15 days. Her head tilt has gotten worse, I took her to a specialist vet and she told me that she should be better by now or closer to it. I am almost done with the Baytril and she isn’t improving. I even gave her a Ivomec which is needed every 14 days and is suppose to help… I love her so much and I really want to keep her alive, she still eats, drinks and goes potty… I will do anything to keep her alive! The vet said since shes not improving it might be a ear infection which requires surgery she said. If anyone has ANY advice let me know please, I really want her to pull through this.    Thanks


      • Silly Sungura
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          Did your vet not do an x-ray or a CT scan? What about the blood profile; did it show anything? If Luna has e. cuniculi as opposed to a middle/inner ear infection she needs to still be taking the Panacur. 15 days isn’t long enough. The Ivomec might help, I don’t know, but Panacur (Fenbendzole) is what most vets seem to prescribe, and the standard course is for 21 days AT LEAST. My bunny has e.c. and I had to treat her for two months before she was herself again. I’d get a CT scan if you haven’t to see what, if anything, is wrong with her ears first. If it’s her ears, she may respond better to a different antibiotic. Wish I could be more helpful. I am so sorry your little Luna is going through this. (((Hugs))) for you and (((Get Well Vibes))) for her.


        • LunaLove408
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            My mistake. The panacur is for 30 days and the baytril was for 15 days. And no I haven’t done a CT scan. I will call the vet to find out exactly what the blood test says. Your bunny has e.c.? What helped your rabbit? Just panacur? Thank you. Im hoping for the best


          • Silly Sungura
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              30 days of Panacur sounds good; Luna just might need it for a while longer… Or she might have an ear infection that would respond to something other than Baytril…That’s why I was asking about a CT scan; when my vet examined my bun’s ears with the otoscope, he didn’t see anything obviously wrong and there was nothing to culture, so my husband and I opted to have a CT scan done of our bun’s head to get a really good look at her ears. The scan didn’t show any abnormalities, so our bunny was tentatively diagnosed with e.c. and we had a sample of her blood sent away for testing. When the results came back, she had a high positive e. c. titer, which indicated that her immune system was working very hard. But we had to wait a couple of weeks for the titer results, so in the meantime our vet elected to treat her with Baytril for 14 days as a precaution since her symptoms seemed more like an inner or middle ear infection, along with 100 mg/ml of Panacur. She ended up taking it for almost two months, and then she had a two week addition of 50 mg/ml of Ponazuril. She also had Meclizine for her dizziness. 

               

              My bunny still gets dizzy every time she does head binkies, but otherwise she’s back to normal. Some bunnies with e.c. will have a head tilt even after the parasite has been killed, but I don’t know how common that is.

              If your vet is thinking it’s a severe inner ear infection, surely she’ll want to do a CT scan first, I’d think. 

               


            • james waller
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                Posted By LunaLove408 on 11/16/2012 02:36 AM

                Hi guys, 

                I have a little dwarf hotot, her name is Luna and shes about six months old. One month ago I came home to Luna titled to the side in her cage have a sizer like symptoms. Her eyes were rolling side to side and she had no balance. I freaked out and (of course it was Saturday afternoon,) I took her to the emergency vet and they gave her fluids, took her blood, and gave me Baytril to give her for 30 days and Pancur for 15 days. Her head tilt has gotten worse, I took her to a specialist vet and she told me that she should be better by now or closer to it. I am almost done with the Baytril and she isn’t improving. I even gave her a Ivomec which is needed every 14 days and is suppose to help… I love her so much and I really want to keep her alive, she still eats, drinks and goes potty… I will do anything to keep her alive! The vet said since shes not improving it might be a ear infection which requires surgery she said. If anyone has ANY advice let me know please, I really want her to pull through this.    Thanks

                —this definitly will require antibiotic treatment and 24/7 care,–blood tests take about 5 days for results–sadly-baytril-(enrofloxicin)-is the first rx dvms think of–because it is supposed to be the safest,(gut flora)-,–this bacteria may require penicillin-G-injections,-azithromycin-and-or chlorampenicol,,..could be middle ear infection-or-e..cunculi,-will not know until the bacterium is identified—but time is very important,,–if there is no favorable response-(2 days)- with baytril–try -G-injections,and sub Q-fluids,,,–always give probiotics or critical care,-if hand feeding,—beware of dehydration,-offer lots of water–timothy-(grasses)-and -,pellets,,–here is a medical link which explains alot  http://www.medirabbit.com  sincerely james waller–


              • LittlePuffyTail
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                  I’m sorry to hear Luna is unwell.

                  Okay, so how long has she been on the Panacur? Are her eyes still darting back and forth?

                  My lop, Bindi developed sudden E.C. symptoms a couple of months ago. 30 days of Fenbendazole did the trick but there was no ear infection. From what I’ve read, head tilt due to inner/middle ear infection is a more lengthy recovery. Have you discussed possible ear infection with your vet?

                  (((((Luna)))))


                • LunaLove408
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                     Icalled the energency vet which i got her blood work done at and they said they misplaced the results and forgot to call me  she said someone will call me in a few days so i am not sure  how bad it is. In the beggining i gave her baytril but that was only for 14 days. i just am confused on what i should give her. i will ask for a CT scan  as well as more panacur because that was only for 30 days and its already been 30 days . her eyes stopped darting about 2 weeks ago so thats a plus. when i let her roam around though in the bedroom, her eyes move around more than normal so maybe she was dizzy. i guess i have to wait for the results  


                  • LunaLove408
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                      thank you. luckily she still drinks water. i have critical care which i give 2x a day but it is difficult and she hates it 


                    • LunaLove408
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                        so the vet just called and her titer rate is extremely high… 


                      • Silly Sungura
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                          Poor Luna. So you’ll be staying the course with the Panacur, then? It’s good that Luna is still eating and pooping, and that her eyes are no longer darting, though. Just guessing, but I’d say that’s encouraging for her prognoses. My bunny had a very high titer result, too, and it’s still very high – with no change, in fact. I’m vigilant about watching for signs of the e.c. recurring because it very likely will at some point, but for now she is doing great. Her immune system is working as it should. Here are some more vibes for (((Luna))). I’ll be thinking of you guys.


