A rabbit may stop feeding suddenly and produce retching motions with its head and mouth, accompanied by partially digested pellets or fluid that appears to be vomit. It’s natural for the rabbit owner to ask, “why is my rabbit vomiting?”.
Rabbits have a completely different digestive system than humans. Therefore, to meet your bunny’s unique needs, you should understand how the rabbits’ system functions. As you continue reading, you will learn more about rabbit vomiting and how it affects you and your pet.
Is it Normal for Rabbits to Vomit?
Rabbits cannot vomit because they lack the physical capacity to do so. As a result, their gastrointestinal tract is essentially a one-way road. Food enters the mouth and departs in the form of excrement.
Rabbits, like horses, have a powerful esophageal sphincter that securely closes and prevents food and liquid from exiting the stomach and returning up the esophagus(throat) to the mouth.
The sphincter (in most mammals) closes the passage between the esophagus and the stomach, preventing stomach juice from splashing up and damaging the esophageal lining.
This muscle is powerful in rabbits, and a fold of mucous membrane wraps it. It works by forming a one-way plug between the rabbit’s stomach and throat. It allows food and fluids to pass through. Still, it works like a cork on a bottle, preventing anything from backing up the esophagus and causing the rabbit to vomit.
In addition, the esophagus enters the stomach at an angle to avoid backflow. Also, the stomach’s entry is enclosed by a large fold of tissue that acts as a one-way barrier. To keep rabbits from vomiting, all of these structural components function together.
Because your pet can’t vomit, you’ll have less mess to clean up. Though this may sound fantastic, it’s not. It is not a positive physical trait to be unable to vomit. When it comes to your rabbit’s incapacity to vomit, you should never take it lightly. It exposes rabbits to the following ailments:
1. Blockages in the digestive system
Blockages in the digestive system are a persistent danger for rabbits. For example, a rabbit cannot vomit undigested food if it overeats or ingests too much fur while grooming. As a result, it becomes stuck in its guts and causes a blockage. In addition, like many other animals, rabbits can suffer from trapped gas in their stomachs. In their case, they are unable to burp out.
2. Choking
Choking could be a problem for your rabbit. If food becomes caught in its throat, a rabbit will have a hard time getting it out. It would help if you intervened before your rabbit’s breathing ability was lost.
3. Toxicity
If your rabbit consumes something poisonous, she won’t be able to get rid of it by vomiting. One disadvantage of a rabbit’s survival abilities is the inability to throw up. Humans and animals throw up for various reasons, one of which is to get rid of something toxic or harmful in their bodies. If an animal cannot do so, the poisonous substance will remain in its body.
Therefore, a rabbit must not get to the point where it becomes necessary to vomit because it does not have the reflex to do so.
What Does it Mean if a Rabbit Throws up?
Your rabbit is not, in fact, vomiting. Rabbits cannot vomit. Your rabbit may be choking or coughing if you detect fluids or food coming out of its mouth or nose, which is comparable to vomiting.
In rabbits, this choking sensation is commonly mistaken for vomiting. Unfortunately, this misleads rabbit owners into thinking their pet is vomiting when, in fact, the rabbit is unable to vomit.
Choking can happen in a variety of ways for your pet. Rabbits can choke if they have a health problem or eat too quickly. A rabbit’s throat can become clogged with dry, stale food. Rabbits can also suffocate on any unfamiliar object. The following are signs that something is stuck in your rabbit’s throat:
- Rabbit struggling to breathe by holding or flinging its head up and back.
- Rabbit chewing while groping at its mouth and moving frantically.
- Breathing that is loud, rattling, or open-mouthed
- Gasping and panting
- Due to a shortage of oxygen, the mouth and nose turn blue.
- Screaming
- Mucus or liquid from the mouth and nostrils.
While their rabbit is suffocating, several owners describe seeing fluid—the fluid results from the rabbit aspirating (inhaling something) and the lung’s reaction.
Don’t wait for your rabbit to vomit if you fear it has swallowed an object or a dangerous substance or if it has an intestinal obstruction. Instead, bring your rabbit to the veterinarian right away for treatment.
