Coughing and Chewing

Question
Hi Dr. Krempels,
I have 2 rabbits. My Netherland dwarf likes to chew at my Lion Heads eye.  I keep an eye on it,and just as it's healing Baby continues to nibble or chew at it?  What can I do? Also, my Lion Head, I've noticed has coughed a couple times.  Once about a week ago, and then tonight.  She grunts A LOT at me and always has. Tonight she seemed to be aggrevated at me and Baby and grunted, and took off. At that point she coughed again. She dosn't have watering eyes or nose.  She's seems quite healthy other then the occasional cough.  Could you help me out?  She had her first check up at about 16 weeks old. The vet said she looked good.  I don't know..maybe I should take her to the vet again?
Thank You in advance for any information you can give.
Cathy Schroth

Answer
Dear Cathy,

Some rabbits will overgroom a companion when bored, so try to provide lots of free running time and interesting toys to keep the dwarf bunny distracted.  You can get some good ideas for bunny toys here:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/toys.html

If the rabbits are not spayed/neutered, having them done will help the situation--especially the aggression/defensiveness shown by the Lionhead bunny.  But she may just be shy, in which case:

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

Coughing is not a good thing, and a chest radiograph would reveal any cryptic lung problems that could suddenly develop into serious pneumonia.  If you feel your present vet isn't experienced (or serious) enough with rabbits, you can find an experienced one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

In some cases, dental problems can cause coughing:

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

and I've even heard of one (rare!) case in which a strand of fur got caught around a bunny's molar, strung down the throat and kept collecting food until an observant vet saw it (under anesthesia), pulled, and up came a great wad of hair and food!  I doubt this would be the case with your bunny, but it's good to be aware that such things can happen.  I'd have both his chest and his molars checked ASAP to put your mind at ease.

Hope this helps!

Dana