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Sneezing

vikkia1234

vikkia1234

Warren Scout
Hello- happy new year!

Just wanted to know if anyones elses rabbit sneezes very often? Guinness has started sneezing and honking really bad, i have checked his eyes and nose and there are no signs of any discharge but im still a bit worried, it does not sound good at all.
 
Did you check his front paws or 'hankerchiefs' for any signs of discharge (damp, crusty)?
 
Its normally related to dust i.e. for dry hay or poor quality sawdust.

Are they inside?
 
yep he is a house bunny, i use beauticat for his litter and burgess hay ( the green dried grass type)

he also has a teddy which he grooms all the time, i was wondering whether this might be related, when he sneezes it also sounds like hes honking, like trying to remove something from his throat, maybe the fur from the teddy?
 
Rabbits are unable to regurgitate food or objects as they do not have a 'gag' reflex as such.

Has your central heating been on more than normal? I have found that makes a couple of our bunnies sneeze.

I would recommend getting Guiness a bunny MOT at the vets just to make sure he is ok though.
 
oh well that cant be it then! ha ha :oops:

Well i usually keep my storage heaters off, but as i have been home all over xmas i have had a fan heater on pretty much all the time so that could be it!

hes got a trip planned to the vet on monday for his castration, i'll make sure i get them to check him out to make sure hes ok before they do anything to him!
 
Perhaps the fact that he's hormonal at the moment is the 'honking' you hear? Charlie still honks when he's happy but he honked a lot louder just before he was castrated! Just an idea! Does he look as if he's in difficulty when he honks?
 
My bunnies sometimes sneeze; Frosty more than Smudge.

The vet has given Frosty a big MoT and found nothing wrong... no allergies, no dodgy nasal problems...

From what I have observed he sneezes most when he has been burrowing his head in the hay. Rather than just pick the nearest bit he insists on shoving his head right into it and burrowing until he finds a tasty bit... then he sneezes a bit.

The vet said not to worry too much about this.

The central heating sometimes affects them in the morning.
 
I have 2 bunny's with pasturella, both have no symptoms apart from sneezing! No snotty paws, no change in behaviour, there's rarely any discharge etc... if it wasn't for a nasal swab and culture it would have been missed completely!!! Actually I had 2 have 2 done as the first one was negative!!!
 
Jupiter said:
Perhaps the fact that he's hormonal at the moment is the 'honking' you hear? Charlie still honks when he's happy but he honked a lot louder just before he was castrated! Just an idea! Does he look as if he's in difficulty when he honks?
Click to expand...

That is interesting, hes about 4 and a half months now so probably getting hormonal, hes having the snip on monday but i havent yet seen him getting randy on anything.

he does look realy frustrated when he honks, like i said earlier to Sooz its almost as if hes trying to get something out his throat but that cant be the case.
 
touie said:
I have 2 bunny's with pasturella, both have no symptoms apart from sneezing! No snotty paws, no change in behaviour, there's rarely any discharge etc... if it wasn't for a nasal swab and culture it would have been missed completely!!! Actually I had 2 have 2 done as the first one was negative!!!
Click to expand...

so does this need treating then? Sorry im not quite sure what pasturella is?
 
It does in most cases, I've given up on mine unless they get any worse. I haven't managed to find an anti-biotic that helped at all!!!
 
vikkia1234 said:
Is this quite common then? I take it its not life threatening?
Click to expand...

Most rabbits carry the pasteurella bacteria in their respiratory tract but most never develope issues from it. It seems those that do are predisposed from birth and its not as contagious as used to be thought.

It CAN be serious if left to fester, we had a rabbit come in who had been left untreated for so long it had turned to pneumonia. It was touch and go that she would survive and she now has permenantly scarred lungs.

Your vet can perform a nasal swab to test for the bateria's presence and a sensitivity culture to determine the most effective antibiotic.

It tends to be controlled rather than cured however.
 
Sooz22 said:
Most rabbits carry the pasteurella bacteria in their respiratory tract but most never develope issues from it. It seems those that do are predisposed from birth and its not as contagious as used to be thought.

It CAN be serious if left to fester, we had a rabbit come in who had been left untreated for so long it had turned to pneumonia. It was touch and go that she would survive and she now has permenantly scarred lungs.

Your vet can perform a nasal swab to test for the bateria's presence and a sensitivity culture to determine the most effective antibiotic.

It tends to be controlled rather than cured however.
Click to expand...

I think i'll ask the vet to do a swab, when i first got him he was sneezing (again no discharge or anything, but no honking) and the vet gave me some antibiotics incase it did turn into something worse, he did still sneeze occasionally even afer the course anti biotics but nothing very bad.

It has been recently that i have noticed his sneezes getting worse and turn into that horrible honking noise which has started to worry me, it just sounds so unhealthy the poor little thing!
 
vikkia1234 said:
I think i'll ask the vet to do a swab, when i first got him he was sneezing (again no discharge or anything, but no honking) and the vet gave me some antibiotics incase it did turn into something worse, he did still sneeze occasionally even afer the course anti biotics but nothing very bad.

It has been recently that i have noticed his sneezes getting worse and turn into that horrible honking noise which has started to worry me, it just sounds so unhealthy the poor little thing!
Click to expand...

Make sure the vets check his lungs and repiratory tract are clear before subjecting him to a GA for neutering as its a significant risk increaser to operate on a rabbit with an active RTI, infact I would not allow it on one of my rabbits (not that my vets would either).
 
Sooz22 said:
Make sure the vets check his lungs and repiratory tract are clear before subjecting him to a GA for neutering as its a significant risk increaser to operate on a rabbit with an active RTI, infact I would not allow it on one of my rabbits (not that my vets would either).
Click to expand...

Yes i will definatley, id rather not get him done if he is in any risk, i have been getting really worried about his castration as it is.
 
TBH Nasal swabs are not always that helpful. Often the pockets of bacteria are so deep within the nasal passages the swab cant reach them and so any results gained fron culure/sensitivity testing is misleading. To be truely informative it is usually necessary to sedate the Bun which is obviously risky if they already have a Respiratory Tract Infection

The current thinking from the Rabbit Clinics is that suspected cases of Snuffles which is *confined to the upper respiratory tract* should be treated with a *minimum* of 6 weeks Baytril. Although this may not be curative often the symptoms do resolve.

Before assuming Snuffles your Vet would need to exclude other possible causes of sneezing such as a foriegn body stuck up the nose ( happened to one of mine-it was a piece of dried grass forage feed........)
Tooth problems can also cause sneezing as can allergies

Janex :)
 
Jack's-Jane said:
TBH Nasal swabs are not always that helpful. Often the pockets of bacteria are so deep within the nasal passages the swab cant reach them and so any results gained fron culure/sensitivity testing is misleading. To be truely informative it is usually necessary to sedate the Bun which is obviously risky if they already have a Respiratory Tract Infection

The current thinking from the Rabbit Clinics is that suspected cases of Snuffles which is *confined to the upper respiratory tract* should be treated with a *minimum* of 6 weeks Baytril. Although this may not be curative often the symptoms do resolve.

Before assuming Snuffles your Vet would need to exclude other possible causes of sneezing such as a foriegn body stuck up the nose ( happened to one of mine-it was a piece of dried grass forage feed........)
Tooth problems can also cause sneezing as can allergies

Janex :)
Click to expand...


Thanks for everyones advise, i hope he doesnt have the snuffles! :(
 
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