Bobby Had A Fit Today :-(

My four year bun, Bobby, had a fit this afternoon which was pretty scary. We've not seen her do it before so came as a shock.

We were just in the animals' room talking to the piggies and buns when Bobby started to move really strangely. She was sat near her food bowl and curled her head under her body and went kinda skew-wiff. I couldn't figure what she was doing and where her head was. I lifted her out of the cage and realised she was fitting; her paws were going crazy and her mouth and nose were really wet. She eventually stopped and was not herself for a while, felt very hot and her breathing was fast; she was clearly stressed.

We called the vet who told us to take her straight down, but they didn't rush themselves at all despite us saying what happened and that we were worried. They just continued with their appointments, with people picking up their pets. It was ridiculous, I was really worried. When Bobby was finally seen the vet couldn't give us an answer. She tested her blood to see if she was diabetic but it was normal. Other than that she didn't offer us any advice. She just kept saying Bobby's a really fat rabbit and asked is she's been spayed, which she's not. Bobby is actually in the PDSA fit club and we're trying to get her more mobile and lose weight but the vet talked it down by saying it's virtually impossible to get rabbits to lose weight because 'they're not like wild rabbits'. It really annoyed me. And I know Bobby needs spaying but by this vet's own advice a while ago, Bobby needs to lose weight before having an operation.

I'm really worried about what the fit meant: what causes fits? I was told that I shouldn't have picked her up when she was fitting but I didn't know any different. I just wanted to help her. Is there anything I should know that I don't about what causes fits? Your advice is really appreciated!

Kind regards
Becky

Didn't want to read and run. How scary, I would have totally panicked. I would assume rabbits can get epilepsy like most animals can and sometimes brain tumours can cause seizures. Is there a different vet you could consult? I would have been a bit upset as you were that they didn't treat it as urgent and it doesn't sound like they were very helpful. Hopefully more people will see your post tomorrow and reply. Hugs in the meantime.

I'm not sure I'm afraid, but it would be worth asking for a referral to a rabbit specialist if your vet cant answer your questions.

If it helps, my vet has told me cafeine and chocolate make buns fit (this was when B ate a lot of chocolate) and that if he fitted to put a heavyish towel over him to stop him hurting himself (I assume to stop him moving about too much/bang into stuff?) and just wait till he stopped. He also said to keep him in low lighting, quiet with as little stress or excitement as possible, to avoid setting it off. I'm sorry, I dont know how much of the advice he gave me is transferable, but thought I'd post it in case it helped.

As regards to her weight, if when you have time you could post her diet on a thread I'm sure people will be able to help with getting it right and helping her lose weight, and tips on how to get her more exercise too, thougt I'd mention it but didnt want to get your thread off track with suggestions on what you can do.

Providing they have a constant space for excersise and prper diet then there's no reson a bun should struggle to lose weight (unless there was a health problem of course). Personally it doesn't sound like you vet is very rabbit savvy have you tried changing vets? I can't really advise on fitting as I don't know anything about fits in bunnies but I would presume there would be an underlying health problem. It must have been terrifying to watch though! Poor you and poor her!

I would definitely make sure she has lost weight before putting her under any kind of GA, an overweight animal (or human) will absorb some of the anaesthetic and it will take them longer to recover so it can be very dangerous for small animals, especially bunnies.
Before thinking of putting her on a diet, however, I would certainly try to find out the cause of this fit and get her checked over by a vet before changing anything.

I hope she is feeling better and you aren't too upset over the whole thing!

Poor bun.
I would also recommend getting a second opinion if you're not happy.
Do you know why your bun is overweight? Sometimes it can be too much fruit or food (like pellets/muesli) and not enough hay. Sometimes rabbits can't eat enough hay due to teeth problems. Or arthritis can cause difficulty moving. If you and a vet can establish a reason for the weight it should be easier to set up a weight loss plan. (If you haven't already done that.)

I don't know about the fit but it must have been scary. Perhaps you can make a thread asking for a rabbits specialist vet in your area?

I too would seek a second opinion

There are several possible causes of seizures including bacterial ear infections, encephalitozoon cuniculi (EC), lead poisoning

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/Epilepsy_Bears.htm

If your Vet is not prepared to carry out any diagnostics then I would request that he/she refer you on to a Vet who will.

Good luck.

Oh poor Bobby, no advice I'm afraid just didn't want to read and run. How is she today, thinking of you and sending vibes too xx

I am so sorry your bunny fitted it is very frightening to watch

We have had several bunnies have seizures and the main cause has been E. cuniculi or a brain tumour.

How scary If you're in North Yorkshire you could ask for a referral to Frances Harcourt-Brown in Harrogate, she's a rabbit specialist and one of the best in the country. I hope you can get some answers. Sending lots of vibes for Bobby xx

Thanks very much for all the replies. I'm sorry I didn't respond and thank you earlier, I thought I hadn't had any replies but I'd not marked my post to be notified of replies. Silly me!

