old age rabbit

Question
My daughters old lop-ear (age 10), has a problem with balance. He leans to the side when he hops, and leans against something when sta nding.She said when holding him to get a flea off, his eyes were flittering quickly back and forth. Any ideas would be appreciated. Naturally all the vets who specialize are off on weekends.

Answer
Dear Ed,

The most common causes for signs like this in an elderly rabbit are an inner ear infection, manifestation of a (probably lifelong) infection of Encephalitozoon cuniculi (a microsporidian parasite that infects the central nervous system and kidneys), or a stroke.

If your bunny is eating and drinking and acting otherwise normal, besides the balance problems, then he probably can wait until Monday to be seen by a good rabbit expert vet.  It's better to wait than to have someone at an emergency clinic do more harm than good (as often happens with rabbits, since few emergency clinics have a vet who knows much of anything about rabbit medicine).

Although you don't mention a head tilt, this article will still explain the many causes of loss of balance in rabbits, some of which manifest with a head tilt, and others which don't:

www.rabbit.org/tilt.html

If he seems to have weakness in his back end, please read:

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

But do get him to a good rabbit vet as soon as you can on Monday.

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope he'll be fine with a little tender, loving care.

Dana