Help?

Question
Hello. I have a question regarding my young male rabbit. He's a dwarf-mix, all black with the occasional grey specks around his fur. I just got him about a month ago and up until now he seemed to be doing alright. But lately, he's started getting a runny nose, a wet-looking area around his nose, and sometimes he falls over. It's not a daily thing that he falls over, but I've noticed it a few times. He'll just be running and he'll fall over. But as soon as he falls, he gets right back up and continues running. He's in a large cage in my bedroom so I notice his changes almost immediately. But, I'm not exactly sure what's going on with him. I can't tell if he's eating enough, because at night while I'm asleep he runs around his cage and knocks all the food out. I give him carrots and other things, and he eats them. I give him treats, he eats them. But I'm not sure about his food. He drinks a lot, I change his water bottle about every other day, but it's a big one. And I take him out of his cage and play with him quite a bit. So I'm not sure what's going on. My room is air-conditioned so I know it can't be the heat. He's not in direct sun-light either. Do you know what could be going on with him?

Answer
Dear Sammy,

Falling over isn't normal, and it's time to have your little guy checked by a good rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

to see if he is developing an ear infection.  This can eventually lead to head tilt/torticollis, and you can read an article on the various causes of this problem here:

www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html

...since the problem you describe could have one of those origins.

The runny nose may or may not be related to the falling over, but please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sneezing.html

to know what to ask the vet.

Provide his food on a solid surface so he can't spill it, and be sure to check a healthy rabbit diet here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html

to be sure he's getting everything he needs, and not dangerous treat foods that could be bad for his health.

Hope that helps.

Dana