Bunny ailment

Question
QUESTION: I have 2 dwarf bunnies and they are both about 3 years old and housed separately.  I just went to take Smokey out and I noticed his head is turned to the side.  I held him and he can't straighten his head out.  Also his one eye is moving rapidly back and forth.  My vet has left for the day and I have to pick my daughter up from work soon.   What do you think this is ?  A stroke or something ?  Thank you,  Sheila
ANSWER: Sheila

You need to call your vets emergency answering service or take your bunny to the nearest 24 hour animal hospital.  He could be having a stroke, he could have the beginning stages of wry-neck, he could be having seizures.  Its hard to tell but that rabbit is in trouble.  Most vets have an answering service.  If he doesn't and you are in or close to a city most cities have a 24 hour animal hospital.  Please go right away as soon as you get your daughter don't wait.  You might have to drive a few hours but if you wait until tomorrow it may be to late.

I will pray for your little bunny I hope he will be ok.

:( Pam

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

QUESTION: I knew I'd have to get him to the vet but I just wanted an idea of what I was dealing with before I picked my daughter up.  SO thank you so much for your quick response.  The vet gave me Batril for him for the next 10 days.  She did say there was no guarantee that his neck would get completely better which surprised me.  Then to make matters worse, I got a call later from a friend of mine who has a friend with bunnies who said he should've gotten penicillan.  What do yo think ?

Answer
No No Penicillin kills rabbits if its given orally, shots are only used for certain types of illnesses like bunny syphilis for example.  They try to stay away from Penicillin because of the very bad side effects.  Baytril is the right choice.    Baytril is the drug of choice for almost all bunny ailments.  If he does have wry-neck the next few weeks he might need extra attention and help eating.  However many rabbits successfully survive even though their heads still kind of tilt.  They are still the same happy bunnies they were before.

Thank you for taking him in and I am so happy you asked about the Penicillin.  I do assure you that Baytril is definitely the appropriate med.

Pam