                        • LunaLove408
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                            Thank you for your support. yes i will continue with the panacur . That is still scary the signs of e.c. can occur again… hopefully your bun will stay e.c. symptom free. i will just see how it goes over a few weeks. 


                          • LittlePuffyTail
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                              (((((Luna))))) I will be thinking about her. EC is definitely scary. To see your bunny acting so strange is very difficult for any bunny parent.


                            • james waller
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                                Posted By LunaLove408 on 11/16/2012 03:49 PM

                                My mistake. The panacur is for 30 days and the baytril was for 15 days. And no I haven’t done a CT scan. I will call the vet to find out exactly what the blood test says. Your bunny has e.c.? What helped your rabbit? Just panacur? Thank you. Im hoping for the best
                                —panacur.??-do her poops have worms,,or-the exotic dvm specialist diagnosed worms in her poop-gi.tract..??–i am handicapped and have a vision problem therefore reading is painful–i may have a big misunerstanding–if not–please click on this link for a comprehensive understanding of this disease and medication  http://www.medirabbit.com  sincerely james waller


                              • Silly Sungura
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                                  james waller, Panacur is indeed a de-wormer; you are right. It can be used to treat pinworms, etc., and it is also the standard course of treatment for the protozoan parasite e. cuniculi.

                                  LunaLove408, It’s definitely scary to think that the e.c. symptoms might return; our vet said it might cause problems again as our bunny gets older, or if she’s overly stressed. I just try to do everything I know to do to keep her immune system strong; the rest is up to her little body, but she’s a feisty little girl, and Luna sounds like she is, too.


                                • james waller
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                                    Posted By Silly Sungura on 11/18/2012 10:53 AM

                                    james waller, Panacur is indeed a de-wormer; you are right. It can be used to treat pinworms, etc., and it is also the standard course of treatment for the protozoan parasite e. cuniculi.

                                    LunaLove408, It’s definitely scary to think that the e.c. symptoms might return; our vet said it might cause problems again as our bunny gets older, or if she’s overly stressed. I just try to do everything I know to do to keep her immune system strong; the rest is up to her little body, but she’s a feisty little girl, and Luna sounds like she is, too.
                                    –thank you-for your-kind- response–,–i,m sorry to sound tearse but each website has its own mode/methods of operation–yes,high titers can be a result of the meds,–e.cuniculi are microsporidae parasites that attack the nevous system and major organs resulting in-permanent- torticollis-(head tilt)-nystagmus-(eye twitching)-,death,.–panacur-(fenbendazole)-seems to be the drug choice of the benzimidazoles,–however-if there is no improvement in say two days then i would consider-adding- chlorampenicol also  metacam,or-a-,nsaid, with probotics–or-(critical care)-lots of water,–watch those poops—-this is a very agressive protozoal parasite and time is of the essence for a favorable outcome,,–i have sucessfully treated a facial abscess with flagyl-(metrondiozole)- chlorampenicol,-metacam-(nsaid)–the entire course took over two months of 24/7 therapy–i am very intense about my veterinary care,—sincerely james waller–


                                  • skunklionshow
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                                      My netherland dwarf had head tilt several years ago.  Oddly enough, we were the 2nd head tilt case that day for our vet.  Jessi’s head tilt was not so bad, but she did have the circle walking.  We were told by our vet that 30 days min would be the course of tx.  Pancur was used and she made a full recovery.  I can’t remember how long she was on the panacur for, but I believe it was more than 30 days.  She too kept up w/ potty, food, & water.  The vet says that head tilt looks very scarey, but can be tx’d if the owners are willing to stay on the tx.  Rabbit may have some neuro effects after tx, since it technically is brain damage.  We had potty issues (just urine) that we were never able to retrain.  Getting Pee Pee Pads is better than not having our Jessica.


                                    • LunaLove408
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                                        Thank you. I also tried Metacam, for about 5 days and that didnt do anything either… I also have her on critical care. ive looked on many sites and most tell me to try these medications. But none are really working so far. She is trying to be strong and act normal. Very difficult to watch


                                      • LunaLove408
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                                          Hi, my vet also told me 30 days and since she isn’t improving i might get a CT scan . But tomorrow I am picking up more pancur for Luna, today is the 30th day and i really hope i see at least some sort of improvement soon, i don’t know what else to try . even if she has some problems i still want to keep her alive and well. I have looked at many websites but nothing new i haven’t tried..


                                        • LittlePuffyTail
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                                            http://onthewonk.com/

                                             

                                            This is a great website for rabbits with head tilt. You might find something helpful here. 

                                             

                                            (((((Luna)))))


                                          • Sarita
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                                              Did you find this article:

                                              http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/treatment.shtml

                                              This is written by the same person who wrote “Rabbit Health in the 21st Century”.


                                            • LunaLove408
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                                                yes, ive looked at this site. thank you . i cant find any new information though. 


                                              • Sarita
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                                                  I found this as well:

                                                  http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-2/e-cuniculi.html

                                                  As for new info, there may not be anything out there or there may be something that vets who treat rabbits have access to that we do not. 


                                                • LunaLove408
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                                                    thank you very much

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                                                Forum DIET & CARE Advice on E.Cunculi