Help! Sudden profuse fluid from nose/mouth?!

[BunnyMuffin]

So Noelle was just munching on some pellets in her pen when all of a sudden my boyfriend noticed she was struggling to breathe and had this liquid pouring out – there was so much I couldn’t really tell if the source was her nose or mouth.  I got her all wiped up (soaking a whole paper towel in the process) and tried to see if there was something lodged in her mouth but she wouldn’t really open up for me.  She is now back to nibbling and her breathing has returned to normal.  I called the emergency vet line, but the exotics vet isn’t on call and the other people I talked to didn’t seem to think this was very much of a problem…  Said I should just watch her and as long as she “seems normal” not to worry.  But being that they aren’t rabbit savvy, I don’t really  trust them.

Have any of you seen anything like this before?  Does she need to go in to the vet? Did she just swallow wrong and get all pleghmy trying to get it down?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

 

[MimzMum]

I just PM’ed an admin to see if anyone had any advice for you on this, but honestly I would get her to a vet, hopefully an exotic savvy. I know bunnies can’t regurgitate and I’ve never seen any of mine exude any kind of fluid from their mouths. They dont’ even salivate to my knowledge.

It’s possible something got stuck momentarily, but I think a check up would be a good idea anyway, to be sure no damage has been done to the esophagus, despite whether she appears normal or not. Anything involving breathing needs to be brought to the attention of a rabbit-wise veterinarian.

I will send healing vibes in the meantime. Sorry I can’t be of more help. ((((((((BunnyMuffin)))))))))

[BinkyBunny]

well that is scary!!  The problems breathing sound like choking, but it can also be a symptom of infection, and even teeth problems developing (in the very back).  I personally have never heard of so much liquid coming out that it could soak up a WHOLE paper towel? They can’t vomit so I was thinking if your bunny was drinking and aspirated, but you she was eating…for sure? 

I don’t have experience with this – and liquid pouring out of her nose and mouth while eating is baffling. SoI there is no way for me to say she doesn’t need to see an emergency vet.  I am sorry that I can’t help you and I know it’s late so when in doubt, I’d have a vet check her out asap.

I did a google search to look for more choking and aspirating symptoms.  Here are a couple of things I found:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/pet-rabbit-gagging-Rabbit.htm

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/Rabbit-hurling-sounds.htm

Please keep us updated!

[MimzMum]

I just noticed the other thread you posted about recently bonding Noelle to Wally. Is it possible she could’ve picked up some infection from another bunny during the dating process? You said you took her Minneapolis? You’re in North Dakota? Was the weather cold, could she have caught a chill?

I think your bonding the two bunnies may have to wait until you get this sussed out, as you don’t want to cause illness in your new bun. Although separating them if they are close already could make her feel bad and we want her to feel healthy.

I will reiterate my desire that you take her to a vet. Perhaps Bring Wally along for a quick checkup too if possible, to be sure he isn’t also ill.

 

EDIT: My daughter just posed a question…is it possible there is an abcess in her mouth somewhere that you can’t see that may have burst? Hence the fluid? Just a thought.

[Beka27]

oh my gosh! that sounds awful. were you able to take her to an ER vet last night or can you this morning…?

[bunnytowne]

Gosh that is frightening.  I hope none of us ever have to use the method on the posted website. That is just too scary.

[BunnyMuffin]

So Noelle made it through the night without any incident. She ate her supper and hay normally and is out exploring this morning like nothing ever happened. I do know that she was eating and not drinking because I was doing some cage renos so I didn’t have her water hanging but had given her pellets to munch on while she was homeless. I did offer her a dish of water afterwards but she wasn’t interested.

As for the amount of fluid – I forgot to mention in all of my excitement that we have those “select a size” paper towels, so it was probably about a 1/3 or 2/3 of a normal paper towel (I can’t remember if I grabbed one or had two folded over). That and a bit on my sleeve. The fluid seemed almost kinda gooey, which was making me think it was a nose problem (I happen to be sick right now and know all about gooey fluids from the nose), but my boyfriend was thinking it was mainly a mouth thing. Who knows.

