Stewart was our very first rabbit. He is a particularly spoiled rabbit that lives in the house and is our constant companion. Stewart has his cage located back in the hall by the bedroom, but it is mostly left open and he comes and goes as he pleases and chooses to spend most of his time with us, lounging out on the couch like a cat or underfoot begging for treats (and he gets more than his fair share!). Unfortunately Stew is a bottomless pit of a rabbit with no self control. He'll quite literally eat as much food as is available to him so we do control his meal times to keep him in relatively trim shape.
I usually put Stewart's bowl in his cage when he needs feeding and that's that...he'll eat and come back out to join us in the living room when he's finished.
For some reason I was compelled to feed him in the living room last night so he could stay out there with us. He got his usual amount and I set it on the floor at the foot of the couch. I was half watching TV and half watching him when his body language just seemed off. His spine arched up and he started to teeter back and forth on his toes. I remarked to my fiance that something was wrong with Stewart and got up immediately. Within just those few seconds Stewart face planted into his food bowl in a spine arched, legs stiff in a prone position. I grabbed him and flipped him on his side and pried his mouth open and began pulling a very large amount of food from his mouth with my pinky finger. Then I tipped him up side down and started shaking him him, put him on his side again and continued to pull more food out.. had to repeat this struggle several times...He was completely unresponsive for about 2 minutes until finally I cleared enough space and he could breathe again.
Stewart had quite literally stuffed all available space he had with food and nearly choked to death.
Within ten minutes Stewart was his normal self again, looking for more food, and you would never know that he had just had a near death experience. Terrified me though, I won't soon forget it. He got the rest of a ration by hand a few hours later...one pellet at a time...apparently he can no longer be trusted to chew and swallow. We used to use and old trick on horses that would "bolt" their feed, a few large smooth stones in the feed dish so they have to slow down and pick around the rocks, all the while taking time to swallow. I guess I'll be giving this a try on Stewart.
I've checked his teeth and all seems normal - as far as a can tell this would appear to have been caused only by the way he eats his food so fast. I sure am glad that I had just by pure chance opted to feed Stewart 2 feet away from me last night...if I had gone about the usual routine and fed him in his cage he would have been out of sight and undoubtedly would not be here today.
It was a pretty disturbing thing to have happen to a beloved pet and has been weighing on my mind since I woke up.
I thought I would share the experience and also wonder if any of you guys have ever had this happen? Searching the forums turned up zero...am I just that unlucky?
I usually put Stewart's bowl in his cage when he needs feeding and that's that...he'll eat and come back out to join us in the living room when he's finished.
For some reason I was compelled to feed him in the living room last night so he could stay out there with us. He got his usual amount and I set it on the floor at the foot of the couch. I was half watching TV and half watching him when his body language just seemed off. His spine arched up and he started to teeter back and forth on his toes. I remarked to my fiance that something was wrong with Stewart and got up immediately. Within just those few seconds Stewart face planted into his food bowl in a spine arched, legs stiff in a prone position. I grabbed him and flipped him on his side and pried his mouth open and began pulling a very large amount of food from his mouth with my pinky finger. Then I tipped him up side down and started shaking him him, put him on his side again and continued to pull more food out.. had to repeat this struggle several times...He was completely unresponsive for about 2 minutes until finally I cleared enough space and he could breathe again.
Stewart had quite literally stuffed all available space he had with food and nearly choked to death.
Within ten minutes Stewart was his normal self again, looking for more food, and you would never know that he had just had a near death experience. Terrified me though, I won't soon forget it. He got the rest of a ration by hand a few hours later...one pellet at a time...apparently he can no longer be trusted to chew and swallow. We used to use and old trick on horses that would "bolt" their feed, a few large smooth stones in the feed dish so they have to slow down and pick around the rocks, all the while taking time to swallow. I guess I'll be giving this a try on Stewart.
I've checked his teeth and all seems normal - as far as a can tell this would appear to have been caused only by the way he eats his food so fast. I sure am glad that I had just by pure chance opted to feed Stewart 2 feet away from me last night...if I had gone about the usual routine and fed him in his cage he would have been out of sight and undoubtedly would not be here today.
It was a pretty disturbing thing to have happen to a beloved pet and has been weighing on my mind since I woke up.
I thought I would share the experience and also wonder if any of you guys have ever had this happen? Searching the forums turned up zero...am I just that unlucky?
What if you used something like what they make for kitty kibble? Like a ball or something, with holes in, that releases feed as they roll it around. It's meant to be for treats, but it could slow his eating down, and be fun for him at the same time. I don't know how big the holes in those things are, but just tossing a thought out there. You could probably even make your own version.
