Snuffles for life?

As some of you have seen we purchased Bobby from P@H a couple of weeks ago, on a Saturday, by Sunday he was back as it appeared he had mites which they are giving him ivomectin(SP?) he has his last jab on Saturday and they have cleared up really quickly. But at the time he also had a runny nose so they kept him in isolation from Sunday to Friday when they gave him the all clear and stopped using Baytril. On Sunday I noticed he still had a bit of a snotty nose but only on one side? My vet decided to leave it as his chest was clear and said it can be hard to treat just the snotty nose but when I went back to companion care for the mite jab that same week he has given me more baytril I think its 0.5ml drop a day until the bottle is finished and said he may never be totally clear of the snuffles. If this is the case can he have his Myxi and VHD jabs as my vet said it could flare it up. So far he is a happy bunny and his chest has always been clear just a snotty nose on one side. If he is going to have it forever is it something he will constantly have baytril for as he has gone for over 2 weeks without it affecting his chest or is that the baytril stopping it getting worse?

we had the same problem for the longest time with buns from pets at home. After one of the females we got had had baytril on and off for 14 months we tried echinacea. we started off with about 10 drops on a tiny bit of water by syringe, but as things got better, just reduced it to putting it in her water bottle every day. you can get it from most good health stores, and may mean you dont need the baytril. Our vet (also companion care) tried tyacil anti-biotic eyes drops to try and flush the tear-ducts in case that's where the snottiness was coming from but only the echincea worked. problem with snuffles is the sneezing and rubbing can cause scarring in the nasal passages I believe and that's why they never fully recover because it makes them like hyper-sensitive.

I'm by no means an expert, but there's been lots of research on echinacea and i'd give it a go. it works for most people in preventing / helping with colds n flu & boosting the immune system - research on rabbits is not conclusive at the moment but lots of people swear by it.

hope your bunny feels better soon - sending lots of vibes

Thanks for that might pop out later in the week to find some is it ok to give at the same time as baytril?

Im afraid once a rabbit has had snuffles they are always prone to relapses, most common when they are ill/malnourished or under stress.

The key is to catch it early and treat it as soon as you notice a flare up. It may also be helpful to give him a probitoitc in his water or on his food to help support his immune system.

Vetark Avi-pro plus has pre and probiotic plus added vitamins.

Yep, once suffered it seems they remain prone to snuffles.
To try and blast an episode of snuffles you need to look at a good long course of Baytril, around 3 weeks minimum.
My nethie is a past sufferer, and is the only bun not vaccinated as just the stress of visiting the vets brings on a bout, and my main concern for him was that his immune system would be "busy" dealing with the vaccines enabling another flare up of snuffles to arise.
As his last episode was severe and, according to the vet (although not sure how she knows:? ) scarred his lungs, he will remain unvaccinated as IMO for him I don't think it is worth the risk

One of our rescue bunnies, Molly, had untreated snuffles prior to us getting her and that had evolved into pneumonia....which nearly killed her.

As a result her lungs are now permenantly scarred too .

At one point her breathing was so laboured the vet nurse mistook it for someones tummy rumbling.

yeah, it's okay to give at the same time as Baytril - it's herbal and an immune system boost. I did both for the bun I was treating. In the end, I rehomed hr with a family who had no other rabbits and i knew would continue her treatment, and I would never have bred from her because of the issue of it possibly flaring up and causing probs in kitts. If she's the only bunny you have then I'd definitely persevere with her and treatment. Good luck, keep us posted please

I think Caramel will be prone for life too.... if we manage to get over this pasturella infection.

Contrary to popluar belief new reserach is showing that rabbits are born 'prone' to snuffles and it is not as contagious as once thought.

This makes sense when remembering that most rabbits carry Pastuerella in their respiratory tracts (shown by a swab) but never develop problems from it.

Thanks for all the advice, poor bunny he is doing well though and heis lungs have remained clear. I think he needs to have his vaccinations though as we are going on holiday twice next year and he is due to board at the cattery where I take my 2 cats. Lets hope the baytril and echinea (SP?) work! I always seem to pick the under dog or in my case cats and rabbits:lol: