questions about breathing and diet

Question
Last thursday I got this rabbit from a lady who begged me to take it because her son was having severe allergies and they thought it might be from their rabbit.  I always wanted a rabbit but didn't think I would be getting one so suddenly.  Anyhoo she has loppy ears and the lady said she was was 1yr and 7mos.  I know the rabbit has been well cared for as she gave me a huge bag of care supplies with many fruits and veggies and a long list of instructions.  I noticed right away that she was breathing pretty fast but I figured this was probably due to the big change she was going through and she was probably pretty nervous.  Now being a few days later her breathing has definitely become more relaxed but if I watch carefully I can still see her breathing quite fast at most times.  If anyone else looks at her they can't notice it unless they really really stare at her.  When she eats you can't see her breathing fast.  She eats just fine and poops and pees just fine as well.  The lady she came from told me that she used to do this for her too when she moved her cage around her house.  I have an appointment booked for her for wednesday when  I go to take my dog for her heartworm appt. but $85 for an appt to tell me that everything is OK is alot of money (money that I don't really have at this point - getting her so unexpectently and all) ... I don't really know much about rabbits .. I've been researching them a little bit since I got her... I know that it says that rapid breathing can often be a sign of respiratory infections..she doesn't appear to be in any kind of distress she sprawls out in her cage, eats her food, and hops around.  It's not hard breathing it's just fast.  Do rabbits naturally breath faster? I was going to go check the other rabbits at the pet store and compare their breathing with fufu's.  Would I be sill to take her to the vet or would I be silly to not take her to the vet.
Another question.  I've read a little bit about nutrition but am finding some mixed information. Her previous owner gave me some mixed pellets from walmart .. she said these are the only pellets she has found that her rabbit would actually eat.. she told me to only give her a 1/4 of a bowl of these and then to give her a bowl of fruits and veggies everyday..is this okay? Will she suffer from a poor quality pellet? I do give her timothy hay daily as well.  Are nails easy to cut? She has one nail that sticks way out.  I have a parrot and I cut her nails .. would it be the same thing? Sorry I know that's alot of questions! Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi,

rabbits do breathe faster for normal reasons.  They get nervous, exercise, excited about something.  Strange people, places, smells, sounds.  YOu have a dog, that can trigger it (predator animals).  They also breathe faster because they have small lungs for their body size and they are by nature, nasal breathers.

You find a rabbit breathing through their mouths, gasping or struggling to breathe, get to the vet or emergency vet immediately.  

It is not silly to take her to the vet.  Every new pet you have should be taken to the vet for an initial exam.  You need to know if they have chronic problems, and ask basic care questions because you don't know a lot about them.

However, it is critical that you go to a good rabbit vet, not only for the fastest/best care, but from an economic standpoint as well.  You want the best care for your dollar.  Not all vets are good rabbit vets as rabbits are considered exotics and most vets don't get much training for them.  I strongly, strongly suggest starting to look for a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.  If you don't see any, call up a few vet offices and your local animal shelters/rescue and ask them who they would go to if they had an injured rabbit.  

Nutrition.  I don't know how big your "bowl" is so I can't tell you.  General vet guidelines are 1/4 cup (ie measuring cup) of pellets per 5 pounds of body weight, per day.  So if your rabbit is 5 pounds or so, 1/4 cup of pellets per day.  Not all pellets are as good as others.  I can't tell you if the walmart ones are good or not.  The most important thing rabbits MUST have to be healthy is hay.  Timothy hay, orchard grass hay are both good.  If they don't get anything else, they can live just fine on hay.  They also need hay to wear down their teeth properly (their teeth grow about an inch a month).  This is what they are designed to eat.  Too much fruit and veggies can cause gut imbalance so limit them.  Pellets are okay but don't overfeed.  They will get fat on too much pellets.

Nails are trimmed with the same kind of trimmer for dogs, they have the same kind of nail.  You may need to backlight the nails if they are dark to make sure you don't cut too much and hit the blood supply and cause a bleed.  Keep styptic powder on hand in case you do.  Basically every 6-8 weeks you need to trim about 1/8 inch off the nails.  I would ask the vet to trim the nails and show you how to do it properly.

One thing to keep in mind, is that you must always support the rear end / back legs of the rabbit because if they kick they can break their back easily.  They have a light skeleton compared to a dog or cat and so you must learn proper handling of your rabbit to ensure you don't injure her.  Another reason you need to go to a good rabbit vet, to make sure they can teach you these things when you go for the exam.

Rabbits need annual exams (at the very least).  They are prey animals and hide when they are sick.  You have to watch them carefully.  Once you get a routine set up with them, you need to see any deviations from that routine and then start looking at them more carefully as to why.

Get the books I recommend, and spend time reading the articles on the House Rabbit Society (www.rabbit.org) web site.

Lee