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snuffles/noisy breathing/snotty nose

biscandmatt1

biscandmatt1

Wise Old Thumper
hiya,
my two bunnies bisc and matt both have snuffles and have flare ups every so often.
they have antibiotics (baytril) when they have a flare up, but the vet only gives them 1ml once a day for 7 days and then an extra 7 days of baytril if it doesn't clear up.
the thing is that it never properly goes and they are still snuffly. matt does very snotty sneezes which makes him have some clear snot come out of his nose and when he lies down his body kind of jumps like he does a big hiccup and he makes a snorting wheezing noise. bisc sneezes but not snotty sneezes, they are dry sneezes and he sneezes uncontrollably alot and then it turns into more of a cough noise. he also wheezes as he lies down and he makes so much noise when he is asleep - snoring, snorting, whistling and wheezing.
i am really getting worried but the vets always accuse me of over-reacting and i don't know what else to try them with because i know the baytril doesn't clear it up completely. surely they shouldn't be like this all the time?
bisc and matt live indoors, i have the heating on a steady temperature, i have a window slightly open all day and they have blankets as bedding now as woodshavings/straw made them worse. they now have dust free hay and megazorb litter. they have proC probiotic in their water aswell. they eat so much hay, have the correct amount of greens and very few pellets.
they are happy in themselves although they sometimes seem lethargic to me and bisc gets exhausted after a sneezing fit.
the vet checks their chests everytime i take them and says they are clear but i think she should be checking their lungs/heart etc. they have great teeth so it's not dental problems.
i have also put a drop of olbas oil in boiling water in a bowl that is kept in the room to try and help their breathing.
i really would like to know what everyone thinks i should do next. the most medicine they've had for their snuffles is baytril 1ml once a day for 14 days. this helps for a bit but then it comes back again. what do you think i should do next? baytril for longer? a higher dose of baytril? or a different antibiotic?
is there anything i can buy to help them breathe more easily?
the vet says i shouldn't over load them with baytril and different products etc but i know them and i know they're not 100% and need something more.
please let me know what you think.
thank you.
love my bisc whisk and matt matt! :love:
 
yes, bisc and matt are eating and drinking ok. they go mad for food!
i have changed the litter to megazorb and this is better although it is still a bit dusty i think. is there something else i could use that has no dust at all?
i have noticed that they sneeze when eating hay. i've tried so many hays and now they're on dust free hay from dustfreehay.co.uk and still sneeze, although not as much.
a while back i though some fresh air daily would maybe help but when they went out they just sneezed alot but i don't know if this is good because it clears the nasal passages, or it's bad because they could get pneumonia or catch a chill. they have both caught a chill before. it's difficult because matt seems better outside because he has a snotty nose and sneezes it out with the fresh air, but bisc is always cold anyway and gets really cold outside and sneezes and shivers and gets worse.
my vet said that they will always have it and aslong as they seem happy in themselves, they're eating, drinking and pooping fone, then i shouldn't treat it. she said they can be healthy and happy even with snotty noses/sneezing fits etc... but i don't know, i have read posts on here that say snuffles should be treated until the symptoms have fully gone, yet my vet takes them off baytril before that happens.
the main thing that worries me though is the noise they make when they're breathing-they're really wheezy.
 
biscandmatt1 said:
yes, bisc and matt are eating and drinking ok. they go mad for food!
i have changed the litter to megazorb and this is better although it is still a bit dusty i think. is there something else i could use that has no dust at all?
i have noticed that they sneeze when eating hay. i've tried so many hays and now they're on dust free hay from dustfreehay.co.uk and still sneeze, although not as much.
a while back i though some fresh air daily would maybe help but when they went out they just sneezed alot but i don't know if this is good because it clears the nasal passages, or it's bad because they could get pneumonia or catch a chill. they have both caught a chill before. it's difficult because matt seems better outside because he has a snotty nose and sneezes it out with the fresh air, but bisc is always cold anyway and gets really cold outside and sneezes and shivers and gets worse.
my vet said that they will always have it and aslong as they seem happy in themselves, they're eating, drinking and pooping fone, then i shouldn't treat it. she said they can be healthy and happy even with snotty noses/sneezing fits etc... but i don't know, i have read posts on here that say snuffles should be treated until the symptoms have fully gone, yet my vet takes them off baytril before that happens.
the main thing that worries me though is the noise they make when they're breathing-they're really wheezy.
Click to expand...

I would seek a second opinion from another Vet. Sometimes a very long course of Baytril is required (6 weeks). Also, there are other antibiotics that could be used. It is very important that your Buns are seen by a Vet experienced with treating Rabbits. I certainly would not be happy to accept the advice you have been given by your Vet.

