Worried about my Bun

Hi,

I've had a bit of a scary episode with my bunny Lucky

On Friday night I came home to find my bun laid in the back of her cage, flat out and ears drooping. Normally she's sat by the bars waiting to get out and run. She was like this for a while and then she started rolling on her side, with her eyes rolling, before crawling on her belly into her box where she stayed for about half an hour.

We spoke over the phone to the vet who told us to try and get her out of the box which startled her a bit, but she was back to normal within seconds.

She suggested that she may have had a seizure and to take her to in the next morning, which we did but the vet didn't know if rabbits could have seizures or epilepsy (hence the previous post regarding vets in Jersey).

She'd had something similar the week before, but it the whole thing only lasted a short while and wasn't as bad. She was bounding around and eating withing a few minutes. We've only had her for a few weeks so thougt she was just having an 'off' moment.

I've not managed to find a vet that it a rabbit specialist, but I am going to another vet for a second opinion tomorrow. In the meantime I'd like to know if anyone else has seen this is their bunny and what it might be? From my research on the net I'm thinking maybe wry neck, although her head is not tilted apart from when she's rolling round' or maybe epilepsy.

Are there any tests that the vets can do to find out what it might be?

The whole thing has scared the life out of me (and Lucky!) and the sooner we know what it is the better, so I thank anyone who could help in advance.

Hello

Is your Rabbit a Lionhead? I ask as they can be prone to epilepitiform seizures.
As a precaution I would advise you speak with the Vet about treating your Bun for Encephalitozoon Cuniculi

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/ecuniculi.htm

I have had a Rabbit who developed seizures when he reached puberty. He had numerous fits a day, usually in his sleep. He lived a happy life lasting 7.5 years

Thanks Jack's-Jane, she's a Rex not a lion head, but I'll look into the link you gave!

BTW, Lucky tends to roll round on her side and onto her back once or twice before she flops down and rests. She does this a few times every evening, but not everytime she lays down. Is this just normal bunny behaviour or maybe related to the other seizures?

Hello, I think your rabbit could do with a bit of a work up to assess the problem. firstly any bunny showing neuro signs needs to be tested for the parasite E cuniculi as stated. also a metabolic profile to check organ function would be a good idea (ie a blood test including haematology to check for the presence of infections). there are a number of causes of seizure activity in rabbits with E cuniculi and meningitis being the most common. meningitis can be caused by Pasteurella or sometimes toxoplasmosis and will require agressive therapy. other causes include heat stroke, lead intoxication (lead paint) lack of certain vitamins, electrolyte imbalances and heart problems. the broadly used trem "floppy rabbit syndrome" is a generalised muscle weakness that is cna be transient and has many of the syndromes outlined above as a cause or factor. in your case i would get the blood work done first as this will rule out many causes even if it doesnt identify one specifically. please remember though that there is a delayed antibody response with E cuniculi so you will need to retest for that in about 4 weeks even if the first one is negative.
hope that will do for starters
goodluck

Thank you Rodney Vet. I'm taking her to the vets this afternoon so if they don't come up with anything I'll let them know your suggestions.