Glad to be able to help.
I should add these sites, they’re really good for reading others’ experiences of caring for head tilt bunnies.
http://rabbit.org/on-the-wonk-a-site-for-headtilt-rabbits/
onthewonk.com
Enrofloxacin (Baytril) is a pretty standard antibiotic. He will probably need that for quite some time. I think Mimzy was on it for almost the whole six months after he finished the 28 days of simultaneous panacur, but he tolerated it well so it wasn’t a problem for him. We also tried using something farther into his illness called chloramphenicol but this is a very toxic drug to humans and must be handled with extreme care. If it is not necessary to use it I do not recommend it. It didn’t seem to do anything to help Mimzy anyway.
If the infection remains stubborn (i.e. more than four to six months) sometimes Penicillin injections can be prescribed with good result, but penicillin must NEVER be given orally to a bunny as it will kill off their digestive flora. There are also some cases where zithromax has helped in head tilt bunnies, but I’ve only read a few of those.
Mimzy’s head tilt at it’s worst had his head completely sideways and parallel to the floor (about a 90 degree tilt) and on his most tired days his head would also turn backwards so that he was all curled up and unable to move about without tumbling or being disoriented. His rolling was so bad for the first two weeks, I truly did not think he would survive. But he’s a tough little nut.
Another challenge a head tilt bunny faces is that the downward facing eye may need some kind of protective lubricant to keep it from picking up infections from dust and dirt that might get stuck in it. I still use a certain eye drop for Mimzy because this illness left him with really dry eyes.
Head tilt bunnies can lose weight over the course of their illness. Follow whatever advice your vet gives you about keeping weight on Binx, as Mimzy recovered enough to keep his head straight and could eat on his own, I supervised limited amounts of pelleted food intake. I never left him alone with them for fear he’d choke on them, but he never did. You can always make a pellet slurry with pellets and water and see if he’ll lap it up, but if he’s not used to them don’t give too many new foods at once.
As far as the rolling is concerned, it may do Binx some good to get a smaller pen with towels or other soft material rolled up along the sides to keep him from crashing into stuff until his balance is better. I got a 75 gallon Sterilite tub and lined it with cotton towels and padded with puppy wee pads to keep Mimzy upright, dry and comfortable. (He lost all litterbox skills at this time and has not regained them.) Of course syringe feeding and lots of greens can also cause a messy bottom on a bunny, so knowing how to gently wash that away and dry them so there is no danger of flystrike is also essential. You should never submerge a bunny in water, but only fill a small pan or litter box with a thin layer of warm water and gently rub away any sticky stuff that clings to his bottom or feet. Beware of sore hocks too, which will make him uncomfortable. Silvadene cream with help keep any raw spots on his feet from getting infected. This usually needs a prescription I think.
Is Binx an indoor or outdoor bunny? It would be best to bring him inside while he heals from this so he can be watched carefully. And has his partner also been treated with anything to keep him/her from contracting whatever gave Binx his head tilt?
I’ll try to continue posting other things I remember from Mimzy’s illness but it has been awhile and I do not recall everything. You may find some stuff helpful and other things unnecessary. I really hope Binx will pull through all this. It’s a long process and very tiring as carer, so be sure to take time for yourself to to recharge.