Bunny vomited?!

[senatcha93]

I know that technically bunnies can’t vomit because of their anatomy…but mine did?! I wasn’t there when it happened but I can only imagine that it must have been awful. Poor little bunny. I am definitely visiting my vet tomorrow – but has anyone else experienced something like this? You can see mushed pellets inside his water bowl. It also has a reddish hue to it?Is it blood?!?!? He didn’t eat anything else other than hay and pellets today.

He eats and drinks normal now however for a week now he makes rapid movements every now and then as if he had the hiccups.

[Azerane]

So the picture is of his water bowl with pellets inside?

You are correct that rabbits are incapable of vomiting. What can happen however is that they can accidentally aspirate (inhale) some food so they end up with food in their lungs and then cough it up. If this has happened, you will need to keep a very close eye as complications such as respiratory infections and pneumonia can occur a few days after aspiration of food or water.

Other possibilities are that he has pooped in his water bowl and it has broken down to look like pellets. The red tint could be from a little bit of pee in the water too. I’m not sure. Another possible scenario is that he carried some pellets and dunked them in his water bowl, which isn’t unknown to happen.

[Mikey]

It looks more like poop in his water bowl to me. My buns sometimes even accidentally toss their pellets (and sometimes hay) into their water, if theyre overly excited while eating. Did you actually watch your rabbit cough, or was that a guess?

[senatcha93]

So I have considered this theory and actually did a test. On the picture you can see soaked poop in water. It has been in the water for 6 hours now. Doesn’t dissolve. So he did cough it up/vomit because I doubt he put his pellet into the water bowl. But I’m testing this hypothesis now as well.

[Mikey]

Different poops break apart differently in water. How old the poop matters, too. Water movement can also break it apart sooner. Not to be rude, but youre tests are not accurate because they do not mimic the exacts of what (could have) happened

[LittlePuffyTail]

Maybe he had some food in his mouth before he went to take a drink and it fell in the water. My lop’s water often has little bits of food in it.

[bunnyfriend]

Hi! I looked at the pictures and that’s exactly what my bunnies’ water bowls look like when they get some pellets in them. Like LittlePuffyTail’s lop, they do this often.

[Jeremy]

Opening up a slightly old thread here but I came here because I just WATCHED my bunny vomit. I gave Nugget some pellets (he gets a small handful of pellet mix for breakfast, but mostly eats hay and leafy greens) and as I was making my morning coffee I heard a coughing noise that he’s never made before. Went to check on him and literally witnessed him vomit with my own eyes. Chewed up pellet spew on the carpet. This continued for about 3-4 minutes (the coughing, no further food came up) and then he seemed hungry again so I gave him some broccoli leaf and he demolished it.

I’m going to take Azerane’s advice that maybe he had inhaled some food in error and will keep a close eye on him over the next few days to ensure his breathing seems normal.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I think that seems likely Jeremy. Pellets are a pretty common cause of choke in bunnies. I’ve witnessed my bunny choking on pellets but he was able to cough it out, thankfully. I now am super cautious and he’s not allowed dry pellets (because he eats them like a vacuum and hence the choking). I put a bit of warm water on his pellets and let them puff up, nice and soft. Some people just scatter the pellets so bunny can’t eat them so fast.

Good idea to keep an eye on him. Bunnies that aspirate can develop pneumonia. Hope your little guy is fine.

[Deleted User]

Rabbits aren’t able to vomit, it looks like pellets dissolved in the water to me.

[Author]

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