end of tether with vet - proper bun advice please!

hi there, i'm a new member to the site. i've often looked at the helpful info but never felt brave enough to post however, after seeing 2 vets with my bun eric, i wondered if any of you guys would be able to stop me going round in frantic circles??

i've had eric (netherland dwarf) since feb and he's now 4 months old. he's a house rabbit but i've had his myxi and vhd jabs done as we get a lot of wild rabbits (and foxes) in our garden. he's always been playful and inquisitive, eats well (yes - i grow dandelions and bunny friendly greens for him as he's rather fussy:roll selective pellets and vitacraft hay.

for the last few weeks he's been sneezing. little bits at first but when i noticed a scab forming on his nose, i took him to the vet. he said he doubted snuffles as his eyes are fine and there's no nasal discharge and said it looked like syphillis. he checked his bits and bobs - totally clear (doubt it came from sexual contact as he's a baby and currently an only bun). he gave him an antibiotic injection (can't remember name but def a derivative of penicillin). he said to see how he went and take him back in 10 days.

the sneezing got worse. it got to the point when he began having trouble eating as it seemed everything was irritating his whiskers and scab and making him sneeze.

vet trip no2 after 8 days. same practise, different vet. pasteurella he said. nose looked very sore (er, you don't say....:evil so he gave him and anti-inflam jab and prescribed baytril. i said that i wasn't sure the syringe in the mouth would be possible so he said it could be in his water instead.

tried both. barely drinks the water. managed to get 2 doses into his mouth but now he won't come anywhere near me at all

sneezing hasn't improved, he's spending more time in his cage with the serious hump, he's not drinking the 100ml of water with baytril in per day and he's still having trouble finding a comfortable way to get food into his mouth.

please please oh rabbit companions, what should i do? i've looked at the posts on here regarding syphillis but has anyone experienced the extreme sneezing with that or discomfort with finding a position to take food into the mouth?

should i give up on the baytril? revisit syphillis suspecting vet (tbh i think i'd pay for a home visit as eric was soooo stressed after the last time)? look for another vet (any recommendations for good small animal vet around wolverhampton?).

sorry this is such a long post but i'll be very grateful to anyone that can offer advice on where to go from here.

x

I wouldnt put baytrill in water as its hard to get him to take the correct dose and it is especially important with anti-biotics that they take them.

I dont have much advice about what his condition could be but I would start syringing him the baytrill.

I can't help with what it might be but would agree that putting baytril in water doesn't sound a good way of getting it into a bunny, it's more likely to stop them drinking as they tend not to like the taste of baytril.

I don't know how bunny savvy your vet is but if you aren't sure either I'd ask on the forum for recommendations in the Wolverhampton area, it does sound like your bunny could do with a proper diagnosis and treatment fairly soon, as he must be getting pretty fed up by now

Good luck, and please keep us informed.

Hi, I second what Rach has said. Baytril in the water is a waste of time IMO. You have to syringe it to ensure he's getting the right amount. If he's being under dosed through the water it will do more harm than good.

What bedding do you use for him? Woodshavings? If so, remove them and bed him down on a dust free hay or something like vet bedding, just to rule out woodshavings causing the sneezing.

There's obviously something going on and I would ring round as many vets as you can and ask them if they have a small animal/exotics expert on board and book in a.s.a.p.

Someone on here may be able to recommend someone.

Hope you can get it sorted

Just thought- if he really doesnt like having meds then ask the vet about Septrin. Its an antibiotic that you will still have to syringe but its banana flavour and my bunnys love it! I have no trouble getting it in them and they dont need much so you could even squirt it onto some greens as long as u make sure he eats it.

Agree with the others, needs to see a bunny savvy vet. Put a post in Rabbit Chat for the area you need.

Baytril - you could add a dash of fruit juice to help it taste better. Some people put it on a tiny bit of food e.g. apple, banana or small piece of bread to get them to take it without stressing them out.

I hope you can find out what it is and can get him sorted.

You don't have to be brave on here, most people are more than happy to help where they can. I don't know what I would have done without this site at times. It has taught me so much.

:wave: Have sent you a PM x

thank you for your responses. i have resorted to baytril in water today (desperation) as i couldn't catch him - 2 man job i'm afraid to syringe it. i tried adding pineapple juice the last time - didn't like it. i tried it within a fine green bean (loves em) but he legged it. i thought about banana but he hasn't tried fruit yet so today i offered some without baytril to see if he liked it (cunning plan to put the baytril on next piece). didn't like it. he's having a good glug of water right now and has probably has almost 100ml within last 24 hours

as soon as vets open tomorrow i'll be ringing around. will post another thread for any recommendations.

as for bedding, i never use shavings. layer of newspaper and carefresh or the other recycled paper pellet one (forgot name, white and green bag) in his litter tray. there are also a couple of grassy mats and a nesting ball.

i've wondered about how dust extracted carefresh really is as it looks quite dusty to me when i put fresh in after a clean so a few days ago i removed the carefresh and just put a layer of newspaper, the grassy mats and loads of hay. i still put the recycled pellet one in his litter tray as this does seem dust free.

the sneezing continues......
x

Syringing is a two man job untill your used to it and some bunnies really hate it. Snowdrop would just flinch her head away every time the syringe went in her mouth.

Is he usually difficult to handle or is it just because he is fed up of the meds? I have found that wrapping bunnies in a towel works if they are skitish. As far as catching him goes I usually tempt mine over to me with the pellets bag and then do a quick grab!

i called the vet today and the 2nd guy i saw is coming to do a home visit tomorrow (i'm without car)

i told him eric was still sneezing, i'm having limited success with his baytril via syringe or in his water and didn't seem to be eating as much as usual. he said that rather than the baytril then he would give him another dose of the antibiotic injection the 1st vet used when he suspected syphillis. its called covenia apparently but i can't find much info on it apart from its licensed for cats and dogs and is some kind of penicillin.

vet says that whether its syphillis or pasteurella, this antibiotic should help (hmmmmmm) and when i asked about side effects he said he would bring some pro-biotic powder with him too.

i rang the rwaf for a recommended rabbit vet and they gave me a number of one about half hour away but i can't get there at the mo so am waiting on the home visit from regular vet.

any ideas what else i can do?

x

rachie, sorry, forgot to mention. i asked the vet about septrin as you mentioned this may be easier than baytril as they don't need so much but he was more of the opinion by then that an injection of convenia would be best. what did your vet prescribe septrin for?

x

Hello, I have sent you a PM x

poppymoon said:

rachie, sorry, forgot to mention. i asked the vet about septrin as you mentioned this may be easier than baytril as they don't need so much but he was more of the opinion by then that an injection of convenia would be best. what did your vet prescribe septrin for?

x

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Septrin is a childrens anti-biotic so can be used for more or less anything that you would use baytril for. You only need to give 0.2ml every 12 hours so I find it easier to give. I used it for a bite originally but have also used it for a bladder infection and also when my bun was in stasis.