What Do I Do if My Rabbit is Throwing up?
Coughing is the closest rabbits get to vomiting. Rabbits can cough, but it is uncommon for them to do so without cause. When your rabbit coughs, one of two things usually happens. Either snuffles ( a viral infection) have infected your rabbit, or something had become lodged in its throat, and she’s attempting to get rid of it.
A clogged airway will need to be opened right away. After all, a rabbit will be unable to eat, drink, or breathe with a clogged throat. You will not have the time to get to the veterinarian if your pet chokes. So, you’ll have to do everything you can to help your bunny.
What Should You Do if Your Rabbit is Choking?
There are typically two ways you can aid a choking rabbit in dislodging food from its throat. You could begin by attempting the following.
- Hold your rabbit firmly against your chest. Make sure its head and neck are well supported.
- Your rabbit’s nose should be pointing downward. This is a delicate but necessary step.
- Massage your rabbit’s tummy with your fingertips from the base of her abdomen to her ribs. If you push too hard, you might injure a rib. However, you’ll need to exert some pressure.
- Your rabbit’s lungs will be under pressure, and as a result, a surge of air will occur. If all goes well, this force will be sufficient to extract a stuck item from the neck. Then, the object will fall out of your rabbit’s mouth. However, this will not fall back into her throat because her head is pointing downward.
The rabbit Heimlich maneuver is the second method. This method is risky because, while it may save your rabbit’s life, it also risks injuring the rabbit’s spine. Therefore, use this strategy only if you have no other choice.
- First and foremost, regain control of your bunny. However, please don’t put your rabbit on its back.
- Now take a good grip on your rabbit. If any fluid is pouring out of your rabbit’s mouth, wipe it away immediately to avoid your bunny aspirating.
- Drape the rabbit’s chest over your forearm and support it with your hand. Ascertain that the rabbit’s head is below the chest and lungs.
- Cover the back of the rabbit with your other arm, and use your hand to support the rabbit’s head and neck.
- Bring your arms up and down swiftly while keeping your arms straight to create a force that will drive the food out of the rabbit’s airway.
If there is any fluid left in your bunny’s lungs, it could lead to infection or pneumonia. Thus, take our pet to the veterinarian for evaluation. The vet will indicate whether or not it requires additional treatment.
Can Rabbits Spit Things Out?
Rabbits can spit up objects that they have not yet swallowed. The situations listed below can cause a rabbit to do this:
1. Chewing on objects
Several bunnies enjoy chewing on things like carpet, plastic, and other home items. They will chew and spit it out instead of swallowing it since they don’t like the taste. Bunny proofing your bunny’s play area will help you avoid this. Chewing is a natural tendency in rabbits that you cannot completely stamp out. Instead, lead them to safe chewable items.
2. Eating pellets too fast
Some bunnies would gobble their pellets but spit some out afterward to avoid choking. If your rabbit consumes pellets too quickly, scattering them is always a good idea. Consequently, they will have to slow down and significantly reduce the risk of choking on their pellets.
3. Dental problems
The teeth of a rabbit are continually growing. Molar spurs, painful protrusions in the mouth, can develop if their teeth are not worn down. Spurs are spikes that can cut the tongue, cheeks, and other delicate tissue in the rabbit’s mouth.
Molar spurs cause the following symptoms:
- A lack of appetite or a preference for certain foods
- Lethargy
- Food falling out of the mouth or spitting it out
- Cuts or red patches on the mouth or cheeks
- Blood dripping from the lips
Check for any of the above symptoms in your rabbit every few days. If your rabbit allows it, inspect into its mouth for any signs of pain or discomfort that could be causing it to spit out food frequently.
Conclusions
Even though a rabbit looks to be vomiting, the owner does not need to wonder, “why is my rabbit vomiting?” Because rabbits are unable to vomit.
Therefore, rabbit owners should pay special attention to their pets’ specific nutritional requirements and exercise caution in keeping all toxic substances out of reach. If there are any signs of illness, take the rabbit to a veterinarian right away. It’s the only way to keep her out of harm’s way.