Panacur and E.Cuniculi

Question
Hi I have seen some of your responses to Twiggs.

I have a rabitt (2 year old lion haired lop) and recently he started drinking about 200ml of water per day, which from some websites said was normal during hot weather...(this is england)

yesterday we noticed that he had trouble with balance and would fall onto his side, we immedietly took him to the vets. The vet put him on 0.4ml per day ( for 7 days) of panacur.

Last night I must admit I expected him to pass away he looked that ill, but this morning he seems a lil more better and is eating but still drinking loads..although he is still having trouble with balance and does fall over ( so he is spending most of is time in hutch even though we are keeping it open as long as possible.

so:

1) As i have seen that most people seem to be getting a higher dose and for longer should the vet have prescribed more, do we need to go back to vet for more tests?

2) Will he get any better, will the medecine help?

3) is there any tips that you can provide in caring for him, as he is no longer using his litter tray we are trying to make sure that he is clean but apart from stroking he does not like us checking his rear.

Many thanks

Regards

Ray

Answer
Dear Ray,

Has the vet taken blood from the bunny to check his renal function?  E. cuniculi does infect the renal system, and can cause kidney damage as well as neurological damage.  But kidney disease can be from other causes, as well.  

I think it would be wise to have a blood panel and complete blood chemistry done on your bunny to see if there is evidence of some other reason for his obvious signs of renal disease (excessive drinking; neurological symptoms).  This can be caused by his ingestion of something toxic, or it could be a congenital problem.  If it's chronic, it's harder to treat (and care should be taken with subQ fluid therapy, as too much fluids can do more harm than good), but if it's acute (and bloodwork may tell the vet more about this), then there may be treatments that can arrest any further damage and allow him to live a relatively normal life.

If he has E. cuniculi, the panacur might kill off the parasites.  But damage to the kidneys is pretty much permanent; the kidneys do not heal themselves well at all.

The usual dose we use for panacur in treatment of E. cuniculi is 20mg/kg once per day for 28 days.  

Once the bloodwork comes back, the vet will be able to tell you if any other treatments for this condition are warranted.

I hope this helps.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana