Dewey has seizures

[Happi Bun]

[align=left]
[/align][align=left]As some of you may already know, Dewey has been staying at the rescue I volunteer at. The plan was for them to neuter and adopt him out due to our unexpected family crisis. However, this has now changed. I had already been wanting to bring him back home before discovering he seizures, but the fact he does has sealed the deal. He cannot be adopted out or neutered, so he's coming back home to live out his life with me in a quiet environment (it seems stress induced) and loving home were he will not be bred.
[/align]
He's had two seizures that have been witnessed so far. One I was present, he was startled when I went to get his litter box. He began throwing his body everywhere and was unable to stand upright, his eyes even rolled back. The owner of the rescue rushed over (I had no idea what was happening) and held him close until it passed. I had to fight to hold back the tears. We didn't think too much of it though since he calmed down right away and was fine.

However, last night he had a big one. It was brought on by someone turning on a machine near his cage (even though it was quiet). He did the same thing but this time slammed his head against the hay rack.:tears2: He was wrapped in a towel and watched closely the rest of the night (even with a web cam looking at his cage). Today his right eye looks very dilated and his left is held almost completely closed, he burst a blood vessel in that eye. He is being seen by a vet today. I've been reading up on it and discovered Idiopathic epilepsy has been observed in white furred, blue-eyed rabbits.

:sigh:
Please keep Dewey in your thoughts and prayers. It's unlikely much can be done besides keeping him as calm as possible and special set-up without anything he can hit his head on and possible even padded sides.


[align=center]

[/align][align=center][/align]

 

[ra7751]

Valium is a wonderful drug until you can get a handle on this. While it is possible to be epileptic, a bacterial infection in the brain stem will also present the same symptoms. Something to consider. And if an infection is the root cause of the issues, an anti-inflammatory might be the key to diagnosis if it helps contain the seizures.

Randy

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

oh no poor Dewey!! I hope he stops having them

 

[Maureen Las]

Do you think that you could get some valium in a proper dosage for him so the seizures would not be so violent?

 

[werecatrising]

I'm so sorry. I know how scary seizures can be.

Valium is great for controlling seizures if you can administer it in time. It is helpful if you learn to recognize behaviors that occur before the seizure. During the only real way to give it is IV or rectally.

 

[tonyshuman]

Oh no, that's terrible. Poor guy. I'm glad you are going to give him a nice, quiet life. Good luck with the vet.

 

[BunLuvvie]

Oh my goodness!! Poor Dewey, he is too adorable for something like this to happen. I would definitely get his cage padded.:bunnyhug:

 

[Happi Bun]

Alrighty, so a quick little update. We decided to keep Dewey at the rescue for now where he can be monitored better and not to stress him with the move right now. He hasn't had anymore seizures (knock on wood). He was checked out by a vet and the cause is a mystery, though likely genetic. It's possible he could grow out of it. His eye is fine now. The only way he has changed since the big episode is he is much calmer, I'm hoping it's not from brain damage.

 

[Happi Bun]

Dewey had another small episode a few days ago. He was being held and shown to a volunteer (I wasn't there that day) and he started to have a seizure. He scratched up the owners arms a bit due to the uncontrollable movement but is okay.

Today I bought a crib guard at the thrift store.

 

[Maureen Las]

Did anyone suggest to the vet giving him some valium ?

 

[DazyDaizee]

Can rabbits be given Phenobarbital or Potassium Bromide daily (like dogs can) to manage and reduce or eliminate the number of seizures he has?

Did the vet consider an alternate possibility other than Idiopathic Epilepsy?

I had a rabbit who suddenly got ill about 5 years ago, the vet thought it was Pasteurella, they gave me antibiotics and after a day or so of treatment I was carrying him upstairs and he started seizing in my arms. He had a period of unconsciousness and peed after flailing for several seconds. Then he awoke and was fine. The vet thought the Pasteurella was effecting the brain and that he wouldn't make it. Fortunately he made a complete recovery and I never witnessed another seizure.

 

[Maureen Las]

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=27900&forum_id=10


These articles might help ....

 

[tonyshuman]

I think if it were an infection of the brain causing seizures it would have had a slower onset and some URI symptoms. It is a good idea, but I think with the sudden onset of seizures that Dewey had, an infection is unlikely.

 

[Happi Bun]

tonyshuman- You bring up a great point.

Medication hasn't been considered at this point. The vet has us watching him closely to see if they are triggered by anything specific and if they get worse or better. Definitely if he continues to have them or they get worse medication to control the seizures will be administered.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

This is sadly pretty common in BEW rabbits. The gene pool in BEW's is very small because VM and VC's are not showable. Therefore, people continuously breed BEW to BEW. And because there are so few of them, over the years symptoms like this have started to appear.

Personally, I think the best thing may be to put him down. It is likely that he will suffer from this for the rest of his life.

 

[werecatrising]

I hardly think occasional seizures warrants automatic euthanasia. I have had pets in the past with idiopathic epilepsy. They lived long, happy lives. As a vet tech i have seen hundreds of animals treated for seizures. Only one or two got to the point where they needed to be euthanized.


While some people may think Dewey doesn't have a perfect life, keep in mind that animals don't dwell on these imperfections as humans do.

 

[Maureen Las]

werecatrising wrote:

I hardly think occasional seizures warrants automatic euthanasia. I have had pets in the past with idiopathic epilepsy. They lived long, happy lives. As a vet tech i have seen hundreds of animals treated for seizures. Only one or two got to the point where they needed to be euthanized.


While some people may think Dewey doesn't have a perfect life, keep in mind that animals don't dwell on these imperfections as humans do.

I think that Oakridge rabbits only brought up PTS because of the potential for the rabbit suffering anddidn't mean to be offensive in any way.

 

[Happi Bun]

angieluv- You're probably right, but it's still far to early to be talking about euthanasia. Dewey just turned 6 months old and he's a very happy and hyper bunny. I would exhaust all other options before considering it. I appreciate your post werecatrising.

 

[Maureen Las]

Happi Bun wrote:

angieluv- You're probably right, but it's still far to early to be talking about euthanasia. Dewey just turned 6 months old and he's a very happy and hyper bunny. I would exhaust all other options before considering it. I appreciate your post werecatrising.

I agree with werecatrising and you ( Happi Bun)regarding euthanasia not being a consideration ; I just thought that Oakridge didn't mean to offend.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

HappiBun,

I'm sorry, I misunderstood the first time. I did not realize you were bringing him home, I was under the impression that he was a rabbit at the shelter you volunteer at- not your own pet.

In which case, I was thinking euthanasia would be best, just considering that SO many shelters complain all the time about the number of rabbits in shelters. So when one comes through with something like this, I would think it is kinder to put him down and focus on adopting healthy rabbits.

I do understand that if he was your own foster and you are taking him back, that you may want to work with it. I didn't mean to offend you by my original post. I was thinking in a more practical manner based on the fact that I thought they were trying to adopt him.