Headtilt cases - written by bunny slaves
Wonky Bunny: Siouxsie
Bunny slave: Lisa (UK)
Saving Siouxsie
By the editor of Bunny Mad Magazine and owner of the wonderful bunny creations website.
Just weeks after saying goodbye to Joon, another
member of the Bunny Mad family, Siouxsie, fell ill.
She hadn’t been herself for some time and we put it
down to arthritis as she is now seven years old. Then
one morning she came to greet me and her head was
tilted. My heart sank as I knew instantly she had
headtilt. After losing Benny to this just six months
before I felt sick I couldn’t cope with losing another
bunny friend. I knew I had to be strong and keep telling
myself that many bunnies do survive this very
distressing illness and that I was going to get her
through this!
I worked with my vet and Siouxsie had many treatments
over the following weeks including Baytril,
Cephalaxin, Panacur, Metacam and steroids. Nothing
seemed to be working and she was deteriorating.
Her head tilt became more and more apparent and
then her legs began to wobble. She started to bump
into things and I began to worry she may hurt herself
so I decided to bring her indoors. I made up a cage
for her and padded the edges with towels so she
couldn’t hurt herself and made her as comfortable as
possible. It was much better having her indoors as I
could keep a closer eye on her.
When she hit rock bottom it was heart breaking. She
would curl up in a ball as this seemed easier than trying
to stand. She would become so very dizzy and you could
see her eyes roll as she tried to get her bearings and
frequently roll and flip to try and right herself.
I would calmly talk to her and give her a help in hand,
she would then soon settle. It was so hard not to get
panicky and emotional as it was so distressing seeing her
like this. I knew that wouldn’t do either of us any good
so I had to focus! Easier said than done! This was the
hardest part of her illness as it was so hard to ever
believe she would recover but I knew I had to try and
stay positive. One thing I did discover was although
Siouxsie looked so poorly she didn’t in fact seem to be in
too much pain. I would often catch her rolled over on her back
munching on a few herbs!
As her condition worsened I did extensive research on the
Internet to try and find other treatments. I knew there was
still hope for her as her appetite was still very good. It
was at this point I was very fortunate to be put in touch with a
lovely lady called Katy Hill. Having gone through this herself
with her bunny Lara and come out the other side, she knew how
hard it was. Katy had discovered that there just wasn’t
enough information out there and is currently putting together a
website about headtilt to try and help others. Katy was so helpful
and gave me some new ideas to try, offered support and emailed me almost
every day to find out how Siouxsie was doing. I realise now how
much it helps to have the support of someone who understands what
you are going through it, be it a friend or family member. Staying
positive can be hard on your own!
I decided that I wanted to try something new as nothing was working
so I talked to my vet about Penicillin. He was a bit hesitant at first as
like most drugs it isn’t licensed for rabbits and can have side effects, but
we agreed we needed to try something new. The Penicillin did help a
little and brought Siouxsie out of her spinning phase and she began to
stand again, although her progress was very very slow. Katy had told
me about Zithromax (Azithromycin) an antibiotic which she had used
for her bunny Lara with amazing results. I talked to my vet about this
who was very understanding but did express concerns as she had been
taught that this drug could be potentially fatal in rabbits. She agreed to
consult with Katy’s vet who had used it on over one hundred rabbits
with no ill effects. After talking to him she was much happier about giving
it ago but it would still have to be my decision. Siouxsie had been ill
now for five weeks and I felt that we had to try it.
After just two days on the Zithromax, Siouxsie began to improve dramatically,
it was quite remarkable, it felt like a miracle! Each day she
grew stronger and began to walk without falling over and her head
slowly started to correct itself. Two weeks on and she was 99% better
and was enjoying the garden again. When I saw Siouxsie do her first
binky I knew she was better! It brought tears to my eyes as I never
thought I would ever see her do that again! It has now been eight weeks
since she fell ill and she is like a younger version of herself! A few
months ago she was happy to just sit in one place but now she explores
the garden with enthusiasm and leaps and bounds when the mood catches
her. She is completely better and the only remnant of the headtilt is
when she is resting and her head still slightly tilts but it is common for
bunnies to be left with a partial tilt.
I hope this story gives hope to anyone else nursing their bunny. Never
give up and always try to stay positive. For those of you, like myself,
who have sadly lost bunnies through headtilt I would like to dedicate
this story to you.
After saying goodbye to two of my bunnies within six months, when Siouxsie
fell ill with headtilt, I was determined to save her!
Please note that I am not an expert and Zithromax may not work for
all cases of headtilt. I wanted to share my information with you in the
hope it may help other bunnies out there but am by no means prescribing
it. Zithromax is not licenced for animal use and the decision to use it
must be made by you and your vet.
