Update: RIP Romeo <3

I have been absolutely hysterical tonight! 110% hysterical! My new baby rabbit is 5 months old, I have had him since end of September now and he's had me in pieces. He plays dead, I don't even know if its called playing dead but when i first brought him home at 8 weeks, he was stiff i thought he was dying. A couple of times since i thought he was dying. The other night i literally thought he was dead, he was stiff as a board, i was prodding, poking, gently shaking him, then i got so worked up i thumped on his hutch.. nothing, then i picked him up and he came back to life... but tonight is the worse so far.. I have been hysterical.. I still am.. I have sobbed and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, its been horrendous.. Hes been staying with my older rabbit in her hutch for the last few days they are 100% bonded and hes nearly the same size as her not far off.. well tonight, i went in to check on them.. And i thought that was it, i thought i was done it was over! He was stiff as a board, he was twisted, i didnt know what to do, i picked him up and his spine was like it was snapped in half, he was completely utterly twisted, his leg, nothing, i tried bending them back, he wouldnt move, he was stiff as a board, stiff and i mean stiff, I held him in my arms sobbing and sobbing, i kept cuddling him and saying to everyone hes dying im gonna have to put him to sleep (through message, i actually live alone). I was crying so much the breathe was taken from me... I rocked and cuddled him for 20 mins he was stiff, stiff, frozen, wouldnt move, his spine totally twisted, i thought its my fault even tho she'd been fine with him for days, well week now, i thought its all my fault what have i done.... I rang the emergency vets after hysterically sobbing for ages trying to get him to come round... I knew i just knew he'd have to be put to sleep.. well no... I rung vets and he sprung back to life like nothing happened, suddenly alive and awake!! Hopping and running round, nothing wrong with him, no spinal injury, no leg injury nothing, i watched as he hopped and playfully explored, it was like nothing happened. Ive now put him back in his hutch but separate cause hes terrified me.. please someone tell me why is my rabbit doing this.. what is happening.. 20 minutes of a twisted frozen spine.. i thought he was dead for real this time and to be honest, if the emergency vet saw him she probably would have put him down he was that bad.... Is this a condition?? Cause i have thought he was dead so many times now i cant take it!! Its having my nerves shot im still in a total state. The other night had my nerves shot... He was so stiff..... i couldnt move him, it was like he was dead and ive had rabbits that have passed before he was exactly like them, hes been doing this since i got him....... What is going on?? I cant take it though. I dont want to feel like my rabbit is dying so often, i am still crying

Gosh you poor thing, what a frightening experience! It sounds as if he might be experiencing some kind of fitting. Whereabouts do you live, we may be able to recommend a rabbit savvy vet who would be able to do some tests and hopefully help you to get to the bottom of his problems. I know someone whose rabbit has 'petit mal' type seizures which seem to be caused by an adrenal gland problem, so it's possible that your little one has something going on inside which is causing these episodes. It's not uncommon for people to think their rabbits are 'playing dead' when they are just very relaxed and flopped out looking as if they've collapsed, but they are not stiff or twisted in the ways that you describe.

Good luck with trying to work out what is up with your little lad x

I'm honestly in such a terrible state. The scary thing is too is I would have had him put to sleep instantly cause he was so out of shape and frozen in one place, I thought he was really suffering he was that bent out of shape and frozen in one place. I was in a total state. I was sobbing and I knew when I rung vets if they saw him they'd suggest putting him to sleep immediately which I would have agreed to, to stop his suffering it was that bad and I'm not one to put animals to sleep.. I'm so shook up from it as my rabbits mean the world to me and I'm so upset about it. Sounds so silly I'm still so upset when I know he's fine but it was an awful experience I live in Northumberland in England. I'm going to ring my vet tomorrow. I started to laugh about him "playing dead" but it doesn't seem so funny now, the other night didn't feel funny neither and tonight really has sent me a bit over the edge. I've tried googling it but struggling to find much information but its got my nerves shot. Yeah he was very stiff and twisted, I was hysterical.. I really thought I'd lost him tonight xx

That sounds terribly scary. I hope your vet can shed some light on it for you. Good that he is ok for now. i hope you feel better soon

I've started crying again because I'm just so worked up from it, it sounds so stupid to get so worked up but I thought he was dead, I thought he was gone, I thought I was going to have to hold him whilst they put him to sleep. I'm really upset its so late here and I need sleep so I can take him first thing tomorrow but i just cant rest now. I hope so too. Thank you xx

RebeccaJC said:

I've started crying again because I'm just so worked up from it, it sounds so stupid to get so worked up but I thought he was dead, I thought he was gone, I thought I was going to have to hold him whilst they put him to sleep. I'm really upset its so late here and I need sleep so I can take him first thing tomorrow but i just cant rest now. I hope so too. Thank you xx

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I can totally understand how you feel, and you must be emotionally drained from the experience of this evening, let alone all those other times. So sorry!

