Heavy Breathing

[Sydneyfinch]

My two and a half year old female (neutered) Rex has been breathing very heavily for the last few weeks. Although I haven’t noticed any behavioural changes when she is lying down I often notice that her nostrils are very flared when breathing in and it looks like she might be struggling to get enough air in. She has also been having a few sneezing fits where she sneezes 5-12 times in quick succession. She does not always have these symptoms, they are usually there for a few days and then they seem to go away and it doesn’t seem to be getting any worse as time goes by. Her eyes and nose look clear and clean.

This weekend I took her to the vet just to check everything was all right and they said that they didn’t think there was a problem and it could just be allergies or the weather. It is winter now and we have started using the fireplace in the evenings although she hasn’t shown any symptoms like this last year when we were using the fire place a lot more frequently. 

The vet suggested that when showering I bring her into the room with me so that she breaths in the humid air and that may clear her up a bit as well as cleaning out the litter tray more frequently than usual in case she is sensitive to the ammonia. 

One other thing that worries me but the vet didn’t seem too concerned about was that sometimes I notice when Bonsai (my rabbit!) is lying down she will lift her head up and back a bit. It’s not as extreme as a lot of photos I’ve seen online and is definitely not normal for her. 

The vet did suggest that if we were still worried we could take her to a vet that has more knowledge working with rabbits as she didn’t see many but she didn’t think that there was anything to worry about unless the symptoms got worse. 

This morning for the first time I noticed what might have been a bit of discharge around her nose, it pretty much looked like a regular small “snot bogie” which I have never seen on her before. Other than that her nose looked completely dry and clear. 

I’m going to do some research and try to find a vet nearby that has more experience with rabbits but I just wanted to check if anyone else had experienced similar issues with their pets and if they had any advice. 

Thank you, 

[jerseygirl]

We actually had a member posting about similar issue yesterday. For them, they discovered it was most likely the temperature. Could you move Bonsai into a cooler area of the house when you see her like this? To see if it makes a difference?

Elevating the head and nose pointing is a bit concerning. I agree, like she is having trouble getting a full breath. It may be worth having some further diagnostic work done, like x-ray. Go with your instincts on this.

David Vella is regarded as a top rabbit vet there. If he is too far away, their clinic may be able to give details of other vets he recommends.

ETA: Try and get some video when she is doing the breathing and head/nose lifting. This will be useful for a vet to see. 

[Sr. Melangell]

My bunny sneezes a lot, 3 vets have said he has hayfever, he does breathe quickly sometimes, I changed his litter to a different brand, it helped for a while, the best thing to do is stay calm when your bunny sneezes, if I panic when my boy sneezes he panics too, it could be hayfever, I wish I could buy him something because I know what it is like because I have all year round hayfever, in the pet shop they say there is nothing for rabbits for hayfever, telling me rabbits don’t get hayfever, I’ve asked at the vets aboiut things that may help, they suggested Hay cookies, because there is a lot of dust in hay bags, they cost a lot more, there are medications to help but bunnies IF bunny has hayfever but has to be really sick to get the treatment,.

[Sydneyfinch]

Thank you both for your responses. I will try moving her into different areas of the house to see if temperature has any effect.

I’ve heard great things about David Vella so was considering booking an appointment with him. I’ve also been recommended a vet at Penrith Veterinary Hospital which is half as far so may go there as car trips are quite stressful for Bonsai. Taking a video to show the vet is a great idea as when we went to our local vet this morning she wasn’t showing any of the symptoms and that is frequently the case when we take our rabbits in!

I’ve never heard of hay cookies but I’ll look into them. We currently get wheaten hay by the bale and a few of months ago switched from oaten to wheaten hay to try and help Bonsai loose some weight. We also switched to a different supplier. I hadn’t thought this new hay was connected as it was a couple months before her symptoms started but that is a possibility.

Hopefully the cause of this issue is something at home that can be adjusted but I’ll still go ahead and check in with a specialist vet for peace of mind.

Thank you guys,

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