sick rabbit

hello

this is my first post, my pet "rabbit" a male house rabbit, who ive owned for just under 3 years (still a baby), has had breathing problems since i baught him, after a year he started getting very prone to catching the sniffles to which my vet worked out that he must have some form of lung damage, we have been treating him with the occasional antibiotic shot, steroid injections and cough medicine, which till this month was working...he has now had a very nasty cough for over a month, i took him to the vet who doubled his dose of meds and sat me down for a chat on the possability of putting him down...........i really dont want this to happen, over all he is bouncing around as if nothing was wrong and at the mo unless you see him having the occasional cough you would think he was totally healthy, we tried scrapping sawdust which has eased the cough but hasnt took it away, is there anything else that anyone could think of that could help rabbit?

Have you had nasal swabs done? It might be worth looking into seeing a more rabbit savvy vet. It could be something like Pastuerella which can be kept under control with the right anti biotics, or it could be a different type of respiratory infection, or something completely different (like teeth causing him difficulties and/or maybe running him down too).

It sounds to me like he hasn't had the best vet care to be honest. That's not your fault, you have tried your hardest but a lot of vets don't know as much as rabbits as they may think.

Oh, and welcome to the forum

thank you

unfortunatly this is the only vet we have hear, but ive just checked up on the web what that was and im going to show her it before she mentions putting him down again

This could also be a sign of an enlarged heart - but I wouldn't worry too much about that

I would take anything that has sawdust or pine shavings away from him as these can make a bun cough and give respiratory illness. Anything that is dusty should be taken away as he could be suscepitble to things like that.

A swab is a very good idea as this will let you know what type of antibiotic is best for him.

I have found that Metronidazole (quarter of a tablet) and Septrin (0.6 per kg) is effective for URI's.

You could also nebulise him - if you pm me I can let you know what is needed for it.

If you can get a concious x-ray done it would show any lung damage and if his heart was enlarged.

I always find buns with chest problems like to lay over a draught excluder, it helps their breathing