Choking problems

[Daisy_And_Roo]

Hello, I'm Stephanie, I ahev two buns. Daisy is a 2 year old mutt, Roo is a 1 yr old lionheadx.I have aproblem, hopefully someonehas something to say, cause so far no one knows what to tell me.

I got my girl Daisy over 2 years ago and shes done this since then, but she eats so fast thats he chokes on her food. Shes usually okay with her hay, but from time to time will have trouble with that. She eats so quickly, sometimes I wonder if she even chews it. She is bonded but shes been donig it before I adopted Roo and even with him around she'll leave snacks and food around, she doesn't eat all of it. Its just what she does eat. Its not all the time, but it still worries me. They get unlimited hay when I'm not home but I feed them when I am around so I can keep an eye on her.

Does anyone know why she might do this? Or what I can do to stop it?

 

[lemonaxis]

This is definately a very intersting case Stephanie, I am saying I know what you can do but I will try to find out.

Has she had a recent vet check up? It MAY be that something is up with her teeth which is causing her to swallow without chewing.
This is just a guess and like I say I will look into it....

At least you are aware of it and hopefully it is not goign to cause Daisy too many problems. How are her bunny poops? Is she drinking enough water?
Water would be very important if she is swallowing her food so fast.

Hang in there, there's bound to be somethign that can be done

Lisa

 

[BlueGiants]

I'm sorry, I haven't had any experience with a problem like this... Have you had her checked by a vet?

 

[lemonaxis]

Just read something interesting, sorry lost the link will try find it soon...
Apparently some bunnies sound like they are choking but are really making happy clucking sounds in the back of their throats.
It happens when they eat, are you sure she is choking (hard to tell I know)?
Her bunny poops will be an excellent indicator when seeing if her digestive system is in good order.

 

[lemonaxis]

ah here it is:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/choking-noise.htm

good luck with this, please let us know how it goes and if you find out anything from your vet or somewhere else as it certainately is very interesting and I have never heard of it before.

Hope Daisy is okay

 

[pla725]

Has she had any dental problems in the past? I wonder if it not something with her teeth.

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

HiStephanie! Welcome to the forum:wave:.

Okay, if I were you, I'd go to the most rabbit savvy vet I can find, critique him to all get out and make sure my bun is of utmost importance. Then, have them tell you after the exam what the back molars looked like. Overgrown? Not wearing down? There can be diet reasons for this alone, not necessarily a health issue. It just depends on the vet's findings and your own observations of eating habits. Does he consume alot of hay or not so much.:? This can weigh in on teeth issues and much more.

Do you ever notice any drooling while eating? If so, this can be a symptom of molar spurs, most possibly a dental issue, etc.

We can talk about that as it comes. Keep us posted.:hug:

 

[Daisy_And_Roo]

They were just at the vet last month, they both had their teeth done. Daisy had a spur and I wanted it gone before it got bad, and Roo just has hereditary teeth problems.
So currently they both have excellent teeth.
Its not the clucking, I had a rabbit who used to cluck when she ate, it was absolutely adorable.
When Daisy does it, it sounds almost like a cough, and she has to pause a moment then she resumes eating.
They always have fresh water in their dish.

I had never heard of this before, but she did it just a few days ago when she was eating apeice of appleand Roo came over to her, she grunted at him and then choked on her food.





Becasue of their teeth they go to the vet every 3 months to get them checked, it'll mostly be Roo who needs hes teeth done, so in 2 months I'll bring it up again. Last time I didn't get much of an answer. I have an amazingly rabbit savvy vet, hes absolutely wonderful and known for his work and experience with rabbits.
He was absolutely great with my buns.

 

[Flashy]

I have discovered that when some of mine get REALLY excited about their banana and stuff it in too fast they do something like what you say. They almost look like they are gagging (how a kid looks when they stuff too much in their mouth) but I knwo they can't do that. Maybe she is not used to having big lumps of food, or something due to the spurs. Could you cut things into smaller pieces or maybe spread it out more through the day so that she doesn'r get excited all at once?

 

[Daisy_And_Roo]

Yes exactly, it looks like she is gagging on her food.

I could spread it out or cut things smaller, absolutely. She does it when she gets excited but also does it when shes just sitting in her litter box munching away on the hay in the bin next to their box. Its very nerve wracking.



I'll try spreading it out through out the day and maknig things smaller from now on and see if that helps.

 

[Daisy_And_Roo]

pla725 wrote:

Has she had any dental problems in the past? I wonder if it not something with her teeth.

Hows Monty and his shedding going?

Its Stephanie btw, the girl with the missing rabbit.

 

[pla725]

Monty is still shedding otherwise he is fine. If I see any traps available on ebay I will let you know.