High temperature

First of all apologies that I hardly post and only do so when I have a problem

My Harlie has had what I can only describe as extreme temperature changes - she goes from what I regard as normal (I compare to my other rabbit Max) to really hot. I feel her hears which I know is hardly accurate but I can tell the difference between warm, very warm and hot. Her ears and body temperature get worryingly hot. When that happens she parks herself extremely closely to the tower fan looking very distressed. I wet her ears with water and use ice to try and bring her temperature down. After maybe 10-15mins she's back down. She licks my hands when I do this as if I'm doing something right.
I've seen two different vets over the past 2 weeks the first said it was the weather - I said I didn't think so. The second thought it may be an infection so for the past 5 days Harlie has been on baytril.
I've been searching and I can't find anything has anyone come across this before? I have a hunch that maybe it's an allergic reaction to Excel Mature which strangely enough I introduced over 2 weeks ago.

BTW Just in case anyone remembers Harlie's eye popping condition - her eyes are normal now we've been on fortekor (after being diagnosed with a heart condition.)

floptastic said:

First of all apologies that I hardly post and only do so when I have a problem

My Harlie has had what I can only describe as extreme temperature changes - she goes from what I regard as normal (I compare to my other rabbit Max) to really hot. I feel her hears which I know is hardly accurate but I can tell the difference between warm, very warm and hot. Her ears and body temperature get worryingly hot. When that happens she parks herself extremely closely to the tower fan looking very distressed. I wet her ears with water and use ice to try and bring her temperature down. After maybe 10-15mins she's back down. She licks my hands when I do this as if I'm doing something right.
I've seen two different vets over the past 2 weeks the first said it was the weather - I said I didn't think so. The second thought it may be an infection so for the past 5 days Harlie has been on baytril.
I've been searching and I can't find anything has anyone come across this before? I have a hunch that maybe it's an allergic reaction to Excel Mature which strangely enough I introduced over 2 weeks ago.

BTW Just in case anyone remembers Harlie's eye popping condition - her eyes are normal now we've been on fortekor (after being diagnosed with a heart condition.)

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Well my bun Nino this year has been suffering more with the heat....I also do the ear test - it is totally inaccurate but alongside respiration rate and general bunny body languge it lets me monitor how well he copes with temperature. I'm actually just a little paranoid as he's never been in respiratory distress, he's just had a higher respiration rate than I am comfortable with on hot days....fussy mummy! :roll:
But I understand where you are coming from. My first thought with a bun experiencing heat exhaustion would be an upper respiratory tract infection, but he is asymptomatic for this, therefore I put it down to the heat and humidity. The only way to identify for sure the 'cause' would be to keep a diary....count his respiration rate (chest rising not nose twitching! ) and the temperature of the room (on the floor - heat rises remember) and record every day and time this happens. A little digital temp sensor on the floor will help you with this. I think if it is classicaly heat you will see a pattern.
I find it interesting you mention she has a heart condition? Do you mean raised occular pressure from high bp or congestive heart issues? I wonder if therefore she has more difficulty oxygenating her blood fast enough if poor cv output? or lung function? I'm definitely not a vet so am just guessing here? I wonder if her heat stress and heart condition are related?

I woud suggest keeping the room as cool as possible and using the fan and ice packs, wetting ears etc - everything you are doing really. I know for Nino that he continues to race around regardless of the temp and then gets heat exhaustion because frankly it is too warm for rushing about....try telling him that! :roll: On boiling hot days in June I have put him back in his run to restrict the amount he can race about the garden!!

Hi prettylupin thanks for your reply.
I forgot to mention this has only happened maybe 4 or 5 times in the past two weeks.
But it always happens late at night (or I only notice it late at night).
The last episode was last night - temp was 21C (I have a thermometer on the ground). I think it was about the same temp on those other occasions.
It's a 100mile round trip to see the first vet who is treating Harlie for an enlarged heart.
She's lost weight she was 2.2kg in April she's now 1.9kg. But she's still eating ok and her poops are fine.
The second vet (about half a mile away) took her temperature which was 38C at the time but also agreed her ears were a little hot
so gave some pain killer and a course of antibiotics.
It's hard not to rule out the heart condition.
I definitely don't think it's weather.
But I still suspect it's something in the Excel Mature because of the coincidence of introducing the food and the problems starting (I am a bit slow sometimes).
I haven't given her any in the past 24 hours and so far so good.
I guess I just have to wait and see.

