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Any ideas on this...?

Becki xX

Warren Veteran
Hmm, Well ever since I've had Rhia shes always does something really odd when shes stressed; her breathing goes crazy (normal I suppose) & she just goes completely limp. She also gets a snotty nose. Thing is, She also goes like this after having a long run around the garden or after a lot of exercise. We've been out in the garden all evening so shes just been binkying about, going mad. Ive just put her away & shes totally limp (cant stand up without me pulling up her bottom) and her nose is running, shes totally flaked out & it takes a long time to regain her normal breathing. I know she isnt poorly, because this has been the same since Ive had her (at 9 wks old) - but I was wondering if theres an explanation for it, or if its some kind of condition? Even though Im used to it I do get a bit upset each time it happens :( X
 
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Hi Becki :wave:

This is not something I know a lot about, but have you heard of "Floppy Rabbit Syndrome"?

I'm not sure whether it's related to any acute illness as such, hopefully someone else will know. From what I have previously read on the subject it is like a form of seizure and can happen after being in a hot environment and or running around and then stopping and cooling down, like going into shock :? Some cases seem worse and the bun takes a few days to recover, others recover and are behaving normally again within an hour :)

I have also read that it maybe due to a lack of Vitamin E

Here is a previous post on FRS, see bunnymadhouse's post half way down the page - it sounds very similar to Rhia http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=119026

There's nothing to say that Rhia has FRS, I suppose it could be a number of things and I don't pretend to be an expert :rolleyes:

Whatever it is she seems to manage it quite well as you say she has always done it :) I hope you can find out what is causing this :)
 
Could it be something to do with the heart.
One of my rats used to have trouble breathing and would then go all floppy and it turned out he had a weak heart.
 
Jimmy my little bun is very highly strung and if he gets very stressed (vets trips etc) he drools and gets all snotty, he almost looks dead. I stopped using he vet we had to drive to and we now have home visits.
None of my buns do anything similar to it...
I would have thought Rhia would not be stressed in the garden though so maybe its more medical. Or maybe her body cannot cope with her exertion?!
Dora who recently had babies sometimes displays behaviour kind of similar but on a lower scale. She is a loon :shock: and I mean absolute loon in the run and then all of a sudden...flop, panting, puffing and very tired. Its like her body doesn't keep up with her excitement. I'm hoping this will stop when she is spayed though...
Bunnies eh? :roll:
 
Thank You for your replies, very helpful :) Thea, I dont actually know much at all about FRS - but its something Im definately going to look into. The only difference from the buns in the thread is that they only seem to be a one-off sort of thing, wheras Rhias is often. Sooz I think says about the bun urinating on themselves because they cant move, she did this when we got back from Lynnes the other week. You might well be onto something there.

Bun Bun, I guess it could be her heart - our vet has a listen each time we go though & shes never mentioned any problems, which she definately would do.

Lucy, Jimmy sounds similar to Rhia. Recently shes been getting tired much quicker when in the garden too, I did a thread on it but didnt really associate it with this til now. Im not sure my vet does home visits, but I'd still have to take her for boarding etc though..Sounds also a lot like Dora.

I think Im going to take her to the vets as I do think she might be getting slightly worse...but then its so strange as I went out to her less than an hour later & shes up at the bars bouncing about just fine! Bunnies eh indeed :rolleyes:
 
Hi Becki. :wave:

Was it Rhia that was saved from a fire at the store? If so, would she have any sort of damage from the smoke inhalation or even have panic attacks caused by that situation she was in? I have no idea if thats possible for rabbits to suffer from but just a thought?
 
Hi Becki. :wave:

Was it Rhia that was saved from a fire at the store? If so, would she have any sort of damage from the smoke inhalation or even have panic attacks caused by that situation she was in? I have no idea if thats possible for rabbits to suffer from but just a thought?

Hi Justine, Yeah that was Rhia. I have no idea either but good thinking! Hmm...
 
Well the two things I would have suggested have already been mentioned..... I was going to ask if you knew whether Rhia had been exposed to the fire and therefor inhaled smoke which may have damaged her respiratory system and secondly ask if she had ever been diagnosed with a heart arythmia (sp).

I dont *think* it's FRS, this usually finds the rabbit totally floppy over a very short period of time, completely paralysed and unable to move, lift the head or eat. They become totally dependant on the carer for the duration of the illness (usually 2-3 days per attack) and will defecate where they lie so have to be cleaned regularly.

FRS is usually related to a dietary deficiency.
 
Yes, it makes me think heart/lung issue too, particularly as it's associated with stress/exercise. As far as I know FRS isn't.

Tam
 
it does sound like her heart - I know diuretics will help if so, if you can ask for frusemide from your vet and administer it when she's like this?
 
Thanks folks. Its strange that you mention the heart arythmia, as there definately isnt a regular beat. I probably wouldnt have noticed but Jens heart was arythmic when she was poorly, seeing Rhias I just assumed it must be something some buns have...our vet did say (with Jen) that it wasnt uncommon. Its definately worse now than when she was a baby. Sooz, I cant be sure whether she was actually exposed to the fire itself - the majority of the deaths were caused by the helicopter dropping vast amounts of water down & drowning them :( but as I say, I cant be sure. We'll be at the vets in the next few weeks anyway so I'll definately have her checked out. When we normally go to the vets shes absolutely sky high with the stress from the car, so im not sure whether it could be picked up then...would xrays or any other kind of test be useful? X
 
The vet might do xrays as they would show if the heart was enlarged or there was fluid around it. Probably depends what they hear with a scope.

Also depends if she'd sit still. I wouldn't have thought they'd want to sedate her with potential issue like that.
 
I'll get her booked in for the weekend, there is a new supposed rabbit expert at our vets so might try her. Im not overly worried at the moment but as its got worse in a year I'd prefer to prevent it becoming a more serious problem than trying to cure it in a years time! X
 
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