Head Tilt and not drinking water

Question
QUESTION: This is day 9 of my bunnie (named bunnie!)having head tilt. the first 3 days he spent at the vet's office. They stabilized him meaning he was urinating and bowels moving again(He also had ileus), gave him antibiotics (baytril) and hydrated him. I brought him home on the third day and took over his care. Made sure he was in a padded area,giving him his medicine, making sure he is clean, feeding him water, offering him food including romaine, cilantro, basil, dill, parsley, mint, unlimited supply of hay. He is  eating the dark greens pretty well, 2 to 3 leaves a day with nibbles here and there of the dill, mint, sage. Also nibbling on hay however not a lot. Showing no interest in the Timothy based pellets. My big concern is he is not drinking his water. In the last 2 days he has had an ounce. Before that he was drinking probably 3 oz aday. Still showing interest in his greens though. My question to you is how long can a rabbit go without water? At this point I am just taking it day by day. I really don't want to go back to the vet as it stresses him out so bad so want to do that as a last resort. After 14 days I will be forced to make a decision for the alternative but really hoping and praying he will come out of this after 2 weeks. Please let me know how long can he go with out water before I need to take him to the vet?

Thank you so much for any advice,

Tami

ANSWER: Dear Tami,

Please ask your vet to show you how to administer subcutaneous fluids at home.  It's not difficult, and until your bunny starts to improve, he may need this type of support, since you probably will not be able to get a sufficient amount into him orally.

Please also read:

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

I hope this helps!
Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dana, Thank you for the suggestion. I just sent my vet an email asking her. I was also wondering if you have heard about Probac and Systemajuv. I read about the success stories in my Rabbit magazine. I also read your story about Monique. It was in my 2005 Rabbit magazine. I have read the article probably about 10 times now and just reconized your name. Thank you for your inspiring story. It gave me hope. I wish the best for Monique!

Answer
Dear Tami,

I'm not personally familiar with Probac (a probiotic) nor with Systemajuv, which is just a nutritional supplement.  But I don't think they'll hurt, and they might help. So might as well try, right?

I wish I could remember the story about Monique.  I think this might have been an article about someone else's rabbit, and I was consulted?  We have had head tilt rabbits (Jamie Blue, Slooby and Hamish), but no Monique.

But I wish the best for her, too!  :)

Take care,
Dana