# Odd head movement...



## arikun (Jan 6, 2011)

I just noticed that my REW Lionhead has this strange movement of her head. She will look left and then unconsciously, her head will slowly and smoothly drift in the same direction or same direction but in a downward slant. Same drift if she looks up, or tilts her head or anything. I but a cardboard box filled with hay for her[maybe she is bored?] and she was very interested! She sniffed and stretched and wiggled all about. Eventually she hopped in, but still the drift. 

Kind of like she zones out or something...I will try and get a short video of it for you guys to watch tomorrow. 

Nothing is new or different, 4 other rabbits are fine and they all came from the same lady a week ago. She was born September 3rd 2010. I haven't noticed this any other day, it just caught my eye while I was filling up their pellet bowls, water and adding hay. 

Anyone have a clue about this??


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## tonyshuman (Jan 6, 2011)

That's interesting. Sometimes bunnies with poor vision will "scan", moving their eyes or head from side to side, because they cannot see clearly. Maybe since she has pink eyes her vision is poor, and that's what's going on? Another possibility is ear infection or neurological issues.


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## arikun (Jan 6, 2011)

Poor vision was my first thought, makes a lot of sense. She does jerk/startle after she drifts and I move my hand or something. Her ears are clear and there is no smell to them. 
Either way, she is otherwise very cutesy and active, especially after I added the new box.


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## pamnock (Jan 6, 2011)

"Scanning" is not uncommon in REW's. Occasionally shaded rabbits will also exhibit this behavior.


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## Yield (Jan 6, 2011)

pamnock wrote:


> "Scanning" is not uncommon in REW's. Occasionally shaded rabbits will also exhibit this behavior.



[align=center]Sorry, jumping in on this... I just adopted a REW. Do all REW's have bad eyesight/develop bad eyesight? Or just most.. or?


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## maxysmummy (Jan 7, 2011)

is there any possibility it could be head tilt/e-cuniculi ?


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## arikun (Jan 7, 2011)

No, her head does not tilt at all unless she is drinking from the water bottle. It's very smooth and in a continues path, no sudden jerks/movements, no odd/extreme angles. Like she hit the brakes, but the car still slid a little, lol.


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## pamnock (Jan 7, 2011)

Not all REWs scan, but all REWs lack the pigment that protects the eye from excessive light. There are a number of vision problems associated with albinism, some related to photo-sensitivity.


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## Flick (Jan 7, 2011)

Is the movement like the one shown in this video?

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/cuniculi/pyrimethamine.htm

The rabbit in this video is very very old. His white eyes are due to cataracts. Although he doesn't look like it here, he really is getting excellent care. He was treated with fenbendazoe and is doing great, all things considered.


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## arikun (Jan 7, 2011)

Hard to tell. Her eyes do not move and her head glides, not jerks like that rabbit.


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## arikun (Jan 7, 2011)

Uploading 2 videos, kinda dark, just took them and the garage lighting is crap. Sorry. Will post them when they are done.
In the 1st video; 27 & 39 seconds, you can see the drift. 2nd video, 45 second.


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## arikun (Jan 7, 2011)

[flash=425,344]http://www.youtube.com/v/VvXP9qwWo_8&hl=en&fs=1[/flash]


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## arikun (Jan 7, 2011)

[flash=425,344]http://www.youtube.com/v/ss1qhhGdgK4&hl=en&fs=1[/flash]


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## pamnock (Jan 7, 2011)

It's impossible to say for certain: It could be the common scanning/tracking often seen in REWs, a neurological problem related to albinism, or any other number of factors that could effect the neuro system (including E. cuniculi).


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## mistyjr (Jan 7, 2011)

My rew jersey wooly also does this also. I was told they did that because they cant see well.


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## Tweetiepy (Jan 7, 2011)

My bunny scans a lot but then again he,s a lionhead and his fur goes out further than his eyes and I figure he can't see that well because of that. Hes a RE pointed white


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## arikun (Jan 7, 2011)

Well, she acts and moves totally normal, so I'm hoping it at least does not get worse. 
I don't know why the videos look so poor on here, if you go to Youtube, it's a lot better.


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## Buttons Mum (Jan 10, 2011)

A friend of mine had a REW Lionhead and she did exactly the same thing. They were told it may be neurological, but she never had any issues. It was almost like she was in a trance and she'd snap out of it every now and then.

A bit sick but they nicknamed her radar as that's what she looked like. Is that scanning?


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## arikun (Jan 10, 2011)

I'm going to say Pear is just scanning. I've seen her do it so many times now. She gets time out in a big run and she does it when she stops hopping or see's me go by. I'm quite sure there is nothing wrong with her health-wise. ^.^


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