Worried about breathing issues :/

[sarah92lynn]

I might just be being over paranoid, but CoCoa seems like she breathes harder/kinda faster than she should be...It's hard to explain so I tried to get a video but she won't stay still! =P Other than her breathing she is a very happy and energetic bun bun. She is a mini rex but she seems a lot smaller than most mini rex pictures I see, probably due to her not being able to eat very many pellets. She had tummy issues when I got her and she is still pretty sensitive. I compared her breathing to my other rabbit Lilly, who is a larger breed (Californian mix I think) and she breathes slower and calmer than CoCoa. I know their size could be a factor but I'm still worried...
Should I take her to the vet? If I do should I have them do anything specific other than just give her a check up?
I can try to get a video again in a bit too if it would help..

 

[sarah92lynn]

Well I finally caught her laying down and got an ok video. I think she may have a little gas too
She is almost sleeping in this vid so she looks a bit funny lol but that is how her breathing looks most of the time..

http://s55.photobucket.com/user/Sarah_Lynn1723/media/IMG_0242_zps82e68672.mp4.html

 

[PaGal]

Simethicone can be given to rabbits for gas. It is sold as baby gas drops and is inexpensive. It is a good thing to have it on hand and is safe. I'm not sure of the dosage but I'm sure someone else can tell you or read through other posts that concern stomach issues with buns.

I tried to compare her breathing with Thumpers but he's in his dig box right now so out of sight.

 

[sarah92lynn]

Yeah I was gonna pick some up tomorrow, was hoping someone would bring it up & tell me the dosage! Haha thank you for replying..any advice is helpful right now!
I think I'm just gonna call the vet tomorrow and bring her in for a check up just in case, but I was hoping I could get some opinions cause it's really worrying me!

 

[sarah92lynn]

Also can anyone tell me if I can get the infant gas drops at the store or would I have to get it from the pharmacy?

 

[JBun]

It's kind of hard to tell from the video, but breathing wise, it looked pretty normal to me, and the rate, which was around 42, is in the normal range for rabbits(30-60), so it's not fast. I did notice though, what looked like the stomach muscles contracting, which could very likely be because of a little gas. She obviously wasn't feeling much discomfort from it, if there is any gas, since she's comfortably all flopped out. If you suspect gas as the problem, then you will want to try and figure out what might be the cause of it. Could be one or more veggies that is causing gas, or too many carbs and sugars in her diet, in which case you would need to eliminate treats if you feed them, and may even need to decrease her pellet amount.

If you feel that the simethicone(20mg/ml) is needed, the dosage is 1-2cc per hour for 3 hours, then once every 3-8 hours as needed. But this repeated dosage is for a rabbit that is having more than just a tiny bit of gas, so you may not need to give more than one dose. But the most important thing is to figure out what is causing it or it will keep happening and could get bad enough to cause GI stasis.

Simethicone can usually be found at any store that carries otc meds. It is infant gas relief suspension.

 

[sarah92lynn]

Thanks for your reply, definitely feel less stressed about that now
Since her tummy has always been sensitive I've kept pellets at a very minimum for her, her diet right now is mostly timothy and alfalfa hay. I give her a pinch of pellets a few times during the day but that's about it. I did give her a small piece of banana for the first time about a week ago, and a couple bites of romaine lettuce yesterday. I've been keeping an eye on her poos and they are are normal though. She gets gassy every once in a while even when I don't feed anything different to her..so maybe I should take her to the vet even if her breathing is normal :/ Poor girl. I feel so bad for her! She's never been able to eat like a normal bun bun..do you think alfalfa hay could be causing some of the gas?

I picked up some simethicone a bit ago but haven't gave her any yet. If she seems like she still has gas tomorrow I'll give her one dose unless she ends up worse and needs more. Thanks so much for the info

 

[tonyshuman]

It's never bad to get a check-up, and sometimes I find the cost is worth it for the peace of mind it gives me. It doesn't look too labored, although I agree about the stomach/gas concerns.

 

[tolstoibunny]

This is just a thought but I wonder if discomfort from gas could make bunny breathe a little bit superficially just like us humans?

 

[tonyshuman]

That is a good observation, tolstoibunny, and is true. However it seems this rabbit's body moves more than most while breathing. The breathing seems to cause large movements of the body. I would expect short, shallow breaths with gas pain (or any pain), but not deep breaths as observed in the video.

 

[sarah92lynn]

I had those same thoughts exactly! I've always noticed her body moves a lot when she breathes, but I thought it might be because she is so small..do you think her deep breathing could mean something?
I'm calling the vet in a bit to make an appointment for her. Probably gonna have Lilly checked out later this month as well..don't wanna take any chances with my girls!