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My rabbit is having fits/seizures

M

marky26

New Kit
Hi there,

My rabbit tom is having fits/seizures, it started a few months ago & me & my wife were really worried as it happend a couple of times. We took him to the vet but they had no idea what it was. It stopped for a few weeks when we changed his food to rabbit pellets as suggested on another forum, but it has started again now. He has at least one everyday. He starts by rubbing his nose then he falls back and starts to thrash about stiffening up. He pushes his head right back and his mouth is wide open like he is choking. Then he stops but is shaken and scared and runs round into things and I have to hold him as he is going so fast he could knock himself out. Once he has calmed down he is back to normal, playing and running around as though nothing has happened. He seems the happiest, healthiest rabbit ever!

Please Help.
 
I am sorry that your bun is having fits. I am sure that someone, who has experience with this, will come on and offer you some advice. How rabbit savvy is your vet and what part of the country do you live in? Might be worth getting a referral to the small animal clinic at Bristol Vet. Hospital, or a vet who has a lot of experience with rabbits (as they all dont). Good luck.
 
Hello

What breed is your Rabbit. Apparently Lionheads are more prone to seizures than other breeds

I think you need to find a Rabbit Specialist to establish the cause of your Buns seizures. There are many things it could be:
An idiopathic epilepsy (ie epileptic type fits with no apparent cause- most often found in Blue Eyed white Rabits)

Encephalitizoon Cuniculi- More info on EC here http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/articles/ecuniculi.htm
The EC spores can cause inflammation in the brain and may effect the blood supply to the brain

Various bacterial infections

Brain abscesses

Thickening of the brains blood vessels (arteriosclerosis)

A heart defect causing intermittent disruption to the oxygen supply to the brain (I have had a Rabbit who had this condition)

So until a CAUSE is established its not really possible to guess at treatment options. Certainly I think your Rabbit needs specialist help ASAP as he appears to be distressed by his seizures.

Aswell as the Bun who had fits due to a heart defect I also had one with idiopathic epilepsy. He had several mini seizures a day but lived for almost 7 years !!

Good luck and please keep us updated about your Bunny

Janex
 
Oh dear, sorry to hear this. Poor little buny. I don't anything about this kind of thing but hopefully someone will come along soon who does.

Fiona x
 
I dont know anything about this either. But take Jane's advice and get a decent vet to check your bunny out. (Your original vet hasnt helped at all).
 
E. cuniculi is another common cause of seizures and other neurological problems in rabbits. It would be a good idea to ask a vet about treating for that.
 
Hi there all, thanks very much for replying to this thread, i have looked into rabbit specialists in essex but cant find any & as me or my wife do not drive its hard to get anywhere, we will have to take him back to the vet.
 
Whereabouts in Essex are you? Mr Lawton in Harold Wood is an exotic specialist (rabbits are classed as 'exotics!!) I am led to believe he is not cheap but does know his stuff.

If you are near Chelmsford, my vet, Bishopscourt Surgery, are all very good, especially Melinda if you can catch her before she goes on maternity leave imminently! If you are near Witham, Spring Lodge Veterinary Hospital are supposed to be very good, they also have a branch out Tiptree way I believe.

There are quite a few members here in the Essex area, so if you give us a bit more information, we might be able to help you to find a vet which is within a reasonable distance to get to by taxi/bus??
 
Hi there, my late, beloved bunny, Bugsy had fits like this often. He would always start to scratch himself and then end up falling over, fitting. I would have to hold him to stop him thrashing around and often his head would be pulled to one side. Eventually we concluded, (although a real conclusion was never reached), that he was having some sort of spasm due to cramp. He passed away of a completely unrelated issue, the dreaded abccess. Good luck with your buns diagnosis xxxx
 
I don't know if Epilepsy was mentioned, but that can be a cuase of fits as well. My bun Willie (RIP :cry: ) suffered through fits. They happened at completely random times, and they had no correlation to diet changes, bonding, weather, or any other things that would normally stress a bun. I took him to several vets, both rabbit savvy and not so savvy, and they could never find what caused them. There are medications that can stop the seizures, but these only prevent the seizures and don't actually cure them of the ailment they suffer. Willie eventually passed due to seizures and only lived for 2 years.

Do your best to find an experienced vet so your bun doesn't have to suffer as Willie did, please.

xxx
 
just caught up on this thread.
My last bun had fits everyday, somedays more than once and it was due, we think to EC. He was treated with panacur which did help but the vet thinks that the EC caused lesions and/or scar tissue on his brain which caused the fits. We think he'd had the EC quite a while as we rescued from a garage, where he'd been caged with no contact, other then feeding for 6months. I'd advise treatment ASAP as caught early EC can be treated.

I'm in Essex too and our vet is Vetpoint in Rayleigh, we always saw the lady vet Guisippina who was excellent with Benny.

Please let us all know how your bun is getting on.
 
Hi there, we had are rabbit checked out at downes in rayliegh and he had a blood test for e-colicni & he had a liver & kidney blood test both come back negative, so we arent sure if it is good news or bad news.

Thank you all for your concern.
 
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