Bunny with Head Tilt

Question
Hiya,

I am very concerned about my rabbit, hes about 8 months old, and on monday evening he was playing in the garden.. and when it was time to go back into the shed (where they eat and sleep etc) my husband picked him up and kneeled down to put him in the shed, when the rabbit jumped and slipped and fell on his side. Since then, his head has been tilted to one side. However, on monday he was really bad, because he wouldn;t walk, drink or eat, he actually was walking in circles. So, I took him to the vet, and they gave him an injection. He got better over night, and I took him to the vet the following day. They said he was better now and he won't need an injection but i refused and said to give him something else, because to me he still was not himself. They said not to bring him back and that he is ok.

As the days went by, he got worser and now (saturday) his heads tilted to the side again, he eats, but not as much, and he sometimes loses his balance. I took him to the vet today, and they have given him tablets that we should disolve in water, its something to do with the oxygen in his brain.

(My husband things something is worng with his leg, but the vets said nothing is wrong with his leg, its his head)

The vet today said that he will never go back to normal, but there shud be a little improvement over time.. slowly.

BUT... we want our little bunny back.. the way he was.. we want him to enjoy his life like he was before.. getting into little mischiefs.. lol

i wanted to ask you.. is what my vet is saying true (because quite frankly - i dont seem to trust our vets at the moment)

is there anything that we can do to get him back to normal..

will he get better?

- Kiran

Answer
Dear Kiran,

It's not clear from your description, but do you think this injury occurred because of the fall from your husband's arms?  If so, it may be true that there will be slow recovery over time.  Traumatic injury resulting in head tilt is sometimes not as curable as tilt from other causes.

However, I would try to find another rabbit-savvy vet for a second opinion.  You can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Please also read:

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

and especially:

www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html

which was written by a rabbit expert vet, and covers *all* the possible causes and treatments of head tilt in rabbits.

I hope this helps you get him on the road to recovery.  It may take a while, but it's worth it.

Dana