My rabbit died unexpectedly after a fit and screaming. Can anyone help say why?

[Omaraggouche]

Today my rabbit died unexpectedly.
My mother said he was panicking in his cage like he was spooked and ran from one side to the other.
He then got out and went under the table was on his side breathing heavily and then started to kick out his legs as if running but still on his side on the floor.
My mother was nearest to him and said there was some dribbling.
He let out 2 screams during it.
After it all he lay still for 30 secs until we realised he had gone.
He was fine b4 all this.
His diet is green beans, lettuce, pellets (we recently accidentally bought Guinea pig pellets and gave him them) sometimes carrots and apricots and bananas as treats.
Can anyone say what happened and why?

 

[Whiterabbitrage]

You were giving him hay to eat, right? Adults rabbits main diet is hay.

His death was so violent and sudden, is there any chance he was frightened into a heart attack?

I'm really sorry for your loss. I hope you figure out what happened to him. I hope you get more responses.

 

[Omaraggouche]

My mother who was there from the start said he did seem spooked at first so could that be the reason? I don't see how having a fit could be a suitable response to if he saw a Predator for example

 

[RavenousDragon]

It sounds like it could have been a seizure (animals often kick and vocalize and urinate/ deficate during seizures). If so, something probably either caused the seizure (e.g. meningitis-- a bacterial infection in the lining of the brain) or his seizure went on too long and he suffocated. Seizures can be idiopathic (aka we don't really know what causes them) as well.

 

[Blue eyes]

Screams can result from extreme fear (predators don't have to be seen -- a sound can scare a rabbit, as can an overpassing shadow. This could cause extreme panic, heart attack or seizure-like symptoms) A 'fit' would not be highly unusual of a response for a suddenly startled/scared rabbit. as Whiterabbitrage suggested

OR screams can result from extreme pain (caused by or resulting in a seizure). as Ravdragon suggested

Hard to determine for sure.

 

[JBun]

Rabbits are a prey animal and pretty fragile, and do sometimes get scared enough that it induces a heart attack. None of us on here can say for certain, but to me it does sound like it could have been a heart attack based on your description of events, that either resulted from a sudden fright, or it could also be the heart attack happened first because of some unexplained medical condition and this caused your rabbit to panic and run in the cage.

Based on when the fit and screaming occurred, it was most likely a dying response. I've had it happen with my rabbits right before they passed from old age or illness.

I'm sorry you lost your rabbit. If you want to know for sure what the cause of death was, you would need to have a necropsy done, and even then the cause of death can come back inconclusive.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We had one young boy pass suddenly--he was panting and acting scared. The vet said heart attack and he had an enlarged heart.

 

[Sue]

I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like a seizure or possibly a stroke.
Did your rabbit play outside? Long ago, we used to let our rabbit exercise outside, supervised of course. We later found out that our bunny caught "head tilt disease" from the wild critters in our backyard... squirrels, raccoons etc. This almost sounds like what our bunny went through when she got sick.
Beware bun owners of what your babies could catch from being in your own backyard! How stupid we were not to know this could happen from feces or other bacteria.

 

[Omaraggouche]

Yes he used to play outside quite a bit in our garden do you know what are the symptoms for this disease?

 

[emoseley]

First, I'm so sorry for your loss.....losing a furbaby is never easy. I lost my Magpie Harlequin girl, Miss Willis, a couple of years back...not as suddenly as your bun, but a rapid onset of something, nonetheless. She also gave out the 2 screams and was gone. She was in my arms in the car as we were speeding to a rabbit-savvy vet. Still not sure what took her.....
I've heard many other folks tell of the 2 cries before their rabbit passed.

The "head tilt disease" mentioned above is also called Encephalitozoonosis, and is caused by the parasite, e.cuniculi. I believe you would have seen some symptoms of the disease prior to the episode you described in your post. This disease usually takes some time to develop and you would have noticed the head tilting to one side, as the name implies, and perhaps some circling or spinning due to equilibrium issues. Also, the eyes develop what is called nystagmus, which is a vertical involuntary rhythmic eye movement. If you didn't see any of these symptoms prior, I don't think your rabbit was a victim of this disease. I would be more likely to go along with the seizure or stroke theory.

Like so many rabbit parents, we have to do our own research more often than not, as there is a lack of Veterinarians that are trained for rabbit medicine. I've become fairly knowledgeable on many subjects regarding rabbits, thanks to some great websites and from forums like these! Lucky are the ones who have a rabbit-savvy vet nearby! Just don't beat yourself up about it though! Over the years I've lost 3 bunnies and it seems like when it's their time to go, that's just what they do.
yerz trooly,
Ellen and Leroy tha bunneh

 

[JBun]

Yes he used to play outside quite a bit in our garden do you know what are the symptoms for this disease?

E. cuniculi manifests with a variety of symptoms, depending on what organ the parasite spores end up affecting most. Most common symptoms are head tilt (brain, CNS, neurological) and kidney problems, but it can also affect the lungs, liver, eyes, and heart. Though there might be some slight possibility that this could be the cause of your rabbits sudden death, like emoseley, I am more inclined to think there is another more common cause for the sudden death of your rabbit than EC. Though regardless, there would be no way to know for sure without having a necropsy done. We can all make educated guesses as to what the cause of your rabbits death was based on the symptoms you described, but truly there really is no way for any of us to say for sure what the cause might have been. It's all speculation and only with a necropsy would you be able to know for sure, and even then sometimes not.

While it's true that rabbits can contract the e. cuniculi parasite from being exposed to the contaminated urine of other animals, the fact is that a majority of rabbits are already asymptomatic carriers of the parasite, often from in utero, and usually never manifest symptoms of the disease encephalitozoonosis. When a rabbit does become ill with the disease, it is often due to some sort of underlying illness, trauma, or other stressor before hand, that weakens the rabbits immune system and allows the disease to emerge. Though it is possible for it to cause a sudden fatality, it is more common for it to manifest with symptoms based on the organs affected, for many weeks before being fatal(though EC does not always end up being fatal). So if a rabbit does have e. cuniculi, it will more likely have symptoms of illness and not just die suddenly without exhibiting any symptoms.
http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Parasitic/Encephalitozoonosis.htm

 

[Omaraggouche]

Fortunately he didn't show any of those symptoms. It seems he died of shock but I'm not sure of what. His cage is near the glass door so maybe he saw something outside but usually if hes scared he only starts to thump and look agitated. There mustve been a real shock for him :/