Rabbit suffering from fit ?

our 3 1/2 year old ND Yalta has been suffering from shakes from time to time over the last year.

She will sit to begin with pressing her tummy against the ground and get very fiddgety never settling long in any position. She also shakes - and vibrates - especially when touched. The vibrating comes and goes lasting typically a few seconds before starting again a few seconds later.

In all the 'attack' lasts 3-5 hours - occasionally longer.

We thought initially that this could be bloat / stasis etc given the symptoms - which indicate that she could be in some pain or at least discomfort - but her tummy isn't bloated.

We of course took her to the vet every time that this has happened to begin with. The vet can't figure out what is wrong. Blood / Urine tests have been done - and we seem to have exhausted the vet advice opportunities here in Northern Ireland.

Rabbit experienced vets are very limited here - rabbits unfortunately are still seen as a hutch at the bottom of the garden pet - so there is nobody else we can take her too locally.

These attacks seem to last longer each time now - and each time we go through the same panic / concern, although we have a routine of leaving her alone for the first hour or so (which is what she seems to want) followed by attention and picking her up for the next while - before eventually leaving her back in her area.

Could this be a form of epilepsy ? or a fit of some sort ?

The attacks do seem to occur mostly immediately after starting to eat - but not always.

Her first attack was shortly after our computer blew up (literally) with a very loud bang - and a couple of other attacks have followed other noisy events. There have also been instances of loud noises which haven't caused anything - so we just dont know what is causing these attacks.

We've been eliniating things one by one from her area in case of reactions ie wooden items, shavings etc. the only things left now are:

carpet - which she does chew from time to time.
straw bedding in her litter tray (no shavings)
a few wooden 'toys' (bunny approved from bunny-bytes)
fleece.
cardboard boxes.

does anyone have any ideas ?

thanks

Martin + Pam

How far apart are the attacks? Are they evenly spread, getting closer together? Happen the same time of day etc.?

Is it her whole bunny shaking or her limbs?

Does she seem disorientated? Does she eat during the time?

I wouldn't have thought it was epilepsy, as from what I know (and I admit its not that much ) this wouldn't last 3-5 hours.

If it was sometime wrong with her nervous system then you'd think it would occure more often.

Its a puzzler!

It possible from the timing of the loud noises that perhaps she's just scared?

Tam

Is she spayed? and what do you feed her on?

Cheryl

thanks Tamsin...

timing of the attacks varies - she had gone a while there without one (about 3 months) but we've had 2 in the last 2 weeks.

There appears to be no pattern to the attacks in terms of when they occur, only in the way they do.

she wont eat during the attack, and will start by drinking a bit once she has got over it, followed a bit later by going back to her food.

the shakes are a vibration that seem to come from inside - chest area ? and are probably better described as muscle spasms - not her limbs - but inside. you can feel the vibrations though here head, but that may just feeling her body vibrations (if that makes sense) - not her actual head vibrating. She will also grind her teeth at times during the episodes - so it is obviously causing here some pain/discomfort.

She doesn't seem to be disorientated during the attacks, just very unsettled, moving about, not being able to get comfortable. She will lay down on her side, then a few seconds later change sides, then get up and turn around etc, changing position every 10-15 seconds or so.

during this time she doesn't like any attention. Any attempts to stroke her, and she moves away, so we normally leave here be until she settles then fuss over her (a few hours after it starts).

She is not nuetered - the vet would like to get to the bottom of this before putting her though the op - which sounds reasonable - although we are keen to get her done for health reasons alone.

thanks

Martin + Pam

sorry cheryl - took so long to write the last reply i didn't see yours....

she's not spayed (see above)

she is fed on:

super-excel pellets
Hay / Timothy Hay (constantly avialable)
small piece of carrot
small bit of coriander

she does tend to eat her litter straw more than the hay though.

her diet has also been more or less constant - the 'attacks' don't seem to coincide with any diet specifics, but may still be caused by it - we're not sure.

thanks

Martin + Pam

I would try feeding her just timothy hay (nothing else) for a while to see if it makes a difference and rule out any dietary intolerance. I would also remove the straw, especially if she is eating quite a bit of it.

Cheryl