Sneezing vs. choking?

[henry2809]

Hi everyone! Today I was feeding my rabbit some of his treats and he let out a few sneezes/coughs while he was chewing the treats. He seemed totally ok after and kept eating his treats and he’s acting normal. Does this sound like aspiration pneumonia, or just a simple sneeze while eating? Would aspiration pneumonia usually be due to a more severe episode? I know that pneumonia is very serious in rabbits, so I get worried any time I think he could have possibly aspirated. Thanks in advance!

[Bam]

It’s not really possible to say. Were the treats tiny? Rabbits tend to choke on small pieces of food that they’re very excited for and pretty much inhale instead of chew. Greedy buns should be fed scattered pellets rather than pellets in a bowl, to lower the risk of this.

If dhe still seems fine, think you could just keep a close eye on her.

You can read up a bit on “the bunny Heimlich” so you know what to do if your bun should ever actually choke. It’s always good to have a plan in case sth bad does happen.

https://rabbit.org/2010/10/the-heimlich-maneuver/

 

[BrownietheBunny]

hi! My bunny chokes a lot of times due to her dental issues, so I hope my experience can help 😆

When my bunny chokes, she opens her mouth instead cause she can’t breathe through her nose. Also, choking tends to last over a longer period of time, if your bunny is sneezing, I don’t think that he or she will keep sneezing over a longer period of time.

I’ve used the heimlich maneuver before, I’ll be honest, it’s quite hard to do especially if you have a bunny that hates being carried. I usually just bring mine to the vet if it persists for too long.

My bunny unfortunately died due to a choking incident that occurred. And I suspect that the shock she got from the heimlich maneuver may have also caused her condition to worsen. However, it’s up to you and your bunny. If your bunny is usually comfortable with being handled, it would be great if you can do it esp if the vet is far away.

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