my rabbit was choking

[fredricks owner]

i came home after school and gave my fredrick his pellets for the day. now he’s a pellet fiend, as most bunnies are and he started eating them as fast as he could. thank god i was in the room waiting him for a bit cause after a while i looked over and he was strangely siting up and chewing ferosiously. i walked over and noticed his eyes were fully blown and he tried getting away from me. then he stopped moving and i started panicking, realizing he was choking.

i instantly picked him up, feeling around his belly trying to see if that could possibly help him but i honestly had no idea what to do. i brought him out in the living room where my family was trying to get someone to help me. my brother in law picked him up and raised him above his head stretching him out to see what was going on and i think that helped him with whatever he was choking on.

it might’ve been the fact that i ran with him and bounced him around that dislodged whatever was in there or just pulling him up in the air stretched out, but either way i’m so glad he’s okay.

i’ve never had a scare like this and honestly i don’t know what to do if it happens again. i suspect he choked on a pellet or maybe something else got into his pellets that i didn’t see, but from now on i’m monitoring him everytime he gets pellets.

have you guys ever witnessed this? what are some good procedures i can do if it does happen again. the thought of losing fredrick like this kills me and i was so overwhelmed while it happened because i know rabbits can’t just regurgitate what’s in their throats or bellies. thankfully he’s okay and eating well but i’m still worried.

any advice helps, thank you!

[sarahthegemini]

Oh my goodness how scary. Thank god you were there and reacted quickly! I’ve not witnessed it myself but I’ve heard that rabbits can aspirate (sp?) whilst eating pellets – basically they eat them so fast that they accidently inhale the pellets into their airways. Scatter feeding pellets or using something like a treat ball or even hand feeding would keep that issue at bay Anything that stops them gobbling them up too fast!

[Finnigan!]

That’s so scary!!! I agree that the food should be scattered to prevent this from happening again. Good thing you were there to act quickly

[ThorBunny]

Oh gosh it is good you were there to help him! I have heard of rabbits choking on pellets before. I’ve heard it can help to switch to a larger pellet size, sounds counter intuitive but it can force them to actually chew each one rather than inhale!

[Bam]

So scary, thank goodness you were there! A larger size pellet can’t be inhaled like small pellets can, but scatter-feeding is another option.
Here’s some info about the “bunny-Heimlich”: http://www.vgr1.com/choking/

I have used the centrifugal swing once when my Bam choked on a pellet. The important thing is to stabilize the rabbit’s head and spine like the man in the animation does, then do the “swing”. By your description it seems you and your brother-in-law managed this instinctively, excellent job!

[joea64]

Glad Fredrick’s OK – I’d be terrified if anything like that happened to my buns, in fact I might not have the presence of mind to react the way you and your brother-in-law did.

I had considered scattering pellets on the ground forage-style for Panda and Fernando, but when I experimented with a small handful they got into a bit of food-competitive behavior (jostling each other to get at the pellets and gobbling them down), so I’m not sure I’ll try that again even if I hadn’t read this thread. In point of fact, they have very good manners about food in bowls and boxes; when I give them their morning pellets in a small bowl, they eat quite sedately, appearing to take turns and chewing thoroughly before swallowing – the same for their evening salad and their hay. It’s only when I give them treats that they tend to get greedy!

[Luna]

Thank goodness you saw what was happening! Luna is a pellet inhaler as well, so I scatter them when I give them to her as treats. I agree with Bam – when you described Fredrick being lifted in the air I thought “That sounds like the bunny-Heimlich!”

[LittlePuffyTail]

So scary! Thank goodness, he’s okay.

That happened to me with my Bindi, he was gagging and drooling and wide-eyed. I was terrified and thought he was going to die. He wouldn’t let me touch him or get near. Thankfully, he was able to dislodge it or swallow it and then he was perfectly fine after. But I no longer feed him hard pellets. He was a total pellet vacuum and obviously had eaten them too fast. He now gets only pellet mush. I take the pellets and put them on a bowl with a bit of warm water and let them soak until they are all puffed up. He loves his pellet gruel. And now I don’t have to worry.

[fredricks owner]

thank you all for the response and advice!! i have been scattering his pellets lately, and it seems to work. it also helps that i feed him next to his water bowl in case he needs a drink right away. but thank you all so much,, you were all so helpful!! ❤️

[joea64]

Keeping the water and food dishes next to each other is an excellent idea, that’s what I do. It’s worth running the risk of the buns getting their fluffy tootsies wet every so often.

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