Rabbit Web Discussion Board

my rabbit is breathing heavey and sweating alot what do i do and what is happening???????????????

Sounds like heat stress.

Not sure how much time has passed since you posted, but rabbits DO NOT tolerate heat - especially direct sunlight. Get your rabbit to a cool enviroment immediately. Get her ears wet as well as the nape of the neck. The ears act as a cooling mechanism for the rabbit and help radiate heat away from the body.

Rabbits begin to suffer when the surrounding air reaches 85 degrees Fahrenheit. If your rabbit recovers OK, you need to look a where you are keeping her. There can be absolutely NO sunlight shining in on her cage. There needs to be good ventilation. If you must keep your rabbit in a cage outside, try putting a frozen water bottle in the cage with her. She can lean against that and try to keep cool.

Hope everything is OK.

Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com

cool thanks

We give our rabbits gatorade in the summer to help them through the heat along with water bottles and we also mist them. (If it\'s really hot then we put them in carriers and bring them in the house.) I should also mention that if you don\'t get the clear gatorade your rabbits mouth, dewlap and feet will get discolored. (Just incase you are going to a rabbit show.. I would recommend getting the clear gatorade)

I bring my rabbits in -granted I only have 5 right now! But I have ever lost rabbits due to the heat -and it is very uspetting because once they get to that point there isn\'t much you can do. My very first rabbit as a little grl was lost that way.
I even lost one the next day -it was heat exhaustion I believe. It was very warm and the next day the heat dropped but it still takes a toll on their system.
If all other measures have been taken and you still see him \'drool\' they get wet in the nose/mouth -bring him inside immediately. Start with something cool like a cold towel -you don\'t want to shock them if they are already going into stress.
You can also get one of those personal fans from Walmart. At least it keeps the air going on a breathless day.
Hope your litle bunny is ok!