strange behavior

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

I just noticed this behavior today and it’s strange that both my bunnies did it at the same time.

I was feeding my bunnies romaine lettuce (a veggie I had fed them previously) and noticed that in between bites they would push their head back and open their mouth. It wasn’t a yawn because the mouth did not open as wide as it does in a yawn and they displayed this behavior several times as they were feeding. I’m not sure if they were trying to puke or if they had bunny brain freeze because the lettuce was slightly cold from the fridge but I have never seen my bunnies to this before and it is strange that both rabbits displayed this new strange behavior.

Does anyone know what my bunnies were doing or if i should be worried?

[jerseygirl]

That is rather odd. Was it a different brand of lettuce or one that was pre-washed that you didn’t wash at home? Im just wondering if there was something on it that caused a bit of a reaction in them both.

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

Maybe. I was debating if i should feed it to them again to see if it would elicit the same response in which case I wouldn’t know if i should keep feeding them that same lettuce. I washed the lettuce before feeding so I don’t think it was anything on the lettuce unless what was on the lettuce couldn’t be washed off with water. Other than when I was feeding them the lettuce they haven’t displayed the behavior again and have been eating and pooping normally.

[Luna]

By “in between bites” do you mean that they were doing it while they were chewing still, or afterward? If a piece of veggie is larger than usual, when Luna first grabs it she does a little head motion while moving her tongue to help get the whole piece in her mouth. But she doesn’t have head movements after she gets the whole piece in her mouth or when she’s done chewing.

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

sometimes it’s after they eat a chunk of lettuce or sometimes it’s during. I gave them another piece of lettuce today and they both did the same thing. I recorded a video this time and will post a link after it’s done uploading.

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnsvKfzMwuc

I posted a video on my youtube account “Melon Katsu” under the title “Bunny Brain Freeze”

[Luna]

First of all, adorable! Second, I didn’t see anything abnormal – when Cinnabunn opened his mouth twice it looked like it was because he was trying to grab his next bite of lettuce and missed because you can see the lettuce move out of his reach a little bit when he goes to nibble on it .

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

its that weird open mouth behavior when they pull their head back. It happens whether I move the lettuce or not. I’ll try get more videos if it happens again

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

Its right around the 24 second mark if you didn’t see it

[Luna]

Have you tried other veggies to see if they still do it, or maybe it’s just with romaine or that romaine specifically?

[Wick & Fable]

It looks like just getting momentum to re-arrange a piece of lettuce in the innards of their mouths. Wick turns his head and some times his body to achieve this, rather than cocking his head like that. Rabbits have really inconveniently positioned teeth in my opinion… some times Wick has a piece of hay in his mouth and he struggles to start actually chewing on it because it’s in the gap between his molars and front teeth, so he just tries to rotate himself until he gets leverage from a nearby object to bend the hay into his molars/front teeth, haha.

Cut the romaine into small pieces and see if this still occurs.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[jerseygirl]

I thought it looked like a gag reflex. Strange that you’d see both do it on same occasion though! A coincidence? Or have you seen each do it several times?
Do they do it when picking their greens up from the floor?

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

No, it’s never happened with other veggies. only with this romaine and I’ve had my bunnies for a while to know that this was a new behavior. They’ve had other types of lettuce and even had romain before but they’ve never done the “gag” behavior

Yes, it looks like gagging but bunnies do not have a gag reflex and are strictly nose breathers so It wouldn’t make any sense for them to “gag”

I’ve since tried letting the lettuce come to room temperature but the bunnies still “gagged” on it.

what’s weird is the fact that they do it with/without food in their mouth as you saw in the video.

Still, my bunnies are fine and it’s been a few days. they poop and eat and basically behave the same. I just have no clue what those little doofs are doing

[jerseygirl]

They can gag, but not vomit. At least, I call it gagging.. I see one of mine do it after drinking.

Would it be worth buying another head of romaine and seeing if it still happens? It’s so strange!

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

yup, I just ran out of that head of lettuce. I was debating if i should try for the same or different brand of lettuce

[jerseygirl]

*bump*

Im curious to know if you’re still seeing this??!

ETA: About a month ago, I got 2 bloodblister suddenly pop up inside my cheek. Id had this happen before directly after eating something with seasoned salt – the seasoning must have contained something I reacted to.  But in this instance, the most recent thing Id eaten was a piece of unpeeled carrot. It got me thinking maybe there was something in the skin I reacted to. Pesticides perhaps? 

It makes me wonder if there was some residual pesticide on the lettuce??

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

Okay so i think it is a case of the bunnies “gasping/choking” while they eat too fast. I tried it with another brand and type of lettuce from a different store and they did the same thing. I will keep monitoring them but I don’t think this behavior is alarming

[jerseygirl]

So weird!

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

yeah i know. bunnies are unicorns.

[Author]

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