I would suggest a check up with her cardiologist. It is often seen in dogs that cardiac symptoms are worse in the evenings (full stomach, relaxation and lying down all affect cardiac function slightly) and this could be a factor with your bun. Weight loss can also occur with worsening of a heart problem. The increased heat in her ears may be her attempting to lose heat if her body temperature is high, but could also be due to dilation of the blood vessels due release of hormones affecting vessels to try and regulate her heart function if it becomes abnormal. Are you able to take her temperature when she is having one of these episodes? What is the problem diagnosed with her heart? Has she had an ultrasound scan of the heart and any other diagnostic tests?

I hope your little rabbit is diagnosed and gets well soon, lots of vibes

marie_kubiak said:

I would suggest a check up with her cardiologist. It is often seen in dogs that cardiac symptoms are worse in the evenings (full stomach, relaxation and lying down all affect cardiac function slightly) and this could be a factor with your bun. Weight loss can also occur with worsening of a heart problem. The increased heat in her ears may be her attempting to lose heat if her body temperature is high, but could also be due to dilation of the blood vessels due release of hormones affecting vessels to try and regulate her heart function if it becomes abnormal. Are you able to take her temperature when she is having one of these episodes? What is the problem diagnosed with her heart? Has she had an ultrasound scan of the heart and any other diagnostic tests?

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Thanks marie for your response.
That sounds very plausible. It happened again late last night so my theory of the pellets goes out the window
Harlie will be 6 in october. She was diagnosed with an enlarged heart in feb this year and she's been on fortekor since then. She's lost 0.5kg since feb she's now 1.9kg. The first vet (the hundred mile round trip) is the vet who is treating Harlie for her heart problem. As I recall she offered to do a blood test two weeks ago. We've talked a number of times about her condition and I know it's degenerative. Given that this problem only occurs sporadically and only late at night is there anything more I can do or anything else that can be done? What's the treatment for dogs with these symptoms? Can you suggest anything? Anything I can suggest to my vet(s)?
Oh dear I'm beginning to sound desperate :roll: Sorry about that, but I do appreciate any help.

Martine said:

I hope your little rabbit is diagnosed and gets well soon, lots of vibes

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Thanks Martine.
All vibes and prayers much appreciated!

This is just an update.
Now both my rabbits are suffering from what I can only describe as this heat attack. I'm assuming because my boy Max doesn't have a heart condition he hides the symptoms better. I bought an infrared thermometer off ebay so I can zap their ears and get some indication of temperature. When they get an attack the temperature of the ears jumps from about 20-21C to 30-33C in the space of a couple of minutes. And they look uncormfortable to say the least. Of course I am now expert at wetting ears and cooling them down. Gradually after maybe 10-15-20 minutes they reach 16-18C. Last night they had an attack after I fed them a midnight snack of lettuce, parsley, basil. The floor temperature was 21C. I thought this happens after I feed them but this afternoon out of nowhere both had an attack - they were both resting at the time. Floor temperature was 23C. Tonight I fed them and only Harlie my girl with the heart problems had an attack. I have no idea what's going on here.
I fed them both the same thing some romaine lettuce, parsley, brocolli and a bit of carrot - no basil (I'll come to that in a bit). It's only a small portion as hay is always available and I prefer they eat that. All of this stuff is from Morrisons apart from the basil which we grow. Unfortunately I only found out today that my mother has been putting baby bio into the basil pots for a few weeks now (I'm just wondering if this is too much of a coincidence?) So no more basil just in case. I'm just waiting for the next attack. Any ideas anyone? :?

Just a quick reply but Basil is also known to raise blood temperature - a lot of people use it in the winter time to help keep the buns warmer.

I would take them off the basil for now and see how they go - leave them off for a week or so.

Also, can you put some cool tiles on the floor for them to lay on when it's warm?

Jaypot said:

Just a quick reply but Basil is also known to raise blood temperature - a lot of people use it in the winter time to help keep the buns warmer.

I would take them off the basil for now and see how they go - leave them off for a week or so.

Also, can you put some cool tiles on the floor for them to lay on when it's warm?

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Thanks Jaypot for your reply! Wow I didn't know that about basil! They really love it but I'll definitely give it a rest for now. Yes there is a bit of a paving slab in front of both fans/coolers. Harlie sits ontop of it during an attack.