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Dunkin: Lethargy/Breathing troubles *Update: Heart Murmur*

Akire

Young Bun
I swear, it just feels like one problem after another right now.

Dunkin is my 7 year old indoor and neutered house bunny. He lost his bond mate of 6 years (Amber) to what we believe was an aggressive cancer last month. It's been pretty hard for him and he was showing signs of depression. At the start of this month I started taking him on bunny dates at the rabbit rescue. He has been on three. I think we found a good match and she's been staying with me to continue the process at home.

Things have been going okay, but I've noticed these past fews months that Dunkin's activity level has drastically decreased. He's older, but not that old, so I don't understand why he spends most of his time sitting in one spot. When I open his cage door to let him play he will hop around for a bit and go back to sitting in one spot.

Fast forward to a few nights ago, I picked up Dunkin to put him in the bathtub for a bonding session. He didn't try to run anyway at all, which was very strange because he always does. Once in the bathtub he didn't even attempt to move. He was breathing very fast and heavy; I could hear a faint noise coming from his nose. I was getting concerned. I tried offering veggies to calm him, but he didn't want to eat them. I knew something was wrong for sure when I tried to offer his favorite cookie and he didn't eat it.

I took him out of the bathtub and listened to his stomach. Lots of loud gurgling, so he was having some gas pains. I rushed to the store and bought some infant gas relief. Thankfully within an hour or two of giving him that he was back to pooping and eating. Dunkin doesn't usually get gas problems, stop eating or pooping though, so I fear there is an underlying problem.

I'm noticing he seems to breath quite heavily even when sitting still and I can hear faint sounds coming from his nose when I sit close to him. No discharge or sneezing though. Just a few minutes ago I let Dunkin out. My cat jumped into the room which startled him a bit. He kinda fell over when he spun around to run away, which again isn't like him. After running back into his cage and sitting down I put my hear up to his face and could hear wheezing.

For now bonding has been put on hold and tomorrow he see's the vet. I'm really scared this might be a heart problem due to the lethargy and how the breathing is worse when he gets stressed. What do you guys think it could be? After losing Amber so suddenly I'm really quite terrified by all this. I cannot lose Dunkin too. :(
 
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Hi. Has Dunkin also lost some weight? as he sounds very much like my bunny. Sorry I can't be of help but hope you can get him sorted out.
 
Our bunny had symptoms like this, the was very lethargic and lost weight, her breathing also looked jerky if that makes sense. It turned out to be her liver after having a blood test, so may be worth your vet looking into? Milk thistle tables seemed to help. She also had stomach issues before this, vet said they could possibly be related as where she wasn't eating properly and lost weight when she was constipated could be a strain on her liver
 
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Hi! Thank you both for replying, I appreciate it.

So, I just got home from the vet with Dunkin. No URI and she didn't feel it was worth getting blood work because overall he looked so healthy. According to the records, he hasn't lost any weight. He does have a low grade heart murmur (the vet ranked it a 2). With the symptoms he's experiencing and having a confirmed murmur, she recommended he see a cardiologist.

We are worried with all the recent stress he's been experiencing that an underlying heart problem has been made worse. I'm waiting to hear back from the cardiologist on when he can get an ultrasound. It's very expensive, but I don't want to take any risks. Bonding will have to be put on hold. If he does have a heart problem I will probably stop trying to bond him.

There is the chance it is just a mild murmur without an actual heart problem and that this is all emotional stress from losing Amber.
 
Hope he does ok and they find nothing too serious, hoping for a positive outcome,good luck! X
 
It's pretty concerning really. I'm trying not to stress about it too much but it's hard. :(

Dunkin gets tired from very little physical activity. He will lie down and I can actually hear him breathing. Right now he is resting all stretched out and breathing quite quickly like he is hot, but the room has a fan going and the house is at 76 fahrenheit.

He gets an echocardiogram on June 3rd; this coming Friday.

I'm just trying to keep his stress levels down and watching for signs that he is really struggling to breath or any fainting.
 
It's pretty concerning really. I'm trying not to stress about it too much but it's hard. :(

Dunkin gets tired from very little physical activity. He will lie down and I can actually hear him breathing. Right now he is resting all stretched out and breathing quite quickly like he is hot, but the room has a fan going and the house is at 76 fahrenheit.

He gets an echocardiogram on June 3rd; this coming Friday.

I'm just trying to keep his stress levels down and watching for signs that he is really struggling to breath or any fainting.

Good luck for that. An echocardiogram is an amazing thing, you probably know. It will tell you so much.

Thinking of you both x
 
Thank you both! I'm anxious for it to be Friday and to get some answers.

Hopefully whatever they find is manageable and he will live for many more years comfortably.

Thank you to everyone who responded with kind words of support. I will let you know what happens on Friday.

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Update:
Dunkin is perfectly healthy!
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No heart problems found during the echocardiogram. His lethargy and stressed out behavior is purely emotional then. That is pretty sad when you think about it. He was that bonded to Amber. Next time someone claims animals don't grieve I reserve the right to laugh in their face.
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The great news is now I can continue with trying to bond him to my foster bunny Autumn. I will probably end up making a separate thread for that.
 
great news that he is physically healthy & just missing the love of a bunny. What bonding style are you going for?
 
I'm going to do neutral territory bonding sessions. Neither bun has been outwardly aggressive (as in attacking each other) even when they have not been in neutral territory. So that is very promising! I don't foresee me needing to do stress bonding.

There has been some circling and nipping a couple times, but nothing awful. Autumn likes to hump, but so did Amber so Dunkin is pretty used to it.

Autumn really seems to like Dunkin. She's incredibly comfortable around him, always near him and bows her head a lot. Dunkin is more closed off, but you can't blame him after what he's been through. I'm feeling pretty confident in this pairing. I really hope Dunkin opens up and they bond. I would love to give Autumn a home, she seems really happy here. :D
 
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