Rabbits rapid heartbeat

Question
Yesterday I noticed that my 8+ yr old rabbit Rose seems to have a very rapid heartbeat - unusually rapid, causing her whole body to kind of shake. She is a pretty big girl - about 8 lbs. This does not seem normal. Other than this though she is acting just fine, eating, pooping, hanging out with us and napping as usual and she does not seem to be in distress. Does she need to go to the vet? Should I be worried?

Answer
Is she just breathing fast, or is is rather labored?  Some rabbits will breathe rapidly so they do shake, and it generally isn't anything to worry about.  If she has trouble breathing, however, that would an issue and she would need to see a vet.  If she is acting normal then she is probably fine.

If she does have trouble breathing, do take her to a vet to be checked out.  There's more info on respiratory issues in rabbits at http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html#resp

Sounds like she is a nice old rabbit, I hope she hangs around for a few more years.

Kim