Bunny has strange "attacks"

[vanessajoyce]

Just about at my wit's end with this, so thought I'd just ask if anyone else has ever seen this.

We've had Ryley for four years now. We got him from a local rescue group. He's bonded with a dwarf mini English spot named Maggie. We've had her for five years.

About a month after we got Ryley, we noticed that every few months he would have these strange "fits" or "attacks." He stands very still and his eyes start darting around. Then he starts to twist his head in weird positions (NOT head tilt, I know what that looks like) and move his mouth as if he's gnashing his teeth (no sound though). He almost looks like he's having a stroke.

He'll do this for about 30 seconds, then he'll "come out of it" and go into a horrible panic, running all around the room, crashing into things. He tears around basically until he gets himself stuck somewhere, then just stays wedged there in whatever position he "landed" in. He'll stay like that for 10 minutes or so, then work his way out of wherever he's stuck and then go hide in a dark corner for a couple hours. Then it happens all over again.

This will go on for 6-8 hours. The only thing we can do is put him in a carrier so he can't hurt himself. But the last time he did it, we didn't catch him in time and he crashed into something which gave him a corneal ulcer. He's now being treated for that.

We've been trying for four years to find out what this is. No vet can figure it out. When I describe it, no one seems to have any clue what it is and no one has ever heard of anything like it.

The problem is now that he's starting to get older and now he's starting to do real damage to himself during the running parts of the attacks. If I knew what the underlying problem was, I'd spend crazy amounts of money to fix it, but I can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars every couple months for ulcers in his eyes or broken bones or internal bleeding from getting himself stuck between furniture, knowing it will just happen again in a couple months.

Does anyone have any ideas what this could be? Has anyone ever heard of this at all?

Thanks,

Vanessa





Location: Canada

Description (Breed, color, weight): No specific breed, black, 3 lbs

Age: 4 years old

Sex: Male

Concise Summary of the Rabbit's Condition: Otherwise healthy except for these "attacks."



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION / CHECK LIST: (Please fill in relevant info).

Fecal and Urinary Output

- are the bunny's poops and pees normal? Yes
- when did they last use their litterbox? Regularly
- any unusual behavior? straining to pee? unusual litter habits? No
- what litter and/or bedding do you use? Newspaper

Medical History

- spayed/neutered? Neutered
- has s/he been to the vet or been sick before? Yes
- is s/he on any medications? Yes, eye drops for corneal ulcer currently

Diet

- what specifically does your bunny eat? hay, veggies
- when and what did s/he eat last? regularly
- any changes in the way s/he eats? (ie: not eating a particular food, odd chewing motions, etc) No


Other

- movement - any unusual movements? Is s/he hopping normally? During attack, yes. Otherwise no.
- is the rabbit molting? No
- any weight loss? No
- any sign of drooling? wet face? No
- runny eyes? No
- wet nose? coughing? sneezing? No
- is s/he breathing normally Yes

Additional

- any plants, chocolate or other substances within reach? No
- has the rabbit been outdoors? Not recently
- any other pets? if so, have they been ill? Yes, bonded female and cat, neither sick.

 

[pinupchick]

Hmm...it definitely sounds neurological, especially with the eye movement.

Not sure what is available in terms of diagnostics and treatment, but it could be an unual manifestation of a seizure or something. Poor bunny.

I would maybe have blood work run if you haven't already to test for metabolic issues (blood sugar, electrolyte imbalance). I imagine you need a referral to a specialist for CAT scans and imaging, but that would likely be very expensive.

 

[elrohwen]

Has any vet put him on phenobarbital? I know it can have some serious side effects, but it sounds like he has some form of seizure disorder.

But if he only has them a few times a year, it might not be worth putting him through the side effects that can accompany phenobarbital.

 

[tonyshuman]

I would be prone to say seizures, but 6-8 hours is a long time to have a seizure! Is there any chance they're related to seeing or hearing something scary,like a predator? It could also be a panic attack, maybe. What does the vet say about them?

 

[tonyshuman]

According to Medirabbit, seizures in rabbits only last minutes.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/seizure.htm

Maybe the first part is a seizure and the second part is a scared response to the loss of control he experienced during the seizure.

This reference recommends putting a bunny in a carrier where they can't hurt themselves after a seizure:
http://www.bunniwerks.org/emergency.htm

I can't find a description of what a rabbit panic attack sounds like, but I know that anti-epilepsy drugs can be used in rabbits, and vallium can also be used (anti-anxiety). We have a member whose bunny was prone to seizures (Happi Bun) and he was on anti-epilepsy medication.

 

[tonyshuman]

I just looked up those threads about Happi Bun's bunny Dewey. He has unfortunately passed, due to a grand mal seizure that led to a heart attack. They actually decided not to give anti-seizure drugs until that last large seizure occured.

Here's a discussion of meds/no meds
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=49081&forum_id=16
And his Rainbow Bridge thread that talks a bit about what they did for him after this grand mal seizure. The drug she mentions, Valume, is also called diazepam and is commonly used to control seizures.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=49439&forum_id=27

 

[vanessajoyce]

Thank you everyone for the information. You don't know how much I appreciate the research for my little boy.

The vets I've taken him to don't think it's a seizure. Our current vet (a bunny specialist) says the combination of symptoms is nothing like he's ever heard of before.

There's no danger of it being a real predator that's scaring him. He's a house bunny and lives in our downstairs den area with his little bonded girlfriend. The lady next door to us has rather noisy dogs, but neither Maggie or Ryley even react when they bark because they're so used to it. But when he has the attacks, that's exactly how he acts -- like something has him cornered.

I know everyone here is probably familiar with Watership Down . . . the first time I saw him have one of these attacks, I immediately thought of how the author describes Fiver's hallucinations. It's JUST like that. It's like he's seeing something that isn't there and then freaks out.

Again, I really appreciate everyone's help. Other than the attacks, he's been a perfectly healthy and happy bunny for the past four years. But especially over the past 6 months, he's starting to slow down and every attack seems to leave him weaker. And now, of course, he's really starting to hurt himself.

Vanessa

 

[tonyshuman]

The only things I can think of would be trying a daily dose of an anti-epileptic drug or anti-anxiety drug, or making sure you can confine him after the short phase of the attack. Poor little guy. It must be hard to see him like that.

 

[mistyjr]

Poor little guy, I hope the best for you and Ryley! :hug1:hugsquish:

 

[Pet_Bunny]

vanessajoyce wrote:

The vets I've taken him to don't think it's a seizure.

Maybe it's something else that is triggering his panic attacks. It might be a sound or a flicker of light or a shadow passing by. I know if Bebe is not paying attention, and I walk up to her, it startles her. I remember one time a shadow of a bird flying overhead gave Bebe a scare.

Which bunny specialist have you seen? Would you recommend them to other bunny people in town?

 

[pamnock]

It can be very difficult to figure out the cause of seizures. Our cockatiel suffers from idopathic seizures - luckily we know the trigger - exposure to water triggers a pleasurable response in her brain that results in a seizure. (We need to be careful to only spray her once or twice for a "bath"). The vet told me that sometimes the trigger is never figured out - it can be light, noise, or any other stimuli.

Since the cause hasn't been determined and the episodes are so long, I'd ask the vet about an anti-seizure medication.

 

[vanessajoyce]

How expensive is this kind of medication?

 

[vanessajoyce]

We appreciate all the kind PMs from everyone . . . yes, we had to have Ryley put to sleep. The attacks were just getting too bad and he was injuring himself too severely.

Thank you everyone for your kind words. We really appreciate it. Ryley was a wonderful bunny and gave us so much love. To fill the hole he left in our hearts, we went to the local Humane Society and adopted a new little boy who we named Duffy. He is making it a little easier to live without our precious Ryley. :bunnyhug: