Can anyone give me some advice on snuffles..

What treatment have other buns had and what were their experiences please...

I want to know that I have some basic knowledge on the condition and treatment options so that I have everything covered for when I take Teddy back to the vets..

I may be wrong here and am sure Jill will be along to back me up, but my little Albie suffers, and they struggled to get to the bottom of it if i remember correctly? I think Jill said he was treated with Baytril?

Albie seems to suffer more in winter?!

Sparkle x said:

I may be wrong here and am sure Jill will be along to back me up, but my little Albie suffers, and they struggled to get to the bottom of it if i remember correctly? I think Jill said he was treated with Baytril?

Albie seems to suffer more in winter?!

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Does he go off certain foods when he is suffering do you know...

I'm so worried about teddy and don't know what to do for the best. The vet said he needed supportive feeding as at the moment he's only eating greens and a tiny bit of mix. He is still pooing but they are only a couple of mm big (he never does very big droppings anyway, but these are teeny). He just gets so stressed when i'm giving him meds, fibre plex etc and obviously he is finding it harder to breather through his nose so I don't want to stress him further....but I don't want him to continue losing his weight as he is quite thin

charlie82 said:

Does he go off certain foods when he is suffering do you know...

I'm so worried about teddy and don't know what to do for the best. The vet said he needed supportive feeding as at the moment he's only eating greens and a tiny bit of mix. He is still pooing but they are only a couple of mm big (he never does very big droppings anyway, but these are teeny). He just gets so stressed when i'm giving him meds, fibre plex etc and obviously he is finding it harder to breather through his nose so I don't want to stress him further....but I don't want him to continue losing his weight as he is quite thin

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I couldnt answer that. He came to me the back end of winter, he was snuffly but not that bad. It took him a while to settle in anyways as they had been in rescue for soo long, so i couldnt really comment. I just noticed that once the weather picked up he seemed so much happier and he was snuffling as much. The insides of his paws got abit sore from him cleaning his nose, i used to bath them. Albie used to sneeze and wheeze, it sounded awful bless him.

I have PM'd Jill asking her to have a look at this thread. I know it was Faye who cared for Albie and Lottie, so she might be along to offer some advice

I hope you manage to sort it for Teddy

Sparkle x said:

I couldnt answer that. He came to me the back end of winter, he was snuffly but not that bad. It took him a while to settle in anyways as they had been in rescue for soo long, so i couldnt really comment. I just noticed that once the weather picked up he seemed so much happier and he was snuffling as much. The insides of his paws got abit sore from him cleaning his nose, i used to bath them. Albie used to sneeze and wheeze, it sounded awful bless him.

I have PM'd Jill asking her to have a look at this thread. I know it was Faye who cared for Albie and Lottie, so she might be along to offer some advice

I hope you manage to sort it for Teddy

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Thanks Nat. I'm finding it all really upsetting at the moment because I really really don't want to lose him. I hate seeing him look so unhappy.

I am fostering a rabbit with snuffles at the mo. We have tried 2 other antibiotics including baytril so we are now injecting Ceporex daily and its seems to be keeping it at bay for the moment. However for immediate relief of the blockage i was told to put him in the bathroom with me will i had a steamy bath. I also added some Olbus Oil and it seems to give mine some temporary relief.

Shel said:

I am fostering a rabbit with snuffles at the mo. We have tried 2 other antibiotics including baytril so we are now injecting Ceporex daily and its seems to be keeping it at bay for the moment. However for immediate relief of the blockage i was told to put him in the bathroom with me will i had a steamy bath. I also added some Olbus Oil and it seems to give mine some temporary relief.

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Thank you, what are his eating habits like...

Teddy is on Baytril but I want to have some other antibiotic suggestions to discuss about with the vet.

His breathing isn't *too* bad at the moment, he's more wheezy when stressed, but he's sneezing now and has quite a lot of white nasal discharge.

Albie had several courses of Baytril and Depocillin, both cleared it up for a bit, but it always came back... he always seemed to have a snotty nose and mucky paws from cleaning it... it never got bad enough to affect him though. Lottie never came down with it.

