Rabbit - hurling sounds

Question
My rabbit is making slight sneezing noises followed up with a hurling sound. (It is similar to the sounds cats make when removing hair balls).

She is not vomitting, and she does not have the common symptoms of a cold: no runny eyes or nose....

This is more prominent during meal time... While she is eating. It made me feel as though she had a sore-throat? I gave her warm water with lemmon, and it seemed to be a tempoary relief for her.

However, still worried...

Answer
Dear Oma,

Your bunny is showing the classic signs of a serious molar  problem.  Rabbits cannot vomit, but if she has spurs growing in towards her tongue (or even a very long spur growing *over* her tongue), she will retch when she tries to eat.  It's also possible that she might have a molar root abscess that is swollen and interfering with her ability to chew and swallow.

You can read more about dental problems in rabbits here:

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

Pay special attention to the story about the bunny who had a large wad of fur and food stuck in her throat because a strand of hair in the mass had become wound around her back molar.  It took a very special vet who knew what to look for to find the problem and fix it!  You will really need a good vet who is very familiar with rabbit dental problems to help you with this, and you should be able to find one here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Please don't delay, and please make sure the vet knows that a *deep oral exam* is necessary to assess the state of the molars.  It's possible that light anesthesia will be necessary to really get the bunny's mouth open to see deep inside and check for spurs, molar root abscesses, or other problems that can cause this type of "choking" symptom.

I hope this helps.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana