Fast Breathing and Less Energy

[snowballsmomma]

So I have two foster buns (Angoras) over the Christmas break and I’m worried about one of them – the female specifically.

The male is very energetic, but the female has always been less energetic.  She would run maybe for a few minutes, and then flop.  Over the past week since I’ve got her, she has also been shaking and “fast” breathing, sometimes after exercising but sometimes not.  It looks relatively the same as the person who posted about their bunny in the link below.  I wrote the shelter vet and they asked if there was any ear or eye discharge (there wasn’t), and then said to monitor for now.

why is my bunny shaking continuously while lying down? i just got him a week ago and am quite worried : Rabbits (reddit.com)

But today, I feel like she has gotten worse.  She hopped/ran for maybe 5 seconds three times the whole evening, and then laid down, barely coming out of the pen.  Her brother also seemed less energetic than before this evening, but still more than her.  Also, in the afternoon, she went in a meatloaf position today for a bit twice, which I’ve never seen her do ever (she always does the flop/superman), and I also thought I saw in the afternoon her breathing slowly which was weird.  I don’t know…. I can’t tell if I’m overthinking…  Part of me is wondering if they both got a URI, as I heard a little bit of sneezing/snorting while eating today as well, but the amount that I’ve heard them sneeze/snort just doesn’t seem like that much?

At the same time though, she is still eating her pellets/hay fine, and she is pooping fine as well.  If it is a URI or something else concerning, is it okay to wait until tomorrow to see a vet (right now its nearly midnight)?  I’m just not sure how serious I should treat this.

[jerseygirl]

Could the environment be too warm for her today perhaps? Her coat might be more wooly then the boy?

Rabbits tend to breath fast when hot. Or after stress.

It’s good to have her seen in the near future just incase some underlying condition is causing this.

Do you know much about their age or prior circumstances?

[snowballsmomma]

Hey jerseygirl,

I’m currently in Canada (so it’s winter here), and its relatively cool in my basement – it’s about 21 degrees Celsius.  I do think she probably overheats quickly because of her coat, but because she has less energy than the days before, that’s what worries me.

I definitely will bring them in tomorrow assuming her energy level doesn’t change.  I just wasn’t sure if this constitutes an overnight visit 🙁  They are both approximately 6 months old.  I know they were in the shelter for a few months, got spayed and neutered last month, and had e.cuniculi (I think this was it, but if not, another parasite) two months ago, where they received adequate treatment which resolved itself.

[Wick & Fable]

I also wonder about circumstances. She sounds like my Fable, who is a very fast breather and often lounges. She came from not-ideal environments prior to coming to me and is generally a very anxious rabbit. It’s possible that this is this rabbit’s general demeanor, though evaluating for underlying conditions would be wise.

If you are referring to an overnight visit at a vet, I don’t think that’s necessary nor would a vet recommend that.

I’ve considered whether my Fable perhaps either anatomically and/or pathologically has difficulty breathing, in addition to being generally more easily stressed. An xray could be informative, if you are able to do so. I haven’t done this on Fable, so I can’t let you know what the outcome is for her. She has been this way since we got her over a year ago.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[snowballsmomma]

Thanks Wick – that’s interesting to hear that your Fable also breathes fast and lounges as well (while still being healthy).  I definitely wish I knew more about their backstory but I unfortunately don’t have much.  I tried to ask the foster team if she was doing this shaking while she was at the shelter the past few months, but unfortunately they didn’t answer that part either (I assume they weren’t really watching her I guess).

I did actually read something that said bunnies with EC could have permanent heart damage causing them to have rapid breathing on a normal occasion.  I always assume that I will be able to tell if a bun is stressed, but you do make a good point that some rabbits are more easily stressed or could have anatomical or pathalogical reasons for breathing faster.  I would do the xray if it was up to me, but unfortunately I doubt the shelter will do it.

Thanks for your thoughts.  I am going to wait until the morning and see how she is then.  She is going back to the shelter this weekend, so I will mention it to them regardless to check out, but if she seems low energy tomorrow morning as well then I will call them and bring her in.  Thanks both for your quick replies 🙂

 

[jerseygirl]

21C should be a comfortable temp for them. 🙂

”but because she has less energy than the days before, that’s what worries me.”

So she wasn’t like this in the 1st few days?

Something else I meant to ask, are the bunnies housed together?

 

[snowballsmomma]

Hi jerseygirl 🙂

Yes, I’ve had them for a week, and yesterday she had less energy than her normal.  It seemed like she tired out more quickly than before (ex. went out the cage just to flop right by the door, rather than wandering around outside for a minute or two and then flopping).  This morning, thankfully, she has returned to same-ish energy as in the past, so I feel a bit better.  She is supposed to go back to the shelter Sunday morning so my thought is to mention it then, but if she gets worse the next two days, I’ll have to bring her to an emergency clinic somewhere because of the NYE holidays.

And yes, the bunnies are housed together!  Are you thinking maybe it is causing her anxiety/stress being with her partner (I think he’s her brother because of the age, but not sure)?  I haven’t seen any fighting between them.  He does groom her a bit but she doesn’t groom him (she seems like she’s the boss of the two lol).

[Wick & Fable]

Hm, under the assumption there is no underlying condition, it’s possible maybe she is just a more relaxed and chill rabbit? Especially during the daytime hours, my rabbits tend to lounge all day. It is a new environment and they are individually adjusting to your routine, so when she decides to sleep, recharge, and be energetic may be naturally fluctuating as she’s learning how to adjust to your dynamic?

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[snowballsmomma]

I definitely think she is more relaxed in general than the male (the male is high energy).  It’s tough because I don’t know what her personality was at the shelter or beforehand, but I kind of took her first few days as her general “baseline” in terms of energy level.  Already, she tends to lounge all day and even in the morning/evening to a decent extent.  But I agree, my dad was saying that in the afternoon, their sleep was disrupted more than the previous days (because he was in there more than usual), so it’s possible that also caused her to be a bit more low energy during the evening.  I hope that was it as she was better this morning.

I did have to brush her this morning though and she got really upset and scared, so much so that she escaped (she was on my lap) and then hit her nose running into one of the cage walls… she then hyperventilated for about 15 minutes afterwards and refused any food for a period 🙁  She’s fine now it seems but it’s just unfortunate.  I obviously don’t know for certain why she shakes so much – if she does have a slight medical problem – so I don’t want to cause her to have a heart attack from the fright.

But thank you both jerseygirl and Wick for your quick responses.  I really appreciate the moderators of binkybunny so much – you guys are always so helpful and knowledgeable on anything that comes up 🙂

[LBJ10]

Perhaps she was just seemed more energetic because she was in the new place. Then she calmed down a bit and is now at her baseline? It does sound like she is more mellow and perhaps her wool makes her a bit too warm.

[snowballsmomma]

Maybe!  Although she does seem very energetic in the mornings consistently now; it’s just the evenings she can be almost scarily uninterested/sleepy.  I’m thinking it is probably due to the fact that both of them may not sleep as well in the afternoon (vs. the night) or the fact that she eats more pellets during the day and doesn’t feel as great.

Either way, I’m hoping they will check her out tomorrow when she comes into the shelter because her heart always seems like it is pumping quite hard and she is fast breathing.

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