Breathing noise only when picked up

Hi everyone! I wanted to share this with you because though my rabbit has always been healthy I'm a bit worried now. He's five years old and for the last year or so, when I pick him up his breathing becomes very noticeable. I found this video and it definitely sounds like this: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSjUgX1JQJE#t=33"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSjUgX1JQJE[/ame]

He only does it when being held, otherwise it's not audible. And it doesn't look it's due to being stressed because he's very used to being held since he was a baby, you can pick him up and take it wherever you want and he won't feel nervous/scared nor try to get down. He's very sociable. It sounds more like if he had some kind of problem breathing in held position. I've been testing it and the sound is heavier when he's lying down (like a baby).

Otherwise his breathing is perfectly fine but he has started doing this about a year ago. Well I have to mention that last week he got conjunctivitis in one eye. I took him to the vet because he had a runny eye (first time ever) and he said that he probably had obstructed tear ducts because he made the dye test and the liquid didn't come out now he's on drops for his conjunctivitis.

Aside from this, he is in a super mood all the time and doesn't look ill (and his noise isn't wet). But all the conjunctivitis thing made me think (it's just crossed my mind now, I should have asked the vet and I'll do it next time) that maybe the breathing sound when being held could be something not as harmless as it seems, and I'd like to know if there are healthy bunnies out there doing that.

Thank you for reading and your help by the way this is my rabbit http://tinyurl.com/onwcsj4 very fluffy and cute thingy and very loved by everyone.

Hmm I don't know why the video starts at 0:33, tried to fix it but it didn't work. It sounds more like at the start of the video, not like at that second. It's that noise but not as heavier as that rabbit makes it sometimes in the video. It's definitely audible but it only gets heavier if he's lying down.

(I'm having problems editing my messages, sorry about this >__<). I wanted to add this as well in case it helps. When I say he's in super mood I mean he's very active and running over there without any problem. He's never in a cage, he has an entire room for himself at night and during the day he has all the house to wander, so he can do as much exercise as he wants and he does it. The fact that he runs so much (he's really fast in the garden) and always getting on and off the sofa, etc. etc. never made me think that he has breathing issues, because I think that if he had, he couldn't be running and exercising like that.

If its a sound your rabbit has never made before in its nasal passages then it sounds like there might be an infection. Maybe you should ask your vet if it needs a oral antibiotic.

Thank you for your reply. Yes, I'm going to ask my vet next time. I never thought anything important of it because I believe that if it was something more than getting older and maybe less comfortable to breathe in that position, it should have affected his behaviour, right? But it's been like a year and he's the same as always, that's why to me it was an age thing.

I had the same problem w/ both of my bun(s) ....

I just took some kind of nasal drop(s) ( and boy they will love that, not ), it was ocean something ( and I don't want to lie either ) and put in a few drop(s) in each nose ( for 7 days ) ...

my vet, also wrote out some kind of script that was given by a plastic syringe ( for 14 days )

Lokin4AReason said:

I had the same problem w/ both of my bun(s) ....

I just took some kind of nasal drop(s) ( and boy they will love that, not ), it was ocean something ( and I don't want to lie either ) and put in a few drop(s) in each nose ( for 7 days ) ...

my vet, also wrote out some kind of script that was given by a plastic syringe ( for 14 days )

Click to expand...

Thank you! Did the noise fully disappear after that?

I would say yes ... I haven't heard a squeak yet ( mainly grunts now ) =0)

the nasal drop(s) helped from what I have noticed, by them sneezing it out ( what ever material that they had built up in the nasal passage ). also it helped w/ them breathing a bit better. I have to like warn you, they will do anything and everything to get out of it ( some serious squirming ) ...

Lokin4AReason said:

I would say yes ... I haven't heard a squeak yet ( mainly grunts now ) =0)

the nasal drop(s) helped from what I have noticed, by them sneezing it out ( what ever material that they had built up in the nasal passage ). also it helped w/ them breathing a bit better. I have to like warn you, they will do anything and everything to get out of it ( some serious squirming ) ...

Click to expand...

Thank you! Glad to know that it doesn't seem serious. I'll tell my vet next time