Head twitching

[Depereo]

Hi,

 

We just got our first rabbit, a five year old rescue bunny. He’s been with us for a couple of days getting used to the place. Today he developed a head twitch. He sits there twitching for extended periods, sometimes more obviously than others – it’s almost like a rabbit hiccuping, and is occasionally paired with a wheeze or a small squeak.

 

He’s going through a diet change (apparently the shelter was feeding him a lot of cabbage), so perhaps he’s having some gas or dietary issues, but we’re worried because we’re not experienced in rabbit needs. There’s no eye or nasal discharge and he appears to be urinating and pooping as expected. We’re making sure he’s not overheating or getting too cool. Plenty of water, pellets, hay and greens available.

 

After searching around I saw a couple of other people have asked about this before but a conclusion didn’t seem to have been reached.

 

Could anyone weigh in with either some reassurance or advice on veterinary attention?

 

 

Edit – The behavior has gone away entirely. Albie has become a very happy rabbit who is very affectionate, curious and a joy to be around. His personality is really starting to come out. He is no longer twitching or spasming at all.

[LBJ10]

It doesn’t appear to be a seizure. It sort of reminds me of my Holland, Leopold. We joke and say he is “rocking”. It’s because when he’s sitting sometimes his body will rock forward and back slightly when he’s breathing in and out.

[jerseygirl]

Welcome and Congratulations on your new bunny!

I just took a look at the video. He looks like he is sleeping, tbh. Im not certain if it’s anything to worry about if you only see it when he’s tucked away, napping.

The ruby-eye-white rabbits do have some odd head movements too, you might notice. Like “scanning” where they move their head from side to side. It’s quite subtle.

[LBJ10]

That’s true Jersey, he could be sleeping. Wooly sleeps with his eyes open all the time.

[Depereo]

We appreciate the feedback, thank you. It has primarily been while resting that we’ve noticed him twitching, almost like his heartbeat is shaking his forequarters.

Since we just got this bun, do you think it’s a good plan to get him a first checkup at the vetnow , or let him settle in for a few days before driving him around? We know he had trial placements at two other homes before we adopted him so we think he’s been doing a lot of traveling up until now.

[Depereo]

Hi, appreciate the feedback. It’s not just when resting or sleeping – whenever he pauses and sits for a moment his head starts rocking, like his heartbeat is too strong for him.
It doesn’t happen when he’s moving around or investigating the house, though, for example if he stretches out to look at something, or stands up to peer over a box.

He’s been placed in several homes over the last week before coming to his ‘forever’ home’ with us – do you think there’s merit in letting him settle in before getting his first vet checkup? He’s probably done a lot of travel recently.

[jerseygirl]

Perhaps you could ask the shelter if he did this during his time there also. If he did, I would think it okay to wait and let him settle in more.

Is he breathing faster when he does this?

[Depereo]

Hi – good plan, we’ll do that.

 

His breathing rate doesn’t appear to be affected – from time to time he’ll wheeze or squeak a little at the same time though.

[tobyluv]

One of my past rabbits would have those little jerky movements occasionally, and she also made little chirping sounds, kind of like a chipmunk would make. I can’t remember if just her head twitched or if it was her whole body. I wondered if it was some form of hiccups. I never saw her do it very often, the motion didn’t last long, and she was healthy otherwise, so it didn’t seem to be anything to be concerned about. It sounds like your rabbit might be doing it more often, though.

[Depereo]

Hi all,

1- The shelter hadn’t noticed him doing this before, so it does seem to be new behavior.
2- We took him to the vet, who thinks this might be related to the high levels of change. She also thought he was the most relaxed bunny in the world, and he’s in good condition, if a little on the chubby side.

So it seems like he’s doing okay. The twitching hasn’t exactly stopped, but it seems to be quite a lot less dramatic and frequent now – it’s possible that it’s either been gas-related from the diet change or stress related from everything he’s gone through recently. The vet recommended we keep him on the greens we’ve been feeding him and to use complete pellets instead of the mix (so he doesn’t just pick up the parts he likes and ignores his full diet needs).

We’re working on building his real house and playpen so he can move out of the little one that will become the ‘holiday home’ on the lawn.

Wanted to leave the medical advice from the vet here so that if anyone has the same worries about their bun they can find an answer one day.

[Author]

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