Wobbly Rabbit

Question
My rabbit can hop two steps and then she rolls...and does this again.  When
she is standing she is shaking and is on her 'tippy-toes' never flat on her feet.  
Her eating habits are fine, nothing really changed other than her balancing
issue.  

I've taken her to the vet and they prescribed two medications.  Panacure and chloramphenicol Palmitate.  She has gotten slightly better but now she has
plateaued.  

She had this last summer as well.  The same medication worked, she was still
a bit wobbly but managed to hop around without rolling.

What can I do?

Thank you.

Answer
Dear Renita,

The vets have prescribed medication to cover the two most likely possiblities for her balance problem:  Encephalitozoon cuniculi, a parasite that infects the central nervous and renal systems (this is what the Panacur (fenbendazole) is for), and ear infection (which is what the broad-spectrum antibiotic, chloramphenicol, is for).  These are good choices of medication, both safe for rabbits. But if the bunny's condition deterioriates when the meds are stopped, then it may be that more aggressive measures are necessary.

Please read:

www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html

and

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

Your bunny may not have a distinct head tilt, but the causes of her problems and head tilt are often the same.  It may be time to ask the vets to consider changing the antibiotic if the chloramphenicol is not working (and this is an inconvenient antibiotic, as it really should be given *three times* a day to be most effective).  If it's an infection, then a culture and sensitivity test would indicate the most effective antibiotic to use:

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

but only if there is pus to culture.  Otherwise, it's pretty much guesswork.

If you're not sure the vets you're seeing are experienced enough with rabbits, then you can find another vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

for a second opinion.

I hope this helps.

Dana