E Cuniculi

Question
Hello Dana,

The other night I came home to find my rabbit not at all himself. Usually he jumps straight out of his cage to see me and races round humming to himself - but he wouldn't move at all. We picked him up and put him on the carpet and he started wobbling his head around, and falling to one side when he tried to move, and then he just flopped flat on the floor. I wrapped him up in a tea towel and stayed up with him most of the night and he started to improve a little. He took a little water when offered to him and he ate some hay. I fell asleep on the floor and was awoken by my him snuffling at my face. He was almost completely back to normal, apart from tipping over when he tried to clean himself, and the occasional stumble when he jumped in and out of his cage.

Nevertheless we took him straight to the vets. The vet said she thought he has E Cuniculi and gave him two injections and has put him of a course of Panacur for 9 days. Unfortunately he worked himself up into such a state that by the time we arrived home he had taken a turn for the worse. This was yesterday - today he has improved again and is back to how he was - just tumbling over occasionally when cleaning himself and stumbling when jumping in and out his cage. He won't eat his pellets (should we be worried about this?), however he is eating lots of hay, and although not drinking quite as much as usual, he is drinking. He is also going to the loo fine.

I am worried that the vet should have put him on a longer course of Panacur as I have read that courses should be 28 days, but I am reluctant to take him back to the vets as it had such a bad effect on him previously. Do you think I should call the vets to go on a longer course?

Will this parasite live in him now forever? I'm rather confused about how E Cuniculi 'works'. Did we catch it early in our rabbit? Or is it possible that he will deteriorate despite the fact that he's on Panacur? I'm also unsure as to why this happened to our rabbit - I understand that the parasite can live in rabbits for years, but I can't understand why this has happened now? I had been remarking on the day it happened how well our rabbit looked, and when I left the house he was absolutely fine. It all seemed to happen so quickly.

Is it possible to completely recover from E Cuniculi? I know I should have asked the vet all these questions, but my rabbit was in such a state I just wanted to get him home as soon as possible.

Is there anything we should do in the future to stop this happening again?

Also, we have a pet hamster who lives in the same room as him - is there any chance she might get it too?

As I say, apart from the odd tumble (which doesn't seem to bother him in the slightest) he is completely himself.

Thanks so much for your help with this

Jessica

Answer
Dear Jessica,

Although E. cuniculi has been implicated as a cause for signs such as what your rabbit is showing, it is not the only thing that can cause this type of loss of balance.  And although your rabbit does not appear to have a head tilt, many of the same things that cause torticollis ("wry neck") in rabbits also cause the types of balance problems you are seeing.  I don't know how the vet diagnosed the E. cuniculi, but unless other examinations and diagnostic tests were done, I would not assume this is E. cuniculi.  It also could be an ear infection or other problem.

Please read this article, and share it with the vet, if you feel she will be receptive:

www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html

It was written by an *expert* rabbit vet, and is very thorough.  I hope your vet will consider making sure there are no other contributing factors here.

And yes, 9 days is not considered a therapeutic course for E. cuniculi, though even 28 days may not kill the parasites.  Results are mixed, with some rabbits apparently responding well, and others not much.  No one knows why.  Another drug, ponazuril (toltrazuril) may be promising for treating E. cuniculi, and some vets in the US are using it.  No firm results yet.

The hamster is not at risk of this.  

Be sure the vet you see is *very* experienced with rabbits:

www.rabbit.org/vets

And if bun is still not eating, please read these for help:

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

and

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

I hope this helps.

Dana