Breathing noises

[GrayBunny]

We have recently adopted a new mini rex from the shelter and I am wondering a few things about her health. A little background, she was surrendered to the shelter by a family that purchased her from a pet store, she is two years old and the only health background we have on her is that she was fixed a week ago.

First, she has little pink callouses on all of her paws, I know that sore hockes are common for rexes, they don't look infected and she isn't in pain. Is it normal for them to have these callouses? She does not have a wire bottomed cage, it is solid. There is a wired top to her litter box, but she uses it. I don't know what type of cage she was in before. She only spent about 2 weeks at the shelter.

Second, she makes lots of noises when she breathes and sniffs almost like little squeaks. It's not all the time, mainly when she is trying to get to something that takes a little extra effort like licking her back or investigating something out of reach. General, our other mini rex never makes these noises. Is this normal? Should she see the vet?

Thank you! This is our second rabbit ever and we are still learning!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I would have her checked. It could be a result of her spay - the anesthesia tube, but it's not normal.

The hocks - watch them. Bo has those and they can become red and inflamed easily. I recommend grass mats or something and not a slick bottom cage. Wire isn't good but in limited amounts it's ok for most. Bo has some wire, resting mats, plastic grid on his litter, blankies, === he's spoiled rotten! LOL!

 

[aurora369]

Is your new girl over weight at all?

Wildfire used to make little noises to herself when she groomed. She was overweight, so I don't know if if was from that or if she was just talking to herself. You had to listen really hard to hear it but it was almost as if she was saying "My goodness how did this get that dirty! And oh my, gotta get this part cleaned up before anyone sees!"

As for the red callouses on her paws, keep an eye on them but don't worry about them. If they are looking irritated then you can put a bit of polysporin/neosporin (just the plain kind, no pain killers) on her feet. And like Bo said, give her lots of different textured surfaces to sit on. I find my two girls will bad feet spend all day in the hay boxes I give them.

It's always a good idea to get a yearly vet check up for your buns anyways, and especially when you don't know any of her health history. It's probably not a bad idea to take her in to a good rabbit-savvy vet and have a thorough check up done.

--Dawn

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Bo is really quiet. The girls are noisy tho. They honk at us all the time if they want something.

Bo throws his toys.

 

[slavetoabunny]

I have two mini-rex girls. Sparky is prone to sore hocks. She has pink callouses on her hind feet and I just keep a close eye on them to make sure the skin isn't broken. They have actually gotten much better recently - on one of her feet the fur has almost completely grown back in.

Both of my girls make little squeeky noises - usually when I pick them up.

 

[GrayBunny]

She isn't overweight at all. I think a checkup would probably be good just in case.
She has a plastic bottomed cage for now (we are in the very very early stages of bonding, hopefully she will be in the NIC cage with General sometime) there is soft bedding in there with her.
Thanks for the advice!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Please keep us posted and of course, pictures would be great!

 

[GrayBunny]

I have made an appointment for Maggie, the soonest the vet can see her is a week from Tuesday.
Her breathing and squeaking is the same.
I was able to look at her feet more closely, they don't look great is there anything I can do at home? The skin is not broken but she seems to have a few areas without fur. When we adopted her they had just clipped her nails, the tech said that they hadn't been clipped in a very long time, maybe not ever. Now that they are clipped will this help her healing?
If I need to wash her feet and put anything on it what is the best way to hold her? I am a little hesitant due to her recent surgery.
Thanks for the advice!
Hubby is going to have to post a pic soon, I am clueless about how to do it.

 

[RunnyBabbitRabbitry]

Most rabbits with REX fur have callouses on thier feet. Most of mine do, ours are on wire bottom cages so we put in pieces of wood so they have something to sit on that is solid. You really shouldn't worry about the feet unless they are open. With you having a solid bottom cage, she should be ok.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

I thought bo's calluses were a bad thing - I mean - they shouldn't be there. So they are ok as long as they aren't inflamed and stuff?

 

[GrayBunny]

Here's a picture of Maggie:

 

[Bo B Bunny]

She's SO PRETTY! I (of course) love my castor mini-rex and any others! She's precious! I hope you can find out what is wrong and fix it.

I wonder if she got some sort of infection from either cleaners or bedding?

Let us know how she is doing. I just want to kiss her little head! :hearts

 

[naturestee]

Aw, what a sweet little girl!

If her nails were overgrown they could have been the cause of the calluses. The long nails would have made her sit differently, putting more weight on her hocks and back of her paws.

Now that her nails are cut and she's on a solid floor with soft bedding, she should improve. Keep an eye on them to make sure they aren't getting irritated. If they do, I like to use Bag Balm, an ointment meant for cow udders but also often used for sore/chapped dog paws. I found mine in the pet section at Walmart, but check farm stores too. It helps to protect and soften the skin.

Some rabbits always have caluses no matter what you do, but you should try to heal them up as much as you can.

Edit: As to the breathing noises I wouldn't be too concerned if you only hear them when she is grooming herself, trying to reach something, etc. She might just be talking to herself. But if you notice breathing noises when she is relaxed and laying down, or after she plays a lot, she might have actual breathing problems. My Loki used to sound like he was whistling through his nose when he layed down, especially after running around. He was really overweight and under muscled from his previous owner and the vet said that all his fat was pressing on his sinus cavities making it more difficult to breathe. He also slept with his head propped up on the water bowl and couldn't be held on his back because it made his breathing worse. As he got more healthy his breathing improved until all traces of breathing problems were gone.

 

[GrayBunny]

Thanks for all the advice.
Her feet look ok but I am checking them out often to make sure they don't get worse.

Her breathing I think is getting worse. The noises are more frequent and happen when she is sniffing and playing, not only when she is reaching or straining. She is very active and doesn't seem like anything is bothering her.
I am going to try to move up her vet appointment.