It does sound to me as though he is having some sort of seizure. They can take various forms, and I have totally experienced what you seem to be describing with a rabbit. The problem I found was that my vet had never experienced a rabbit who had had seizures and was at a complete loss as to what to advise. I did some research myself, and the second time it happened I actually asked the vet to prescribe some medication for him, which she did.

I hope your vet will have some knowledge, as my vet is known as being rabbit savvy!

Good luck, please post back soon It must be awful living alone and not being able to show anyone what's happening. I'm glad you have this Forum xx

I really am emotionally drained I'm so tired but my mind feels wide awake, I've been shaking. People would probably laugh at how upset I've got over an animal but it was awful.

Yeah I am worried they won't know what to do with him I have had many rabbits before and never experienced this, I have two other rabbits currently one who is almost 3 years old, one who is 2 years old next month and not once have they ever done anything like this, ever. I thought it was just one of his traits.. I thought oh he's just different, unique. When I first got him I put it down to shock of him being travelled so far (I got him an hour from where I am now) .. And the other times I made a joke oh its just him.. he just plays dead.. but then the other night i was so concerned, i have had two bunnies pass away in 2014, young bunnies (different litter, this little one came from a pure bred so i paid a lot) but yeah they were exactly how he was stiff.. unable to move.. i was shaking him everything.. but he came "back to life" but tonight has been the worse experience simply because his spine and leg was bent completely out of place like it'd been snapped in half... I was blaming myself too thinking I shouldn't have left him with my rabbit even though they have been perfectly fine... He has no injury though, nothing is wrong with him.. its just one of his "episodes" but it was by far the worse simply cause he was frozen in a place which looked like he was snapped in half.... most distressing thing ever thinking your bunny is literally snapped in half and twisted entirely to point they need put down immediately

I have tried googling it but Im at a loss at getting any closer to what might be happening here. Thank you, I will ring my vet tomorrow and take him in and let you know what happens next. I wish Id got him insured now. Im glad I have this forum too as i just dont know what id have done without it... Its so late and everyone is asleep! xx

No we are not all asleep Rebecca, and you are not alone

It's possible your vet will try some medication first to see if this affects his behaviour. It may not be too expensive, so don't worry about the insurance right now.

My rabbit, when he had his fits, went totally stiff and in a gruesome pose - totally twisted up. He was terrified and I just held him in my arms and was totally calm. It took some time for him to come around, and more time for him to recover. Until it happened again.

It's nothing to do with you having put him in with the female, please don't blame yourself.

See what your vet says, I hope he's helpful. If not, please ask him to refer you on to someone with more knowledge ... xx

Gosh, how scary! I really hope you get to the bottom of it, it must be terrifying for your bunny too xxx

Thank you. I've no idea what my vet will suggest but I've sent my alarm to ring them at 8am tomorrow morning. It sounds like what's happening to my rabbit he goes so stiff it's horrendous. Do you know any triggers for your rabbits? Have vets diagnosed him and do you have medication? I really thought she hurt him but I've bonded them for months now and left them alone up to a week and she's never hurt him so I couldn't believe it but it turns out she hasn't hurt him, not a scratch on him. Okay thank you I will. Thank you to you all, the other night when it happened I couldn't even feel a heartbeat but tonight there was a faint heartbeat and I could see him breathing and his nose twitched with his breathing but his body was just still and frozen. Xx

How awful for you
I can't offer any help in the way of advice but you will get plenty of support here from me and many others.
Please keep us updated. Xxx

Thank you xxx

You poor thing! I'm crying for you! I've only had bunnies for 4 months now but I can't imagine finding one of them like that. Just the thought of losing them, especially in such an awful way, makes me burst into tears so I can't imagine how you must be feeling!

Good luck with the vets tomorrow and we're all here for you x

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I only have experience with seizures in humans - and they're terrible. I don't know if this might help, but this is what I found online (if this is indeed a seizure occurring with your little one):

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/seizure.htm (videos and photographs showing the "twisting" you mentioned - good checklist of causes)

http://www.petmd.com/rabbit/conditions/neurological/c_rb_seizures

http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/diagnosing-and-treating-common-neurologic-diseases-rabbits

As hard as it may be, you may want to have a video taken the next time this occurs so a vet can see the actual presentation of the symptoms.

Try to get some rest in the meantime and please let us know what happens in the morning.

I agree with the others that it sounds like seizures. There are various causes, it might just be something he was born with, and with the proper medication there is a good chance it will help control them in the future.

Seizures are scary for us to see but it's not likely he is experiencing pain as such. In fact once he comes around he'll be completely unaware anything has happened. Most important thing is to just remain calm and make sure he is safe while it occurs so that he doesn't inadvertently injure himself. You also don't want to be manipulating his body at all when it is occurring, even though he may be twisted up. It is just his muscles contracting causing his body to twist and look that way. Once the seizure passes his muscles will relax and he'll be back to normal. Your vet should give you information on what are the best steps to take to help him if he has anymore in the future.

I hope the vet visit goes well and that your little guy is doing better soon.

Santa said:

Gosh you poor thing, what a frightening experience! It sounds as if he might be experiencing some kind of fitting. Whereabouts do you live, we may be able to recommend a rabbit savvy vet who would be able to do some tests and hopefully help you to get to the bottom of his problems. I know someone whose rabbit has 'petit mal' type seizures which seem to be caused by an adrenal gland problem, so it's possible that your little one has something going on inside which is causing these episodes. It's not uncommon for people to think their rabbits are 'playing dead' when they are just very relaxed and flopped out looking as if they've collapsed, but they are not stiff or twisted in the ways that you describe.

Good luck with trying to work out what is up with your little lad x

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I agree with Santa. The 'going stiff' does occur in certain types of seizures. I can empathise with how distressing this can be to witness. But in my experience once the 'episode' is over the Rabbit appears none the worse for it all. Obviously it is necessary for a Rabbit Savvy Vet to try to establish the primary cause of the seizures (if that is what is actually happening). Then the most appropriate treatment/ long-term management can be given.

I hope you get on OK with the Vet and that he/she can offer you reassurance that the problem can be treated/managed xx

Thank you everyone. Yeah he goes back to normal, last night he just "woke up" and he was so happy. Hopping around and playing, cuddling me like nothing had even happened to him. I made sure he was fine even lifting him in air to check all legs etc and he seemed to even be enjoying that no distress at all. He was just my normal happy bunny again. He's an active bunny, hops around and shows his various emotions like my other rabbits and when I think he's gone he just comes back to life like nothing happened in the first place. Yeah I won't be trying to move his limbs back to normal next time just last night I wanted to be sure he was injured and when I couldn't move it back I knew it was over then and my baby would be put to sleep, thank god he came out of it and wasn't injured. I really honestly would have put him to sleep last night, I didn't know any better but now I've experienced it I will know he's not injured if it happens again. My vets not open yet it must be 8:30 they open so I'm just waiting to ring them. Part of me is hoping he goes into one of his episodes for the vets so they can witness it themselves. Not because I want him to go through it but if they witness it they might be able to identify what's happening further and be quicker to act. I don't enjoy going through it cause even if he's having seizures I think I'm always going to worry he's dying or dead. It's hard. Thanks so much for all your support and thanks for links they are helpful xx

In vets now waiting he's acting perfectly normal hopping round etc so fear isn't a trigger. He's his normal floppy happy self. Xx

They have found another problem they don't know is linked or not. I don't know how I didn't notice they said unless I thought to check under his fur I wouldn't notice. He's covered head to toe his skin in leisons, bumps and scabs. They don't know what it is but he's being treat for parasite. They want him to be seen by their exotic pets specialist next week but I'd have to travel there and I don't drive xx

http://youtu.be/01rVPLW-vqk this is what happened when I lay him on his back. Do you think he's injured? I usually lay all my rabbits on their back him included and they enjoy being cuddled and stroked that way. I'm worried he might be injured yet he's walking and running round fine with no wobbles or injuries but he was twisted here and jerking his head even tho he was lain still that hasn't happened before xx