A few general questions.

[ynnub]

ok i figured this might be the best place to put this.

when my bunny lays down i notice that his head shakes a bit back and forth from breathing. is this normal or is he having trouble breathing and this is why his head shakes? his nose isnt wet, no crusty eyes no wheezing so i dont think its a breathing issue but it just freaks me out a bit sometimes.



also today he had a bit of runny poo (quite small but not normal) so i gave him more hay and a few hay cubes and an extra water dish as i read somewhere on here before it might be because of a lack of fibre. could this be true when he get free choice hay all day long and has cubes in his cage as well?



thanks

 

[Maureen Las]

Bunnies will appear to shake from an increase in respirations when they are warm and becoming overheated. They also appear this way when frightened or possibly after a lot of exercise
If you are noticing change in his breathing ( and he is not overheated or very frightened) it might be worth it to take him for a vet check . Rabbits can have lower respiratory infection without the runny eyes, nose etc

 

[tonyshuman]

While what angieluv said is definitely true, I have seen my bunnies' whole bodies move while breathing deeply after running or during sleep. Is this an up and down motion or side to side? I agree that with these occasional issues it is good to have a vet check up to make sure he doesn't have a LRI like pneumonia, which might not have any signs other than shortness of breath. Our bunny who had compromised breathing capacity and pneumonia due to a cancerous tumor in his chest cavity would also have more dramatic movements of the chest and head while breathing at rest, due probably to his difficulties, and this was more pronounced as he became more and more ill. In fact, it was our only indicator that he might be going downhill and by the time we had booked the appointment, he was gasping for air and he passed away while in the exam room waiting for the vet. Bunnies are very good at hiding illnesses. Even though we knew he had a chest tumor (something we found out only due to being extremely diligent about watching his healthy) we couldn't do anything about, we didn't know that the breathing difficulties were that serious until the very end.

If it has been more than 6 mo since he has seen the vet, definitely take him in. I personally take my guys in annually because I trust my vet and she doesn't charge an arm and a leg for a checkup. Some people do checkups every 6 mo. Annual is the very least I recommend.