23/03/2022
การช่วยเหลือเบื้องต้น สำหรับน้องกระต่ายที่สำลักอาหารค่ะ 🤍🐰
Yesterday we were contacted as one of the rabbits we adopted out unfortunately suffered an incident where he choked on a pellet. Thankfully he is recovering from the ordeal thanks to his adopters quick action in saving him, but many rabbits who have this happen are not as lucky.
For anyone who has had this happen before, it is an extremely scary situation where you need to act fast in order to save your rabbits life. If it were to happen, it's not something you're going to have time to google, so preparation is the best tool to be sure you know how to help your rabbit in the case where it's choking.
Remember to only take these steps in the case that your rabbit is truly choking. They will likely be panicking, gasping for air/attempting to mouth breathe, pawing at their face, drooling excessively or fluid/food pieces/mucus coming out of the nose. The moment your rabbits airway is cleared it needs to get to a vet IMMEDIATELY.
Dana Krempels, Ph.D. (Houserabbit Adoption, Rescue, and Education, Inc. [H.A.R.E., Inc.] president & National House Rabbit Society Board member) answered a question on choking in rabbits back in September 2007 (on allexperts.com). Here are her (2007) steps for the "rabbit Heimlich maneuver."
From a 2007 Post
- You must take the rabbit and firmly align him between your forearms so that his neck and spine are absolutely immobilized.
- Swing your arms upward (rabbit nose pointing to the sky), and then smoothly (not *too* fast) swing them down, being extremely careful not to allow the bunny to hit the floor!
- Again, it is *vital* to have the neck and back completely immobilized so that the force of the swing doesn't break the delicate back!
- The centripetal force of the swing will push the bunny's internal organs forward, forcing air out of the lungs, and (hopefully) clearing the rabbit's trachea. We have had to do this only a couple of times, and it is very traumatic, sometimes requiring 2-3 swings before the bunny can breathe again.
- Once the bunny can breathe, it's important to schedule a veterinary appointment as soon as possible, since aspiration pneumonia can result from an episode like this.
Photo Credit goes to The Bunny Guy blog.
