My bunny Bandit

Question
My little Bandit will be 8 years in March.  He has been receiving adequan injections for his arthritis every 3 weeks, he is also on Metacam 0.35 ml. He has problems with his front legs sliding to the side. I noticed a couple of times during the recent weeks that he suddely fell to the side and seemed to attack his hind legs.  Is it possible that adequan can cause seizures or allergies?

Answer
Dear Ute,

This could be more than arthritis.  In rabbits this age, we sometimes see the first onset of neurological signs due to infection by a protist parasite, Encephalitozoon cuniculi.  This can be treated with ponazuril and/or fenbendazole (NOT albendazole!), but treatment should be started as soon as signs start to develop to arrest further degeneration.

You can read more about this parasite and the signs it causes in rabbits here:

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

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

And if you Google "encephalitozoon cuniculi" or "E. cuniculi" you'll find a lot more information.

If you're not sure your current vet is very experienced with rabbit medicine, you might want to check here for a rabbit savvy vet who can give you a second opinion:

http://www.rabbit.org/vet

I hope this helps.  Sending healing thoughts.

Dana