unusual head position

Question
Our rabbit is about 4 months old. About one moth ago we noticed that he started to tilt his head to one side and upwards, which now become much more pronouced behavior.  Our impression is, that he can only see with one eye and insted of looking "head on", he tries to put his good eye in central positin. Do you think this is a possible explanation?  Is this something that rabbits do? What could be other reasons for doing so?

Answer
Dear Wendy,

The sign you describe is known variously as "wry neck," "torticollis," and "head tilt," and there are various possible causes, each with its own appropriate treatment.  For a technical rundown of all the possible causes and treatments (written by a rabbit expert veterinarian), please see:

www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html

and for another article with more hands-on information:

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

You will need to get your bunny to a good rabbit vet ASAP:  the sooner treatment is begun, the better the chances for full recovery.  This probably has little or nothing to do with his eyes, but the eyes *can* be affected if no treatment is undertaken.  

Please find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

and feel free to print and share Dr. Brown's article with the vet, if you feel the vet is amenable to such information.

Hope this helps!

Dana