Help! Bunny making strange noise

[Belladonna]

My rabbit is grinding his teeth, well i think he is and not the tooth purring. Its sounds alot like he is chewing, but he has nothing in his mouth. I’ve had him for 3 years and have never heard him make a sound like this before. I’m afraid he is in pain or ill. But nothing else points to that. He is not curled into a leave me alone ball. I’ve felt him all over and he has no cuts, bumps, lumps, or abrasions nor did he react painfully at my probbing, looked more annoyed than anything. His temperature is normal, his ears are neither hot nor cold. His breathing and heart rate are fine. He hops about and begged when I offered him a snack. He’s not bloated. Could this be real pain teeth grinding or just a new thing he is trying out to worry me.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

When is he grinding his teeth? Is this continuous? Is it when he’s sprawled completely out? Is he cuddled up with anything?

[Belladonna]

Its not continuous. He’s not doing it now. He’s not sprawled out nor cuddling anything. He was laying on his favorite rug while he grinding. Now he hopping around looking for snacks but he does sit a little funny. He kind of elevates his rear end, like he’s hovering, before settling down. I check his belly and groin,( poked it a bit too) but nothing is there.

[Beka27]

is he arching his back or pressing his tummy to the ground? what do you mean by he “elevates his rear”? how is he eating and pooping today?

[Belladonna]

His eating and pooping are fine. Everything goes in and it all comes out. what i mean by elevated is that he before sits he stands up on his back feet, like he’s about to leap, but then instead he sits down instead. its difficult to describe.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Hrmmm that is difficult…I’ve seen my bunny Rupert grind his teeth after a flop-its definitely his content grind; But usually rabbits only grind when being touched (specifically a nice nose rub)…It’s possible your bun is doing a happy grind just because he’s feeling good, and the eating and pooping are good signs. What does bother me is the elevating the rear. It’s hard to picture but if your bun is doing two things he doesn’t normally do, it’s time to watch very carefully and monitor everything, just in case a vet trip is needed.

[MarkBun]

You could just have a strange bunny. There are always exceptions to the norm and like KK says, he might just like tooth purring all the time.

Is he neutered? I hate to say it, but what you describe with his sitting sounds like he’s “Readjusting” himself so he doesn’t lie down on his testes.  And if he isn’t neutered, he could have something injuring them.

Yeah, it’s a guy thing.

[Hedi]

Is his typical purring quiet?

Three out of 4 buns have very quiet tooth purring-typically we can’t hear it but feel it thru their head while petting. Cooper, my lop, is a little different. His tooth purring could be confused w/ the grinding of his teeth d/t pain. But he is tooth purring. He is always the exception to every rule. I am pretty sure he thinks he is a dog most of the time. lol

When Cooper sits in my lap for pets he gives constant kisses in exchange for cuddles and sometimes his tooth purring is so loud my husband can hear him from about 4 feet away.

[BinkyBunny]

If this is not typical of his normal behavior, and you will know his “normal” purr grind over this “new” grind, then he could have an injury or something going on. Especially if you are noticing something different in his body stance.   You could also check his toes to see if something is going on there which may make him sit different – a broken toe, or pulled out nail, something like that.   I also recommend making an appointment with a rabbit savvy vet to be safe in this case.

[GHbun]

My girlbun used to do that funny rear end thing, too. Like she couldn’t decide to sit or hop. For her, it didn’t mean anything, at least, not anything bad that I needed to take care of.

[jbuggs]

My bunny is 4 yrs old and every spring she limits her food and loses her winter weight and coat.  This spring she is acting funny.  She is all bunched up in the corner by her heat lamp and doesn’t move.  She quit eating completely now, does drink and little water.  So this morning I went to check on her and when I went to pet her head like she normally likes she began this noise like a scraping or grinding of her teeth.  She is all bunched up in a ball and her eyes are half shut.  She seems stiff like she does when she is scared.  She no longer runs and stretches and now with this noise she has never made before what should I do? 

[jerseygirl]

Posted By jbuggs on 5/02/2017 6:24 AM

My bunny is 4 yrs old and every spring she limits her food and loses her winter weight and coat.  This spring she is acting funny.  She is all bunched up in the corner by her heat lamp and doesn’t move.  She quit eating completely now, does drink and little water.  So this morning I went to check on her and when I went to pet her head like she normally likes she began this noise like a scraping or grinding of her teeth.  She is all bunched up in a ball and her eyes are half shut.  She seems stiff like she does when she is scared.  She no longer runs and stretches and now with this noise she has never made before what should I do? 

Not eating, sitting hunched up, grinding teeth, eyes half closed are signs of pain. You should probably take her to a vet. 

http://www.rabbit.org/health/pain.html

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