I also inspected Noelle this morning and her nose and around her mouth are dry today – so no constant runny nose or anything.

I will call the vet and see when the exotics vet is in next and take them both in for a once over.

And to MimzMum – the weather in both Minneapolis and North Dakota has been great so far. Nice mild weather – no rain or snow or anything to speak of. I’ll ask the vet if he thinks a burst abscess is possible. I really don’t know anything about them, so I’ll see what he thinks.

Thanks for all your advice – I’ll keep you posted!

[BunnyMuffin]

Well – I made her a vet appointment, but the earliest they had with the rabbit vet is 10:30 on Wednesday…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh my gosh how scary!! Did you throw the paper towel out? Keep it in a ziplock bag and bring it to the appt. Maybe they can run some tests? {{VIBES}}

[BunnyMuffin]

Unfortunately, the paper towel is already in the trash… but Noelle still seems to be doing well. Plenty of energy, eating lots, pooping normally. So I’m crossing my fingers she just choked or something weird – but I’ll keep a close eye on her until we see the vet. Make sure there’s no secondary infections from the fluid moistening things up.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Absolutely- please keep us posted!!! {VIBES}

[BunnyMuffin]

I emailed Dana Krempels about my scare with Noelle (since I’ve seen it recommended in other places to contact her) and this was her response:

“Wow, what a scare! I’m glad you had the presence of mind to clear her airways. You may have saved her life.
No real telling what caused this. Rabbits do not have a vomit reflex, but I have heard of some rabbits “regurgitating” clear liquid when they aspirate a bit of food.
It’s good that you have an appointment set up with the vet soon. IF she’s acting normal now, then you probably dodged a bullet. But keep a close eye on her, and if this happens again, get her to the vet immediately, and tell them that its’ an emergency.
Be sure you have a vet who is experienced with *rabbits*. You can find one here:
http://www.rabbit.org/vets
Hope this helps.
Dana”

So I’m kinda hoping this was a one time thing – but will let you all know what the vet says on Wednesday.

[BB Administrator]

This is BinkyBunny in admin mode (working on the site and I didn’t want t sign out, sign back in, and sign out, and sign in as admin again) ANYWAY, I am so glad you have an appointment, and I am also glad that you emailed Dana. So far I have found that many of the answers she has given end up just mirroring what my rabbit savvy vet says, so it’s great to have Dana as a resource. I continue to learn from her. I need to send her a card on behalf of this site, since so many members have benefited from her quick savvy responses!

Anyway, keep us updated as to what your vet says.

Helloworld!!

[MooBunnay]

I’m so glad to hear that you were able to get an answer from Dana Krempels. I’m afraid that I won’t be much help because I have never heard of anything like that before. The closest I have seen to that is my bunnies that got “colds” and had discharge from their noses, but in that case they were also sneezing quite a bit and had snotty noses – things that you would definitely have picked up on if that was the problem. I’m glad to hear that she is doing much better!

[BunnyMuffin]

I just got back from the vet and it looks like everything is okay. He listened to their breathing and investigated their noses and didn’t hear or see anything to make him suspect a respiratory infection. He also checked their teeth and they both have nice, straight teeth – no spurs or anything like that. Noelle weighed in at 5lbs, Wally’s at 5.4lbs. And he thought Wally was probably older than the 6 months estimated by the Rabbit Rescue folks – probably in around a year. The vet didn’t really have an explanation for the fluid incident with Noelle – said if they get food stuck in their teeth there can be some drooling – but this was a lot more than drooling. I’ll just stick with Dana Krempel’s explanation and chalk it up to good old fashioned choking. So now I just make sure to watch Noelle when she’s eating her pellets. She just gets so excited about them – she starts trying to stick her nose in the cup before I’ve even had a chance to sprinkle them on the floor. So now I’ve been making her sit still and stay back when I distribute the pellets and am hoping this will teach her to be calm while eating pellets and hopefully prevent any future choking incidents. At least she’s not infected! 🙂

[MimzMum]

That’s wonderful news! I am so happy for you and Noelle and Wally! ^_^

Pip was completely disinterested in pellets when I first introduced them too her. Within a few weeks, she would attack me for them! To the day, I want to withdraw my hand from her bowl a.s.a.p., or risk losing several layers of skin.