As far as I know Bobby hadn't eaten anything untoward. She has been in the living room that morning but was okay until that fit later on in the day. Regarding her weight, it's been a combined issue of not enough exercise and too much nugget food. I hadn't realised I was putting too many nuggets in and that she may have been eating Huey's food too. They always have tonnes of hay to munch through which she's happy doing. She's not really an active bun too, not like Lucy. She can run like a crazy beast but Bobby would rather lay around. I'm trying to get her more interested in playing in a hope to shift some of that weight.

The only thing I can think of is Bobby ears. For a long while she's had a problem with excess ear wax and I have to keep cleaning her ears out and using Canaural to treat it. She continues to shake her head about, not very often, but enough for me to notice. Bacterial ear infection was suggested as a cause to the fit, if Bobby doesn't have an infection (there's no swelling, hotness, smell, discharge other than the wax) can excessive wax in the ears or ear mites do the same thing and cause a fit?

I'm still feeling really annoyed about the vet and how little she did. The only thing she did was check Bobby's blood for diabetes and weigh her. I'm annoyed she didn't think to check her ears. A major problem we have though is serious money issues. My parents had to pay the consultation fee for us, it's that bad. Bobby's in the PDSA fit club but they won't help us financially and with Bobby's health care because we don't fall in their catchment area, so we're stuck. Not an ideal situation.

Thanks for the advice though, it means a lot to know I can come here for help and support. If there's anything else you can think of or suggest, I'm all ears! (ugh, no pun intended!)

Becky x

P.S Bobby's quite happy in herself right now, no more fits since, and she's having fun exploring the living room and keeps coming over to chin my foot, lol.

Have you ever had her waxy ears checked by a vet? It is definately something I'd want checked out. I'd also want her treated or tested for EC - I believe many vets skip the testing and just treat it.

As daunting as money problems are, I think you need to do a lot of research by yourself then go armed with this to a rabbit specialist as soon as you are able, maybe pay day as its nearly the end of the month, sooner if you can, because I got the distinct impression from my vet that fits arent something that bunnies often survive from. Obviously the fit my bun could possibly have had would have been chocolate induced so perhaps different.

As for her weight, you may find that once she shifts it she may be more active. I would give her all her pellets in a treat ball, and reduce the amount of pellets she gets a day to between a tablespoon and an eggcup.

cavy.girl said:

Thanks very much for all the replies. I'm sorry I didn't respond and thank you earlier, I thought I hadn't had any replies but I'd not marked my post to be notified of replies. Silly me!

As far as I know Bobby hadn't eaten anything untoward. She has been in the living room that morning but was okay until that fit later on in the day. Regarding her weight, it's been a combined issue of not enough exercise and too much nugget food. I hadn't realised I was putting too many nuggets in and that she may have been eating Huey's food too. They always have tonnes of hay to munch through which she's happy doing. She's not really an active bun too, not like Lucy. She can run like a crazy beast but Bobby would rather lay around. I'm trying to get her more interested in playing in a hope to shift some of that weight.

The only thing I can think of is Bobby ears. For a long while she's had a problem with excess ear wax and I have to keep cleaning her ears out and using Canaural to treat it. She continues to shake her head about, not very often, but enough for me to notice. Bacterial ear infection was suggested as a cause to the fit, if Bobby doesn't have an infection (there's no swelling, hotness, smell, discharge other than the wax) can excessive wax in the ears or ear mites do the same thing and cause a fit?

I'm still feeling really annoyed about the vet and how little she did. The only thing she did was check Bobby's blood for diabetes and weigh her. I'm annoyed she didn't think to check her ears. A major problem we have though is serious money issues. My parents had to pay the consultation fee for us, it's that bad. Bobby's in the PDSA fit club but they won't help us financially and with Bobby's health care because we don't fall in their catchment area, so we're stuck. Not an ideal situation.

Thanks for the advice though, it means a lot to know I can come here for help and support. If there's anything else you can think of or suggest, I'm all ears! (ugh, no pun intended!)

Becky x

P.S Bobby's quite happy in herself right now, no more fits since, and she's having fun exploring the living room and keeps coming over to chin my foot, lol.

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Did the fit occur soon after using Canaural ?

Is Bobby a Lop eared Rabbit ?

Its scary when your bun has a fit. When Pipkin had hers I thought she was dying. Thankfully shes only ever had the one. Just as in humans if bun is fitting move anything from her vicinity that she may hit against & put a towel on top of her (small animals only) & if you can place something soft under her head then do so
It was disgusting that the vet didnt take Bobby in & check her as soon as you arrived. Should it ever happen again (& god forbid that it does) when you arrive at the vets tell the receptionist that bun either stopped breathing or has had difficulty doing so. They will take bun in straight away.

Thought this would be useful for the weight issue, this is advice issued by the RWAF. Its got a lot of info about helping rabbits lose weight. They reccommend 1-2 tablespoons of pellets according to size is what healthy buns should need.

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/ROSpring10-Bodyconditionscore.pdf