Please let us know how you get on :)
 
i agree, i'm not happy at all with my vet. she's nice but she doesn't know alot.
i've found a proper rabbit vet so i'm going there instead so hopefully things will start to improve.
 
rupert has terrible sneezes too------his mucus is cloudy and he's getting over an eye infection. i'm afraid to put him on antibiotics because he's an older male. he's had sniffles since i got him. i have three other bunnies and none of them have ever caught this.

all my rabbits are kept in a very clean environment and all (including rupert) have very healthy appetites.

i should take the old boy to the vet. :(
 
yes, take him to the vet if you're concerned. hope he will be ok. how old is he now?
bisc and matt went to the rabbit vet today and he's fantastic. he gave them a full check over which took about 40 minutes and he was happy to talk to me for ages about them.
they are going in tomorrow for skull x-ray, nasal swab test and matt is having his spurs burred at the same time. i'm so nervous about leaving them though and the anaestetic (don't know how you spell it!) and i know i'll be so worried and be crying when i have to leave them. :cry: but at least they can be thoroughly checked and given the right treatment.
 
Grace has had ongoing snuffles for about 6 months. It has never settled with Baytril but the courses have never exceeded 14 days and have generally been about 7 days. She had a 5 day course of penicillin injections and there seemed to be slight improvement but a week and a half later she was spayed and stress is not good for snuffles bunnies so we were back at square one. Next week she is going to see the bunny vet at Ashleigh in Manchester so I am hoping for some better results although I know that with this condition it can always flair up again, and probably will. Fingers crossed she gets some relief. Hope your two improve soon.:)
 
Hope your buns get on okay. Its always a worry when they have to have stuff done but sounds like you've got a good vet taking care of them now :)
 
they see aidan raftery at ashleigh vets in manchester and he is great. he spent ages today looking at them and talking to me. i'm happy that he is treating them tomorrow because i got a good vibe from him which is good because i wouldn't let anyone near bisc and matt if i didn't trust or like them.
it took a while to get there and back today and cost quite a bit in taxi fares and it's costing alot tomorrow but i so don't care. i'm just happy to find a good vets. and i'd pay ten times more if it meant bisc and matt would be better. :love:
 
back from the vets... hated leaving them there this morning. :(
bisc is ok but matts very quiet and wobbly on his feet. going to leave him to sleep it off and keep a close eye on him.
they looked so traumatised when i collected them from the vets. :(
 
Hi biscandmatt1, Aiden is excellent isn't he. He is treating our bunny Penny for a bug they found after taking swabs. She has been on the antibiotic now for 4 weeks and will be possibly be on them until April. She now takes the antibiotic every 3 days. She doesn't sneeze as much and I can't see the white mucus. She started sneezing the same night we brought her home from the rescue. Thankfully Aiden said its not catching so Thumper and my guinea pigs will be ok.

Good luck with the results, did he take swabs? Penny had an x-ray and a camera down her nasal passage first while she was sedated and he took swabs when they didn't reveal the problem.

I hope your bisc and matts settle down and that their snuffles go.
 
yes, aidan is fantastic. he did everything that he did for your penny, although he did the swabs at the same time as everyting else and matts spurs too.
matt is now on metcam until the swab results come back and then depending on what the results say, they will both be on metcam or something else that will treat the problem better.
aidan said that the bone at the back of matts nose was inflammed and full of pus. matt has been making weird snotty noises all day but he is looking so much better now. :) when we got home he had a swollen face and sore eyes and he slept for ages but he started eating after about two hours when he saw bisc munching! :) he's looking great now, i think by morning he will be near enough back to his normal cheeky self. :love:
bisc didn't have anything done today, he was just there as support for matt and obviously because they're bonded. aidan thinks it's likely that bisc has the same as matt, so he did the tests on matt because he gets it worse but they're both going to be treated with the same thing and hopefully both will get better, if bisc doesn't though then he obviously has something different and will have to have the tests too. so we'll see what happens.
i'm glad you're penny has improved since the tests. i'm hoping bisc and matt will aswell. they should do. they've both had snuffles from a few months old, they've had other things too. they just seem to have a low immune system but i guess some buns are like that. glad it can finally be treated and hopefully they'll feel loads better. :D
i'm sleeping in the lounge with them tonight just to keep an eye on them. :)
can't wait for the test results and to start them on the right treatment.
love them so much, so glad they're back home and ok. :love:
 
Hi biscandmatt1, I'm glad matt is looking better now. I hope the swab results come quickly. I actually had to wait a few weeks because the bug was slow growing and Aiden just got regular updates about the bug.

It is better for them to have the swabs when sedated so they can go as far as possible.

Aww so nice you stayed with them last night. Fingers crossed for both your buns. :love:
 
thank you. they're both back to normal now and matt is completely fine, wouldn't even know yesterday happened. he's so good having his medicine too. he's always been good though.
i hope the swab results come back quickly too because just matt is on medicine now whilst we wait for the results and then when aidan knows the right treatment they'll both go on that. :)
 
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