I have not had him very long but he munches hay most of the day and tucks into some pellets which I am leaving available to him all day as he is very underweight.

If the baytril isn't working then discussing other options with your vet would be a good idea. If your vet will train you to inject it can be a very effective method of getting to the problem as well as being cheaper (sometimes).

If you don't feel the treatment is working and your bun is suffering please don't hesistate to take him back to the vet, he may need a change of treatment.

Do try the bath thing...I was amazed at the results. Or even just try the olbus oil in his hutch (just keep it out of his reach)...it might just give him enough relief to perk him up and get him eating.

Fingers crossed for you x

Shel said:

I have not had him very long but he munches hay most of the day and tucks into some pellets which I am leaving available to him all day as he is very underweight.

If the baytril isn't working then discussing other options with your vet would be a good idea. If your vet will train you to inject it can be a very effective method of getting to the problem as well as being cheaper (sometimes).

If you don't feel the treatment is working and your bun is suffering please don't hesistate to take him back to the vet, he may need a change of treatment.

Do try the bath thing...I was amazed at the results. Or even just try the olbus oil in his hutch (just keep it out of his reach)...it might just give him enough relief to perk him up and get him eating.

Fingers crossed for you x

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Thanks!

I am able to give sub cut injections as I had to give them regularly to one of my old buns. I thought I had got teddy on antibiotics relatively quickly, as when I took him to the vets on Thursday and Friday he was only showing very mild signs and it wasn't exactly clear what was wrong. He started Baytril on Thursday and by yesterday it was clear he has an upper respiratory infection which is what the vet suspected. I suppose the Baytril needs a few days to kick in, but I still don't think it's the most effective of treatments.

It's the eating that concerns me. He isn't eating enough to keep weight on but obviously i'm going to compromise him further if I start syringe feeding him.
I'm giving him strong smelling foods such as herbs, carrot tops along with kale, greens, brocolli as these things seem to encourage him to eat. Last night he ate a tiny bit of science recovery voluntarily as well as a few soaked science selective. I've even given him a small amount of muesli mix as for some reason he would only pick at that the last couple of days even though it's not his usual food.

I'm going to put him in the bathroom today that is steamed up and see if it will help him.

His weight was 2.02kg a week ago, and when he was weighed friday morning he was 1.89kg. I need to weigh him again to see if he has lost any more.

Depocillin is what Poppy has been on, as well as now having regular steroid injections. Sadly Poppy's snuffles has got progressively worse & is badly affected by the hot weather. At one point she had a an exploratory to make sure there was nothing stuck up her nose or in her throat making her sneeze so bad - but there wasn't.

We found that baytril & septrin were no help at all with Poppy - but I know each bun is different.

Unfortunately we have been unable to get to the bottom of what is causing Poopy's snuffles & she has been mouth breathing the last few days As well as last Thursday / Friday weeing herself & mucus coming from her bottom - sadly we think there is now something more underlying with Poppy

She is very picky at what she will eat at the moment, but then being so poorly I'm not surprised. One thing she has readily taken off me this morning is some granary bread - I know it's not particularly good for them, but her weight has gone from 2.1kg to 1.7kg - so we'll try whatever we need to. Syringe feeding her is a definite no, due to her mouth breathing.

I'm also going to try the bath / steam that Shel has recommended - hopefully it might help her too.

Thinking of your little lad & hoping you can get him sorted, as I know it's heartbreaking to see them like this xx

Olibas oil helps Chester, he's been on Baytril and although it improved initially, his nose is now slightly wet again, and his eye is runny so he's back on drops:roll:

I'm so sorry about Poppy. It is really heartbreaking to see them suffer and feel like you can't do enough to help them.

On Wednesday night I actually though Teddy did have some sort of obstructions because the only symptom I had that something was wrong was an odd thing he was doing when swallowing. It was intermittent though and not consistent so was hard to convince the vet that something was wrong.

Teddy has dental issues, and had a dental a week before he became poorly and lost a molar. The vet thinks his infection is probably due to the stress as he was quite poorly for a few days following and off his food. I'm also concerned that it may be due to elongated tooth roots, but I think the vet wants to give the antibiotics a chance to work to see if any difference is made. Problem is if he needs to have an x-ray he's going to have to have an anaesthetic which is obviously very risky

I hope you get to the bottom of Poppy's problems, it's so worrying and consumes everything else when they are ill. I can't concentrate on anything and am just constantly watching him which obviously doesn't help.

Sending lots of vibes poppy's way xxx

Bunnyaddict said:

Depocillin is what Poppy has been on, as well as now having regular steroid injections. Sadly Poppy's snuffles has got progressively worse & is badly affected by the hot weather. At one point she had a an exploratory to make sure there was nothing stuck up her nose or in her throat making her sneeze so bad - but there wasn't.

We found that baytril & septrin were no help at all with Poppy - but I know each bun is different.

Unfortunately we have been unable to get to the bottom of what is causing Poopy's snuffles & she has been mouth breathing the last few days As well as last Thursday / Friday weeing herself & mucus coming from her bottom - we think there is now some more underlying with Poppy

She is very picky at what she will eat at the moment, but then being so poorly I'm not surprised. One thing she has readily taken off me this morning is some granary bread - I know it's not particularly good for them, but her weight has gone from 2.1kg to 1.7kg - so we'll try whatever we need to. Syringe feeding her is a definite no, due to her mouth breathing.

I'm also going to try the bath / steam that Shel has recommended - hopefully it might help her too.

Thinking of your little lad & hoping you can get him sorted, as I know it's heartbreaking to see them like this xx

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In some cases 'Snuffles' can be the result of elongated tooth roots which have penetrated the nasal passages causing inflammation and then infection. This is a chronic condition if its the molar roots that are effected and consequently it is often a case of longterm management rather than a 'cure'.
This may include longterm abx and anti-inflammatories.

Bobbie is the worst case of recurrent Snuffles here. Her's is caused by the damage done to her mucous membranes by the urine soaked environment she endured in her previous 'home' Bobbie can have several 'good' months free of symptoms but then a relapse will occur and she then has to have a 3 week course of Depocillin, one injection every 3 days. Fortunately her GI tract is now able to cope with this regime and her 'Snuffles' symptoms usually resolve after the first two weeks of treatment. Bobbie is also nebulised on saline or Baytril.

Snuffles is often likely to recur if the Immune system is challenged- eg from another concurrent illness, environmental stressors, vaccinations, GAs......etc

I hope your Vet can come up with a treatment regime to help Teddy.

xx

It's difficult to suggest antibiotics really because it depends on what the bacteria in the infection are - ideally a culture & sensitivity test should be undertaken but I appreciate that this is easier said than done especially as he's already been on antibiotics.

Over the years Santa has had many antibiotics for her snuffles, the ones that seem to work best for her are engemycin/terramycin (different brand names for oxytetracycline) in a long acting injectable form. I really like this as it is just one injection every 3 days so it reduces the stress for the bun. Have also more recently been using metronidazole as Santa's snuffles is related to tooth root problems so there seem to be plenty of anaerobic bacteria lurking up there. It really depends on the individual bun though. I also find that although she picks up reasonably quickly on the antibiotics, she needs to be on them for a good few weeks or more at a time, otherwise it comes straight back as soon as we stop them.

Other things that help Santa are bisolvon powder (this helps to thin mucus in the nose so can help thick pus to drain away a little more easily) and metacam, for its anti-inflammatory properties. Again it just helps to reduce the inflammation in her airways so helping her to breathe a little more easily. This also means that it helps her to eat more easily, as she does struggle to eat when her nose is blocked up - this may also be what is affecting your bun's eating.

I know some other buns benefit from being nebulised, or from using things like olbas oil nearby (but not within the bun's reach/touch). Personally I haven't tried this with Santa as I have read that olbas oil etc can sometimes irritate sensitive airways and knowing her like I do, I feel that this would be the case with her - but again, each bun is an individual and you may find that it helps yours.

Good luck xx

Thanks - I really appreciate it.

I know what you mean - it does consume you because all you want is for them to be back to normal again. We're the same with Poppy - I'm watching her like a hawk & know I can't be helping things, but you just can't help yourself.

Before doing the xray, would it be worth your vet thinking about trying another abx other than baytril if that doesn't seem to be make much difference? Hopefully that way it might negate the need for Teddy to be xrayed & have a GA or at least leave more time between the last GA he's just had & the one needed for an xray.

Let us know how Teddy goes on x

You need to find out the real cause of the snuffles otherwise you could be treating the wrong thing, we have two bunnies, a mother and son and both had serious snuffles, they have been treated with a variety of medications, including Baytril, Depocillian, Septrin, Ceporex etc, etc, the list is endless, sometimes it worked for a week or two and sometimes it dodn't, but the fact was that it never did clear up the problem

We then plumped for full xrays and found that the son was suffering from Frontal Sinusitis, he has had his nose drilled so that the pus from the sinus's can drain into his nasal passage, this was only done recently and so far has shown a vast improvement, stangely enough his Mum, although showing the same symtoms, has a totally different problem and is being treated accordingly

I wish I had gone for the xrays in the first instance and it would have saved us loads of money on wasted medications, and the bunny is so much happier since his operation

Hope this helps

Jack's-Jane said:

In some cases 'Snuffles' can be the result of elongated tooth roots which have penetrated the nasal passages causing inflammation and then infection. This is a chronic condition if its the molar roots that are effected and consequently it is often a case of longterm management rather than a 'cure'.
This may include longterm abx and anti-inflammatories.

Bobbie is the worst case of recurrent Snuffles here. Her's is caused by the damage done to her mucous membranes by the urine soaked environment she endured in her previous 'home' Bobbie can have several 'good' months free of symptoms but then a relapse will occur and she then has to have a 3 week course of Depocillin, one injection every 3 days. Fortunately her GI tract is now able to cope with this regime and her 'Snuffles' symptoms usually resolve after the first two weeks of treatment. Bobbie is also nebulised on saline or Baytril.

Snuffles is often likely to recur if the Immune system is challenged- eg from another concurrent illness, environmental stressors, vaccinations, GAs......etc

I hope your Vet can come up with a treatment regime to help Teddy.

xx

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I really hope his snuffles is not due to elongated tooth roots, but his history of dental problems are just too coincidental. I spoke with the vet nurse who told me that he has no issues with his upper molars on either arcade, but surely if he has had problems with his lower right arcade they would be pushing up on his upper molars..

The vet we saw the other day thought it was stress related because his immunity was compromised because of his ordeal the week before as he had been so poorly after his dental.

I'm not sure how possible this is either, but is it possible that he could have developed an infection in the socket left by that lower molar, or would that not effect the nasal cavity.

I just don't know enough to stand my ground where vets are concerned

Bunnyaddict said:

.

Before doing the xray, would it be worth your vet thinking about trying another abx other than baytril if that doesn't seem to be make much difference? Hopefully that way it might negate the need for Teddy to be xrayed & have a GA or at least leave more time between the last GA he's just had & the one needed for an xray.

Let us know how Teddy goes on x

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That's what I was wondering, but i'm not sure how long they will want to give the Baytril a go before changing... I can't wait until my normal vet is back

Snowy said:

You need to find out the real cause of the snuffles otherwise you could be treating the wrong thing, we have two bunnies, a mother and son and both had serious snuffles, they have been treated with a variety of medications, including Baytril, Depocillian, Septrin, Ceporex etc, etc, the list is endless, sometimes it worked for a week or two and sometimes it dodn't, but the fact was that it never did clear up the problem

We then plumped for full xrays and found that the son was suffering from Frontal Sinusitis, he has had his nose drilled so that the pus from the sinus's can drain into his nasal passage, this was only done recently and so far has shown a vast improvement, stangely enough his Mum, although showing the same symtoms, has a totally different problem and is being treated accordingly

I wish I had gone for the xrays in the first instance and it would have saved us loads of money on wasted medications, and the bunny is so much happier since his operation

Hope this helps

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Thanks Theo.. I will definitely be asking for further exploratory diagnostics. The vet just seemed reluctant to do so when I took him in on Friday, but that was because at that point he was not showing many clinical signs of having anything wrong. It's just over the weekend that it's gotten worse.