I’ve never seen her choke no matter how hard she snarfs her pellets. And the vet didn’t see any abnormalities with her throat or windpipe?

Here’s an odd question…since bunnies have no gag reflex, do they also not have an epiglottis? (the little flap that covers the windpipe to keep food out of the airway during swallowing and opens to allow normal breathing)

[Beka27]

i’m glad she’s alright. that’s still very bizarre…

[osprey]

I agree, this was a strange incident. i am glad your guys go a clean bill of health!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh I’m late *smacks head* I’m glad she’s good!! A clean bill of health from the vet is always very reassuring!!

And bunmuffin, when horses ‘bolt their grain’, meaning they eat way too fast and can choke or cause tummy troubles (can’t vomit either just like bunnies) the owners put large heavy objects in their bowl to keep them from being able to eat them so fast.

Something similar would probably help you. You could put a small amount in a bowl with some marbles and then she’s have to work around them to eat the pellets and it would take time, or you could spread them out in the cage.

[BunnyMuffin]

Yeah – I think I’d be more reassured if I had a better vet…but it’ll have to do until I move to Minneapolis with a better selection. North Dakota doesn’t even rate on the “suggested vets” lists, it’s quite sad.

I’ve always scattered them in the cage, and she still goes crazy – she’s been a bit better lately – I can get most of them scattered before she has her nose in my measuring cup! 🙂 Thanks for your tips though – maybe I should mix them in with some hay and make her dig for them! Mwahaha!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

The other thing you could try is looking through the dog toy section at a well stocked petstore…..Get one of those balls that you can put treats in and the dog has to work to get them out (they’re to keep dogs minds busy while you aren’t home). As long as there are no peices that can come off, it looks very durable and is non toxic (which is how they make most of them) you could give her pellets in one of those?

Something like these

http://bowwowluxuriesandneeds.com/library/ToyTreatBall.jpg

http://www.pettoysplus.com/ProductImages/talking/talktometreatballsgroup.jpg

[BunnyMuffin]

That’s a good idea! I think I got a treat dispensing ball in a recent busy bunny order, so maybe I’ll have to give that a try!

[skunklionshow]

I have a cat w/ IBS.  At one point he always pucked after he ate.  We figured that he was just chomping it all up so fast.  We put golfballs in their dry food bowls.  It slowed him down b/c he’d have to move the golf balls around to eat.  I just think marbles are too small….

[BunnyMuffin]

Yeah – I don’t have any marbles anyway, or golf balls for that matter… But I put some pellets in the new treat dispensing ball and the buns went crazy pushing it all over the place to get them out! It was pretty hilarious, but definitely slowed them down. So I think I’ll do that from now on. Force them to exercise and not eat so fast at the same time.

[MimzMum]

Don’t feel bad, BunnyMuffin. At least where you are you have a chance of getting a better vet…not only do we not show up on the rabbits.org site, but I kind of doubt anyone is going to move to Alaska to be our only experienced bunny vet! >.<

I am glad to hear Noelle is not having any other problems. Pip is really good at vacuuming up pellets too, but she’s mellowed a bit in her voracity. Now I just watch her settle herself on her sleeping shelf and relax, then she casually dips her nose in her pellet crock and then takes it out long enough to nom away at a leisurely pace, kind of like a cow. (Or maybe like a spoiled old lady in robe, slippers and curlers on the couch with her bonbons!) When I first introduced her to pellets, she’d attack you for them!

Perhaps Noelle will learn, with time and patience, a better way to eat is to do so sedately. In the meantime I wish you the best of luck with the dispenser!

skunklionshow, Your post gave me an idea about my own cat. He definitely tends to throw up after eating his crunchies, I wonder if he has that? I didn’t know cats could get IBS, actually.
I bought some Science Diet for him today, I want to see if it’s just cheap cat food he doesn’t do well with first.

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