Bunny stops moving and twitching

[Meloy]

Hi! I have a bunny of 2 yrs. He was playful hour ago until I noticed he stops moving and just stands where he usually sleeps. I picked him up and put him on my bed and just stands there still where I put him. He barely move but when he does, he moves a little and stops moving again. He also twitched occasionally like big hiccups. There is a time where he drinks water and then suddenly stops like he feel asleep and moves a little again and stops. What’s going on with him?

[Bam]

Well, I’m guessing you know, this sounds like petit mal seizures, a form of epilepsy. It can affect human kids and they often “grow out” of it during adolescence, without medical intervention.

Generally speaking, when a young-ish otherwise healthy bun experiences (brain) seizures, the prime suspect will be e cuniculi.

E cuniculi is a single cell parasite that many buns contract in their mum’s womb. This intra-cellular parasite, currently considered a fungus, can target the nervous system, the kidneys and also the gut and probably also other organ systems with a high blood supply. The exact mechanisms are not yet fully understood.

Treatment consists of 28 days of fenbendazole (Panacur, Axilur and other brand names).

Is your bun displaying any other symptoms? Like weight loss, inappetence, weird head “twitching” known as “tracking” (rapid eye/head movement to one side, then slow movement back, repeatedly)?

(Differential “diagnosis”: I have a rescue bun that comes from a long line of show rabbits. If placed on a table or other elevated spots, she can sit very still, like a statue. This “personality trait” is one that show rabbit breeders favor bc show rabbits need to sit very still during judging to get a high score. It is believed there is a genetic basis, selected for by humans, for this type behavior. It is not a symptom of any kind of disease or poor health).

Pic of my (very healthy young bun) being a “statue” on the armrest of a sofa. She sat perfectly still for many minutes.

 

 

 

[LBJ10]

Yes, this does sound like a seizure. They can present in different ways, it isn’t always just them seizing violently on the floor. As Bam said, the most common cause of seizures in rabbits is EC.

[Author]

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