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UPDATE: Sparky's thread

L

lauraj27

Warren Scout
So went to feed sparky tonight he did his usual routine of periscoping. Turned round to weigh out the next one and sparky was flopped out on his side having a seizure/fit. This is the first time this has happened. We moved everything out of the way so he didn't hurt himself (he was in a run in the kitchen) then we gently lifted him up. One of his eyes was completely shut and his ear was completely down and he was lame down his left side. Gradually his eye reopened and his ear perked back up but still had difficulty with his legs especially the left rear. Rushed him to our vets who were thankfully still open and during the journey sparky was trying to move and look around.

Possible causes are EC, stroke or epilepsy. Our vet gave him diazapem and set him up with a catheter but we had to transport him to the emergency vets as our vets isn't staffed overnight. They are going to monitor him and check his blood glucose levels at intervals.

If he gets through the night there will be panacur, blood tests etc.
 
Last edited:
lauraj27 said:
So went to feed sparky tonight he did his usual routine of periscoping. Turned round to weigh out the next one and sparky was flopped out on his side having a seizure/fit. This is the first time this has happened. We moved everything out of the way so he didn't hurt himself (he was in a run in the kitchen) then we gently lifted him up. One of his eyes was completely shut and his ear was completely down and he was lame down his left side. Gradually his eye reopened and his ear perked back up but still had difficulty with his legs especially the left rear. Rushed him to our vets who were thankfully still open and during the journey sparky was trying to move and look around.

Possible causes are EC, stroke or epilepsy. Our vet gave him diazapem and set him up with a catheter but we had to transport him to the emergency vets as our vets isn't staffed overnight. They are going to monitor him and check his blood glucose levels at intervals.

If he gets through the night there will be panacur, blood tests etc.
Click to expand...

Poor little Sparky :(

The thing I find most distressing about a rabbit having a fit is the fact that they are usually so scared themselves, as they don't know what's happening to them.

I'm really pleased to hear that your vet had some idea how to make him comfortable. When one of my rabbits had a fit, my usual vet said she had no idea how to treat him, and took advice from me :)

When you say he has a catheter, do you mean IV fluids, or something else?

Sending loads of vibes for Sparky xx
 
Poor Sparky, I hope he recovers well, vibes for him and for you - it must have been quite a shock for you both.
 
Update

So picked him up from the emergency vets this morning. No more seizures but the vets said that he does have a tilted head and he was trying to stand up but because he couldn't balance himself he started thrashing around. Probably due to him being scared and panicking rather than the fits/seizures.

He looked much brighter in himself and started chewing at the catheter so they gave him hay which he chewed and this morning all the way from emergency vets to our vets he was eating hay like it was going out of fashion and he has passed some droppings. He also appeared to be trying to stretch and kick his back legs so fingers crossed that there is no permanent damage.

He's now been admitted to our vets as the rabbit savy vet isn't in til 11 and she will reassess him and then give us a call. However she did say last night that the first port of call will be panacur and blood tests.
 
Sorry forgot to clarify about the catheter, it was bandaged to his ear for the purposes of giving him fluids.
 
Poor little guy :( I hope for a speedy recovery, I can't imagine how scary it must have been for all involved. Sending positive vibes for Sparky xx
 
lauraj27 said:
Sorry forgot to clarify about the catheter, it was bandaged to his ear for the purposes of giving him fluids.
Click to expand...

Yes I thought it would be for IV fluids. You've got a very good vet, he sounds like he's being looked after well

Sending vibes for recovery x
 
Sending massive healing vibes to Sparky ! I really hope you figure out whats wrong and he gets better. Seizures are sooo scary.

xx
 
Thank you for all the vibes.

Bloods have been taken and sent off one set of results should be back in 48 hours the other one may take two weeks.

He has had another catheter for fluids and has been given anti inflammatories. Vet has also had to give him a small dose of a sedative as he started to panic again and we don't want him to hurt himself.

Still eating and pooping.

