11 week old dwarf breathing weird.. advice please

[GTOJOE2]

age: 10-11 weeks
breed: dwarf
diet: pellets, hay, very occasional tiny piece of banana for being good.


my 11 week old dark thumper was fine before i left to go run a couple errands, I came back home opened the cage so he could come out (i never pick him up out of the cage because that is his territory) and he make a weird noise.

so I put him back on the ground and he didnt want to move when usually he is running around like a little rocket in the living while I keep a close eye on him.

so now I have him in my lap and he is making squeaking noise breathing in.. its scaring me and I dont know of any good rabbit vets in the area.

Thumper has gotten courageous and has been jumping off the couch, maybe it has something to with hm breathing heavy ?

I have him laying on the couch snuggled up to my leg right now and he wont move even if I put him on the ground... this is really concerning me.. any advice would be grateful and appreciated.

thanks you,

-joey-

 

[GTOJOE2]

feels like his heart is beating a little bit faster than normal too and he smells (his bum) if that matters

 

[LakeCondo]

Could something be stuck in his throat? Has he eaten or had any water since this started happening?

 

[ZRabbits]

Could be gas. When a bunny is breathing heavy, not moving and his bum is a bit messy, he's having a problem with digestion. Maybe the banana is messing up his system. 11 weeks old is a bit young IMHO for fruit. Even as a treat.

How is he doing today? I would stick to the hay and pellets. Also you can give him something for relief of the gas. I don't remember the name, but you can use it for human babies to relieve gas.

Let us know how he's doing.

K

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

ZRabbits wrote:

Could be gas.  When a bunny is breathing heavy, not moving and his bum is a bit messy, he's having a problem with digestion.  Maybe the banana is messing up his system.  11 weeks old is a bit young IMHO for fruit.  Even as a treat.

How is he doing today?  I would stick to the hay and pellets.  Also you can give him something for relief of the gas.  I don't remember the name, but you can use it for human babies to relieve gas. 

Let us know how he's doing.

K

Simethicone is the product for babies to relieve gas. Sounds like that may be the case, or something lodged in his nasel passage possibly?

 

[GTOJOE2]

He looked a little better this morning when I left for work, I left a little late to make sure he was doing better, breathing seems to be better. He had drank water since last night I noticed the level before I left.

I give him a very small amount of fruit, like pellet size and that's only twice so far in two weeks

I'm going to call my girlfriend on my breakfast break in 20 min to see how he's doing

 

[ZRabbits]

Is he molting? Something too to consider. That could set his system off too (digesting too much hair).

Glad to hear he's perking up a bit. The water drinking is definitely a good sign. Hoping it was just a fluke thing and he's up zooming around in no time.

K

 

[ZRabbits]

I went and did a search. It seems this is the time many young rabbits get stomach problems. It could even be caused by stress and not just diet.

http://www.butterflybunnies.co.uk/health-info/

Hope this helps.

K

 

[LakeCondo]

I hope things continue to improve. If it was gas, it could have been triggered by trying to eat too fast, so maybe getting one of the hollow balls to fill with the pellets & he has to push it, would help. They're usually sold for cats & need to be adjustable down to pellet size.

You probably should pick out a vet, so don't have to find one under stress.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[GTOJOE2]

He is doing better, Definately breathing better thank the lord, little bugger was scaring me, but I did have to clean up his bum, had a lot of poop stuck to it.

He's still being a bit lazy won't really come out of the cage, but I just think he isn't feeling 100%. I found a vet on here that isn't too far from me, if he doesn't get Better i will make an appointment.

I'm just do used to him making my living room into a race track its so cute running from the carpet to his cage running up to me giving me a crazy look and binkies and running around like a nut (that's why his nickname is throttle lol)

He has been eating a good amount lately, might have to do with it too.

Thanks for doing some searching K, I really appreciate it and it is helping me calm down.

 

[GTOJOE2]

He's doing much better this morning, his water level has gone down so he's been drinking and had to give him more hay.

I let him out of the cage when I woke up and he's exploring and running around and breathing MUCH better.

Thank you for all of your help advice, I really appreciate it

 

[ZRabbits]

So glad to hear "Throttle" is doing so much better and breathing easier.

K

 

[GTOJOE2]

Me too still "100%" but I know that he is okay now cleaned out the cage and he just sat there and watched and crawled on my lap, such a cutie

 

[SnowyShiloh]

So glad to hear your little dude is feeling a bit better. Is his bottom still dirty?

 

[GTOJOE2]

Not since I cleaned, it's still nice and clean with regular looking poopies.

Has been eating hay, pellets, and drinking his water like normal again little bugger scared me

 

[SnowyShiloh]

So good to hear he's feeling better! Phew. I would eliminate the fruit and any veggies from his diet for a few months (I usually start at 6 months) just in case the small amount of banana is what caused the problem. Baby bunnies are so delicate!

 

[GTOJOE2]

I know that now, he just woke me up because he wanted attention little bugger can't be mad at him, he's even starting to greet me at the front of the cage on his hind legs begging to be let out and play


Pic of the little guy

 

[ZRabbits]

What a sweetie! So glad to hear he's doing much better.

K

 

[GTOJOE2]

Yes he's a good boy, doing pretty good with the litter training too