Head Tilt

[missmuffetn3]

Hello. My NZ developed head tilt.
I waited about 10 days before taking her to the vet. I got steroids and antibiotics for her. She is clearly feeling better but I cannot get her to turn her head back to the normal position.

Has anyone else had a rabbit with head tilt? If so, what did you do? And did your rabbit recover?

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

I've had two rabbits with Head Tilt (specifically Wry Neck)
One was an old breeding Doe. She didn't make it because she had a lot of other things going on
But the other is one of her grandsons, he's had it since he was a week old, now he's 3-4 years old and has had no problems other than he runs around in circles all the time

 

[missmuffetn3]

Is the google info on Wry neck beneficial or is there a specific source I should go to learn more about it?
She threw beautiful kits and was a great momma. Now with her spontaneous rolling I’m not sure I should breed her any more.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

Is the google info on Wry neck beneficial or is there a specific source I should go to learn more about it?
She threw beautiful kits and was a great momma. Now with her spontaneous rolling I’m not sure I should breed her any more.

I'd go ahead and stop breeding her since even being with the Buck could cause problems

I'll have to check for Google sources later, a few years ago a did a bunch of research on it for a class

 

[Alaska Satin]

Is the google info on Wry neck beneficial or is there a specific source I should go to learn more about it?
She threw beautiful kits and was a great momma. Now with her spontaneous rolling I’m not sure I should breed her any more.

Wry neck can result from several different causes, including injury, but the one that I've personally encountered is the microorganism Encephalitazoon cunuiculi. E. cuniculi has been identified as a protozoan, but it has fungal qualities including transmission by spores, among other other common routes, like exposure to/ingestion of contaminated urine. The parasite is usually found in the kidneys, but when the rabbit is stressed it can migrate to the nervous system, commonly the brain and/or eye(s). The rabbits I've dealt with have had various symptoms including wry neck, vertigo, rolling, and weepy/cloudy/bulging eyes, depending on where it lodged (eye/eyes or brain or both). This microorganism appears to be fairly prevalent, and only under certain situations does it become problematic.

We have had a couple of rabbits come through it, and though most of them never recovered enough for me to feel comfortable breeding them, one was quite healthy and had several litters after her recovery. We don't see it often, but over the years, for our rabbits and those of others, we've used fenbendazole, ivermectin, or neomycin oral, with moderate success in does; bucks seem to go downhill more quickly and we've never had one pull through. It does take a while to get better. The eyes would clear up first, usually starting after the first dose, and then their head tilt would begin to slowly right itself. I don't believe any of them ever got their head completely back into the right position, but it was improved enough that they didn't roll or fall over anymore, and had no trouble eating and drinking normally.

If your rabbit is still rolling, I would definitely not breed her. If the torticollis is due to injury, that would preclude breeding; and since E. cuniculi is not a bacterium, if that's what's going on with your doe, antibiotics may not have really addressed the issue, although as noted above, we did have success with neomycin oral, which is an antibiotic. If it was me, I'd try one of the therapies named above (fenbendazole would be my first choice), and give her time. Success will be indicated by a slow righting of her head and cessation of rolling.

Note that this microorganism appears to be zoonotic (can be passed to and cause problems in people), so if there are immunocompromised people in your life, be conscious of exposure.

Here are a couple of related threads, one with a photo of our Mini Rex Moonlight, who bred successfully for years after recovery:
https://rabbittalk.com/threads/rabbit-with-hole-in-lip-and-a-rabbit-with-ec.36885/#post-357884
https://rabbittalk.com/threads/unbalanced-17-day-old-kit.37223/#post-361268

Here are some technical papers regarding the organism and its action in rabbits:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9785705/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7337189/

And this is an article from the House Rabbit Society, which I don't usually rely on for information because of certain biases generally present in their publications, but this one has a lot of data from a study on E. cuniculi they did in California:
https://rabbit.org/health/e-cuniculi/

 

[Scooter1A]

My doe is rolling badly now, no wry neck and no other issues but she can't hop now without falling over. I may put her down tomorrow or let the vet if they know anything give her some antibiotic.

 

[Alaska Satin]

My doe is rolling badly now, no wry neck and no other issues but she can't hop now without falling over. I may put her down tomorrow or let the vet if they know anything give her some antibiotic.

It might have been a good idea to get her on Safeguard (fenbendazole) right away, but you could still try. If she's lasted this long, there might still be a chance to pull her out of it.

 

[Scooter1A]

It might have been a good idea to get her on Safeguard (fenbendazole) right away, but you could still try. If she's lasted this long, there might still be a chance to pull her out of it.

Yes totally my bad. Vet was closed yesterday I will see if that is a possibility today. Thanks.

 

[kusanar314]

Yes totally my bad. Vet was closed yesterday I will see if that is a possibility today. Thanks.

You don't need a vet for safeguard. That's something you can just buy from a store.

 

[Scooter1A]

You don't need a vet for safeguard. That's something you can just buy from a store.

Tractor Supply has

Merck Safe-Guard Horse Dewormer Paste, 25g.​

I'll go get it. So just a dab in her mouth? She is 7.8 lbs and is almost 3 years old.

 

[Phrick]

Tractor Supply has

Merck Safe-Guard Horse Dewormer Paste, 25g.​

I'll go get it. So just a dab in her mouth? She is 7.8 lbs and is almost 3 years old.

Yeah, a dab should do it. If you can't get it in her mouth smearing it on her feet is a way to get her to lick it off - i've had buns wipe off a glob and ignore it, which is why I started spreading it more - it doesn't give them as much of an option haha

 

[Scooter1A]

Yeah, a dab should do it. If you can't get it in her mouth smearing it on her feet is a way to get her to lick it off - i've had buns wipe off a glob and ignore it, which is why I started spreading it more - it doesn't give them as much of an option haha

ok thanks will do. I'll try a piece of apple first

 

[Scooter1A]

If I don't see improvement, should I redose and if so, how long should I wait? And if I do see improvement do I redose? First time I've had a sick rabbit. Almost glad it happened, now I'll watch for illness more closely with others. I think it's weird she stopped liking pellets. She has a big appetite.

 

[Alaska Satin]

If I don't see improvement, should I redose and if so, how long should I wait? And if I do see improvement do I redose? First time I've had a sick rabbit. Almost glad it happened, now I'll watch for illness more closely with others. I think it's weird she stopped liking pellets. She has a big appetite.

Looking at my notes from way back, we treated a Mini Rex doe suffering from wry neck+eye infection w/fenbendazole daily for 16 days, then .3ml Ivermax 2x at 7-day interval. She was in pretty tough shape, but it was resolved well enough that a year later this was Moonlight with a healthy litter of four:

 

[Scooter1A]

I gave her drops of ivermectin on the neck this morning and around 2pm gave the Safeguard orally. So she will get only Safeguard daily now. OK, thanks for the help.

 

[Scooter1A]

She has improved after 8 SafeGuard treatments but I don't think she will ever recover fully. All that I can see is wrong is the rolling. Seems her right side was affected. She wouldn't take the bit of apple with the SafeGuard yesterday, well she took half of it. Her appetite has increased but still no interest in pellets. Her poop looks better. She doesn't seem to be drinking although her water is always fresh and available. So she goes to the garden with me daily and seems content to sit and eat grass and dandelions. She feels boney to me.