Vets will provide us with another update later today but they have said he might have to stay overnight, however, the practice won't be staffed for 8 hours overnight so they have said we can take him back to the out of hours service (which cost a pretty penny last night!) It really depends on Sparky and how he is doing. Ideally I would like to being him home rather than take him to the out of hours vet as at least I could monitor him but obviously I don't have the equipment or know how if something happens to him. Having said that we have nursed bunnies through other things including post op tummy surgery, conjuctivitis, snuffles, stasis and cheek abscesses (for which we had to inject penicillin into bun bun) and our vets have been happy to let us medicate and nurse them at home. Its just that Sparky's continuing head tilt is a bit more serious and complex.

Any thoughts/advice/guidance and general vibes welcome
 
lauraj27 said:
Thank you for all the vibes.

Bloods have been taken and sent off one set of results should be back in 48 hours the other one may take two weeks.

He has had another catheter for fluids and has been given anti inflammatories. Vet has also had to give him a small dose of a sedative as he started to panic again and we don't want him to hurt himself.

Still eating and pooping.

Vets will provide us with another update later today but they have said he might have to stay overnight, however, the practice won't be staffed for 8 hours overnight so they have said we can take him back to the out of hours service (which cost a pretty penny last night!) It really depends on Sparky and how he is doing. Ideally I would like to being him home rather than take him to the out of hours vet as at least I could monitor him but obviously I don't have the equipment or know how if something happens to him. Having said that we have nursed bunnies through other things including post op tummy surgery, conjuctivitis, snuffles, stasis and cheek abscesses (for which we had to inject penicillin into bun bun) and our vets have been happy to let us medicate and nurse them at home. Its just that Sparky's continuing head tilt is a bit more serious and complex.

Any thoughts/advice/guidance and general vibes welcome
Click to expand...

I know when one of my bunnies had a seizure, he was happiest at home (and even then he had his moments, but I could reassure him). It's difficult because they can injure themselves thrashing around, and if left alone in a cage this could be dangerous.

I found the safest way was not to cage at all and try and watch as much as possible.

But you must do whatever feels the best for you and him. I'm sorry he began to panic again. The vet could show you how to administer the sedative perhaps? I requested rectal valium for my rabbit.
 
We are going to go with what the vet recommends. Last night and today he has been transported in a plastic carry case cushioned with about 3 small towels and one large towel which he has a nibbled a bit, silly rabbit.

Our plan is that if he is brought home he will be confined in something relatively small which is as padded as possible, maybe a cardboard box which I can place on the double bed in the spare room and try to sleep next to it. Chances are I won't sleep he he.

Just got to see what the vet says and recommends
 
lauraj27 said:
We are going to go with what the vet recommends. Last night and today he has been transported in a plastic carry case cushioned with about 3 small towels and one large towel which he has a nibbled a bit, silly rabbit.

Our plan is that if he is brought home he will be confined in something relatively small which is as padded as possible, maybe a cardboard box which I can place on the double bed in the spare room and try to sleep next to it. Chances are I won't sleep he he.

Just got to see what the vet says and recommends
Click to expand...

Very sensible of you. It sounds as though you have a really good Vet looking after Sparky. I hope he will soon be feeling much better, it's very encouraging to hear that he is still eating. He clearly has a lot of fight in him and that will certainly go in his favour.
 
lauraj27 said:
We are going to go with what the vet recommends. Last night and today he has been transported in a plastic carry case cushioned with about 3 small towels and one large towel which he has a nibbled a bit, silly rabbit.

Our plan is that if he is brought home he will be confined in something relatively small which is as padded as possible, maybe a cardboard box which I can place on the double bed in the spare room and try to sleep next to it. Chances are I won't sleep he he.

Just got to see what the vet says and recommends
Click to expand...

The best course of action! At least your vet knew what to do! xx
 
MightyMax said:
The best course of action! At least your vet knew what to do! xx
Click to expand...

Lol yes we do have a very rabbit savy vet and we also invested in the textbook of rabbit medicine by Molly Varga and reading the relevant sections last night was helpful as it meant we had a greater understanding of possible causes and treatment paths.

We learned long ago and the hard way that we need to know as much as possible when it comes to treatment for bunnies. I have lost count of the amount of times I have had to demand metacam and explain a bunny not eating is an emergency to an out of hours vet.
 
lauraj27 said:
Lol yes we do have a very rabbit savy vet and we also invested in the textbook of rabbit medicine by Molly Varga and reading the relevant sections last night was helpful as it meant we had a greater understanding of possible causes and treatment paths.

We learned long ago and the hard way that we need to know as much as possible when it comes to treatment for bunnies. I have lost count of the amount of times I have had to demand metacam and explain a bunny not eating is an emergency to an out of hours vet.
Click to expand...

Just been and had a peek at my book to remind myself of what she said! :)

There was a lovely lady on here (she doesn't post any more) who very kindly helped me. It was invaluable, because as I said, my vet had never treated seizures before and didn't know how to help.

Ongoing vibes for Sparky x
 
Thank for the ongoing vibes.

As far as we are aware he has only had the one seizure touch wood. He was thrashing around a bit yesterday evening but that was down to panic.

The vet gave us three choices tonight: he could stay there but be unmonitored; we could take him to the out of hours vet for them to monitor; or we could bring him home monitor and administer everything ourselves.

We decided to bring him home. He has a feeding tube in his nostril but he was given 10ml of syringe food before we picked him up and since he's been home he's eaten hay, carrot and kale so we may not need to syringe food through the feeding tube. He still has the catheter for the IV fluids and we have a small dose of sedative in case he starts to panic.

He also had all the relevant medications before we picked him up (painkiller, gut motility, panacur) which will cover him overnight. He will be back at the vets at 0830am tomorrow for monitoring/ nursing, xray and second dose of panacur. The vet is hopeful that after tomorrow we can nurse him at home (which my bank account concurs with!!!)

Any problems tonight we will straight to out of hours.

We are keeping him in his plastic carry case which is padded with pretty much every towel we own.
 
lauraj27 said:
Thank for the ongoing vibes.

As far as we are aware he has only had the one seizure touch wood. He was thrashing around a bit yesterday evening but that was down to panic.

The vet gave us three choices tonight: he could stay there but be unmonitored; we could take him to the out of hours vet for them to monitor; or we could bring him home monitor and administer everything ourselves.

We decided to bring him home. He has a feeding tube in his nostril but he was given 10ml of syringe food before we picked him up and since he's been home he's eaten hay, carrot and kale so we may not need to syringe food through the feeding tube. He still has the catheter for the IV fluids and we have a small dose of sedative in case he starts to panic.

He also had all the relevant medications before we picked him up (painkiller, gut motility, panacur) which will cover him overnight. He will be back at the vets at 0830am tomorrow for monitoring/ nursing, xray and second dose of panacur. The vet is hopeful that after tomorrow we can nurse him at home (which my bank account concurs with!!!)

Any problems tonight we will straight to out of hours.

We are keeping him in his plastic carry case which is padded with pretty much every towel we own.
Click to expand...

That is what I have always done for a Rabbit having seizures, it is by far the safest thing to do.

I really hope that Sparky had a comfortable night with no more seizures or panics. My Vet has always done just as your Vet is doing when treating any condition causing seizures in Rabbits, in fact one of my Rabbits would not have survived if it were not for my Vet's intervention and prompt treatment. It really does sound as though Sparky has a great Vet caring for him and also he has you to give him lots of TLC, which is just as important as all the clinical intervention.

Hopefully with lots of ongoing intensive nursing care from the Vet and from you Sparky will soon be on the road to recovery. Seizures in Rabbits can be very distressing to witness, but in my experience the Rabbit often seems less distressed by it all than we are. I had one Rabbit, Billie, who had fits in his sleep every day of his life from puberty. He lived for almost 8 years !! He really was quite a remarkable Rabbit and never acted as though he was 'ill' in any way.
 
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