bun breathing funny

Question
Hello I have a young adult lionhead who is a little overweight. She gets excercise but not enough and thats my fault because I work I cant let her out as much as I would like to. But lately Ive noticed that she doesnt do much but lay around even when I do let her out of her cage. also she has a weird rasping noise when she breaths, mostly if I scare her when Im cleaning out her cage or if I flip her on her back when Im doing her nails. She has rapid breathing just when she is laying down to. What do you think it could be?

Answer
Dear Kendra,

If your bunny is obese, the fat could be impinging on her airways, making her rasp when she breathes.  Or it's possible she has a respiratory infection that needs the attention of a good rabbit veterinarian.  If she's breathing rapidly, it may mean she's having *trouble* breathing, and that means it would be wise to have her checked out by a good rabbit vet.  You can find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Please also read:

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

I would get her to the vet for a checkup, in any case.  If she's not spayed, it may be time for that, since unspayed, unbred females have a very high risk of uterine cancer:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

As far as getting her to exercise more, that will come once the vet has determined she's healthy enough for it (if she has pneumonia or a heart condition, that needs to be addressed first), but I'd suggest you consider allowing her to pick a neutered male buddy (once she's spayed) from among those at your local rabbit rescuer's foster home:

www.rabbit.org/chapters

It's important that you let *her* choose, to avoid fighting.  But having a pal to run and play with will improve her quality of life and very likely get her to move around more and exercise, especially if she's compatible with an active little male who likes to explore.  :)

Our rabbits always run free in the house, and are never caged.  You might consider this, once you rabbit-proof the house.  That way, she (and her pal) can run and play even when you're not home.  You can just barricade the rooms where you don't want them to be.

If your floors are slick (tile, linoleum, hardwood, etc.), this could contribute to her lethargy.  Rabbits have furry foot-bottoms, and they need good traction in order to be able to confidently run around and play.  We provide 100% cotton runners with rubber backing all through the house so that the bunnies can run and exercise, even though we have tile and wood floors.

Hope some of this helps!

Dana