I can hear his heart beating!?

[LumLumPop]

When I fed them a few minutes ago I thought I could hear a dull thud. After listening for a few minutes I realized it was coming from Lewis's cage. I reached and put my hand under his chest and sure enough I could feel his heart thumping against his chest! I wondered if this was just a bunny thing so I walked over to Clark's cage and I out my hand under his chest and I could only feel a light thumping. I'm worried about Lewis,is there something wrong with his heart? Can I do something to make the thudding go away? It feels like it's pounding against his chest really hard,I'm so worried!:cry2

 

[JBun]

Has he been running around, or does he seem stressed at all? Any odd changes of behavior?

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

When I fed them a few minutes ago I thought I could hear a dull thud. After listening for a few minutes I realized it was coming from Lewis's cage. I reached and put my hand under his chest and sure enough I could feel his heart thumping against his chest! I wondered if this was just a bunny thing so I walked over to Clark's cage and I out my hand under his chest and I could only feel a light thumping. I'm worried about Lewis,is there something wrong with his heart? Can I do something to make the thudding go away? It feels like it's pounding against his chest really hard,I'm so worried!:cry2

--the problem could be dietary,medical or environmental,--but to hear a heart beat while even holding is rare ----they beat 120--to--200 plus-bpm,depending on-ie. agitation-fear,factors,--I suggest calling an exotic dvm asap-,take a reading of vitals,heart beat (with stethoscope)--body temp-103,--hereis a link which will help http://www.medirabbit.com please keep us advised as time permits,--sincerely james waller:bouquet::rabbithop

 

[zombiesue]

You think you heard his heart in his chest from that distance? Are you sure he wasn't thumping?

Rabbits do kind of have a loud, crazy heartbeat when they get excited, that could explain why it sounded loud when you put your ear to his chest.

 

[LumLumPop]

The food bucket is right next to his cage so thankfully it wasn't that far away. I'm not sure if I could take him to a vet. The only rabbit savvy vet I know in my area would be Ms Fiser and the office she works at is closed. Plus my Dad probably wouldn't be willing to take a rabbit there! He hasn't been running around much today,and even when he's run around I never could hear his heart beating! It would beat very fast,then slow down,then speed up again! I can't audibly hear it anymore but I can still feel it beating against his chest really hard. What do I do?

 

[JBun]

There's not really a whole lot you can do for a potential heart problem, except having him checked by a vet and getting the appropriate treatment that way. If you can't do that then I guess you'll just need to keep an eye on him. Hopefully he'll be ok.

 

[Imbrium]

One other option is to phone a rabbit-savvy vet and get an opinion regarding whether or not it's potentially serious, whether or not he really needs to come in for a check-up and how urgent that need is. They can't charge you for a phone call and if it IS potentially serious then you can explain that your dad is reluctant to bring your bunny in and ask if they'll talk to him about it for you.