Nala the Lionhead

Question
I have a 2 year old lionhead that has had some unusual symptoms.  It stated with a eye infection in April that was treated and cleared up.  About four weeks later, I noticed his head going from side to side moving rapidly from time to time.  His eyes were also darting while this was happening.  I took him to the vet where she took an x ray of his head, scoped his ears, and did a e cuniculi blood test.  She found no ear infection and decided he most likely had the e cunicule and treated him for that for four weeks.  The blood test came back negative also.  It has obviously been quite some time since all this and Nala is doing well but he still had these spells.  We have noticed that he only has these episodes if he is being carried by one of us.  He never does it if he is in his cage or on the floor.  If he is doing it and we put him down it stops rather quickly.  I know he is not stressed out by being held because he loves the attention and has always been handled alot.  He is very social.  It is the wierdest thing.  I worry that one day he will have a worse symptom but so far it has not happened.  He eats very well and continues to act like himself.  If you have any information please let me know.  


Thank you,
Jodi

Answer
Dear Jodi,

The movement of the eyes from side to side is known as nystagmus, and it means that the bunny is having an episode of vertigo (dizziness).  Since he has a history of runny eye, and is a Lionhead (notorious for dental problems and other head disorders...), my suspicion is that he has the beginnings of an inner ear infection, possibly related to molar or incisor root problems.  

Please read this to get the connection between teeth and runny eyes:

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

Early signs like this can be a warning of things to come, and I would not be surprised if he eventually (or even suddenly) developed a head tilt.  Please read this, and share it with your vet (it was written by a renowned rabbit expert veterinarian):

www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html

for some additional ideas.  I hope this doesn't develop further, but nystagmus *and* runny eyes together are a bit of a red flag that something could be developing.  

I hope your little guy will be fine, but do keep a sharp eye out for any sign of head tilt, scratching at his ears, drooping of one ear, etc., which would be a sign that this is getting worse.

I'm with your vet that antibiotics should be reserved until you need them, but if this does get worse, know that we've had excellent success at resolving problems like this with a combination of bicillin injections and zeniquin (marbofloxacin).  You might talk to your vet about this, and consider that treatment to prevent an incipient infection from developing fully might be something to try.

I hope this helps.

Dana