dizzy rabbit, is it the head tilt?

Question
Dear Dana,

I have a 6 1/2 year old male french lop. He's had 2 or 3 abscesses in the past, but he's been back to normal again.  It happened over a year ago.

About 2 weeks ago, I noticed he started getting tired of the same food.  As I had done before, I switched to another brand.  He had tried it before and seemed to like it, but this time as I changed it, the following day he completely stopped eating.  I waited one full day and he just had no appetite whatsoever nor was he defecating.

I immediatly took him to the vet and my vet said that he had gas problems, that it must have been the sudden change of food.  It was a little odd because in the past, when I changed foods, he would easily digest it and eat it.  So the vet told me to give him 0,8 ml of Plasil 3 times a day and 1.5 ml of Mylicon also 3 times a day.  

I began feeding him the Critical Care and within 3-4 days his appetite began to open up a bit, not completely but a little bit.  His droppings came out perfect and it seemed like he was getting back to normal.  

The only odd thing was that he started peeing on himself, like as if he couldnt control it.  I told the vet and he did another check up on him thinking it might be a kidney failure or antying, but according to results he was fine, even better than the last check up a year ago. The vet also check his molars (my rabbit had his front teeth removed about 3 or 4 years ago)  and said that they werent at their best state, rather he told me he had to remove one of them because of its terrible state.  

Two days passed and he began to eat a little more. Then on the third day which was yesturday I heard him making this rattle on the floor.  I looked over and he was hopping in circles, but uncontrollably.  I immediatly held him and petted him but he seemed so nervous and tense and his head kept wanting to turn to the right.  I looked at his eyes and they also kept moving back and forth.

I had heard of the head tilt that rabbits get, but I notice he doesnt have the tilt, he just keeps his head turned to the right, not tilted.  Is it the same thing?

After that first time, he's been doing it constantly either every 10 minutes or every 1 hour.  I feel so sad to see him be like this, he's never been like this before.  The only thing I've noticed is that a couple of days earlier he would run in circles but in a wider and slower turns, not as chaotic as this time.  I thought he was just being curious or playful, but it seems like it got to him earlier.  

And the fact that he would pee on himself, now he does it all the time, but now it makes sense why.  

My main question is, is this the head tilt? or something different? His head isnt tilted, he just seems to move it to the right constantly in a dizzy way.  Ive placed a towel over him to keep him from turning in circles, does it help him or does it make it worse? I try to pet him every time he goes out of control, but its getting worse.  I already have a vet appointment today in 2 hours, I just want to know if this is the head tilt problem or something completely different? and can this be cured or could this kill him?

I have a video of him doing this on facebook.  I placed it there on purpose for my vet to see, if yould like to see it, let me know.  

Thank you so much for your time and help!!

gaby

Answer
Dear Gabriela,

This does sound like the start of torticollis/head tilt.  The combination with urinary tract problems makes me wonder whether a parasite, Encephalitozoon cuniculi, might be contributing to this problem.  Please see:

www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html

for a full veterinary overview of all the possible causes of head tilt (and share it with your vet), and also see:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/tilt.html

for more information that's more anecdotal.

If the vet agrees that this could be due to E. cuniculi, then ask about administering Panacur (fenbendazole) and/or ponazuril to arrest the problem.  If there is an inner or middle ear infection also contributing, a good first choice for a problem like this is Penicillin-G Procaine/Benzathine (dual acting) injections, as many head abscesses are caused by bacteria sensitive to this drug.

I hope this helps.

Dana