Encephalitozoonosis

[Stacy]

My rabbit was diagnosed with Encephalitozoonosis and his moving eye and head-bobbing stopped, he’s a bit more balanced but still not great. But, he’s not eating or drinking much. Even the supplements I’ve given him. And he’s not pooping. He’s on two medicines. My question is if anyone else has had this happen to their bunny or if anyone knows how long it usually takes for symptoms to improve?

[jerseygirl]

Hi Stacy
Sending some healing {{{vibes}}} for your boy.
How long has it been since he’s stopped eating and toileting?
You may have to take him back in for a gut stimulant.

Encephalitizoonosis is quite common in rabbits. Some Rabbits will never develop symptoms but many do. We normally refer to it here on the forum as E.C.

It’s a bit hard to say a time frame for when symptoms improve. EC can cause a wide range of different ailments and affect different areas of the body. That you have already seen a reduction of his initial symptoms is fantastic!
One of our forum leaders saw a quick turn around like that for her rabbit.
More commonly, many of us have had to see out a month of medicating before seeing large improvements.

What medicines is he on? Sometimes it is the meds that affect appetite initially.

Meclizine is a motion sickness med that some people have reported was good for their rabbits that developed nystagmus (the eye movements) or head tilt.

Anti inflammatory meds are important too.

[jerseygirl]

Were the eye movements rapid?

[Stacy]

Thank you for that info, it is so encouraging. Things I found online made it seem like he’d be off balance the rest of his life or even die. I did get a syrup from the vet last night to help digestion and appetite. He drank from a cup this morning but has a hard time with coordination so I can’t leave it in his cage in fear he will accidentally drown. He also ate some hay last night but just pushed it around this morning. Still not eating his supplements as heartily as he was 2 days ago. I’m really just glad to hear this isn’t as uncommon as I thought and knowing it could take a month and not to expect rapid results makes me feel better.

The eye movements were very rapid and uncontrollable and the head bobbing but that was gone by the next morning. They have him Sub Q fluids and 2 shots. I’m not at home so I’m not sure of the names. And 1 medicine to take every 24 hours for 30 days and 1 to take every 12 hours for 14 days.

If he’s not eating or drinking still tonight when I get home I’m to take him in for her to give him some more Sub Q to boost him a little more and get him through the weekend. Luckily I’ve been working 7-4 this week and the vet that handles rabbits is 2-8 this week at my clinic.

Also, the only balance issue he’s really having right now is that when he triess to hop/walk he loses his balance but it’s not as bad as it was. He’s still having a hard time turning around, when he does that he usually falls on his side and then take a while to scramble back up. I’ve only given him a small area as I sit with him to walk in and when he’s in his cage he usually just stays in one spot with his “bad” side against the wall.

His name is Pepper and he’s a 2 year old lop. I have 7 rabbits total but he’s really my baby and my only lop though I have 4 of his children from a surprise litter we had about a year and a half ago. (I was told he was a girl and it was too late by the time we noticed he wasn’t.)

[Stacy]

I did a quick reply (lengthy) and it didn’t post. I’ll have to reply later. 

[jerseygirl]

The eye movements were very rapid and uncontrollable and the head bobbing but that was gone by the next morning. They have him Sub Q fluids and 2 shots. I’m not at home so I’m not sure of the names. And 1 medicine to take every 24 hours for 30 days and 1 to take every 12 hours for 14 days.

The med given for 30 days is probably fenbendazole (Panacur). This is most often used for treating EC. I’m guessing the second med may be an antibiotic? Antibiotics may be given there is suspicion of a bacterial infection (like inner ear infection) causing the symptoms instead as it can look very similar to some EC infection. Also, during an active EC infection, there is a lot of inflammation going on. So there is potential for secondary bacterial infections to develop. So an antibiotic may be prescribed to cover this.

Anti inflammatory meds are important. If your bun is still showing symptoms, do chat to your vet about putting him on one of these also.

{{{Pepper}}}

You might like to view this video. It’s pretty informative without being overwhelming. It is about 2 years old, so there may even be new advances (hopefully!) on treating EC in the present day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brEsYuYz0PI&t=1s

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