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Vets again tomorrow..snuffles treatment, ideas and thoughts please guys?

L

lilgems91

Mama Doe
Some of you guys may have read from my previous posts that my dental bun Ben has got a nasty bout of snuffles.

His hay intake has increased but unfortunately his snuffles has got worse over the last few days so its the vets again tomorrow.

Dont get me wrong, his vet is lovely but doesnt seem to want to try any other treatment apart from Baytril 0.3 ml twice a day. He has been on and off Baytril now since I got him for a kit (which was about a year ago), and has been on it constantly now for about 5 weeks. However, in the last few days it has worsened.

There is more snot and his sneezes are more high pitched and sound a bit different to before.

Does anybody have any experience with the treatment for snuffles, all I have tried so far is Baytril and thats really not having much of an effect.

Any more advice on meds to discuss with the vets would be a great help, so I can go in with a bit more knowledge, dont want to be fobbed off by them again.
 
:wave: You may find something useful in this thread here:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=300606&highlight=snuffles

I've certainly found that a combination of antibiotics to fight the infection, bisolvon to thin the secretions and make breathing easier, metacam to reduce inflammation, and also (a bit more drastic perhaps) nebulising to help clear the airways and get antibiotic right up to where the infection is.

As per the other thread I've linked to, it may also be worth getting a culture and sensitivity test done at some point, to see if the bacteria can be isolated so you know what antibiotics are best, and a head x-ray to see if overgrown tooth roots are causing the problem.

In my experience, if snuffles isn't attacked aggressively at the start, it can become chronic very quickly - so it's worth pushing and persisting at this stage...and if your vet doesn't want to do much more, ask for a second opinion or a referral to a vet more experienced with these types of problems.

Good luck xx
 
Do insist on a c+s test. This will tell you what the virus is susceptible too. Munchkin was on baytril with no improvement so I asked for the other abx plus metacam. He's now been on marbocyl for just under a week and the snorting has decreased dramatically. He's still wet from his nostril but we'll finish the course and assess then.
I really hope you get somewhere at the vets it's so frustrating isn't it. :wave:
 
Thank you both for your replies.

He had a c and s done a couple of months back, and the vets didn't really elaborate on the results, but just said baytril was the best option. However, it has become apparent that it must not be strong enough as his snuffles has got worse.

I would like to try a different vets but there's not many to choose from where I llive, especially no rabbit savvy ones :(

Its really getting to me because I want to help him, but they don't seem to want to stray away from the baytril :(
 
lilgems91 said:
Thank you both for your replies.

He had a c and s done a couple of months back, and the vets didn't really elaborate on the results, but just said baytril was the best option. However, it has become apparent that it must not be strong enough as his snuffles has got worse.

I would like to try a different vets but there's not many to choose from where I llive, especially no rabbit savvy ones :(

Its really getting to me because I want to help him, but they don't seem to want to stray away from the baytril :(
Click to expand...


Ask about the c&s test, ask what bacteria came up and what it was sensitive. If it came back with anything they will have put it on his record.

Baytril obviously isnt working , tell them that.

I find its always best to question vets, and not take their word as gold.
 
nessar said:
Ask about the c&s test, ask what bacteria came up and what it was sensitive. If it came back with anything they will have put it on his record.

Baytril obviously isnt working , tell them that.

I find its always best to question vets, and not take their word as gold.
Click to expand...

They said it was just pasturella and that baytril was the one that worked best, but I will double check tomorrow when I take him in. I can tell the vet isn't really rabbit savvy because he doesn't seem to like him too much and wasn't bothered about the snuffles when he first got it, and that was over a year ago. I had to push to get the baytril.

I can't get why he is so against trying the other treatments for snuffles.
 
I'd recommend a couple of things to try. One is septrim and the other is depocillin. Depocillin MUST be given by injection.

The other thing you could look into on your own is a nebuliser. I've been using one for my snuffly bunny, just with a saline solution (salt water), bought from Boots. I put him in his carrier with a towel over it and it pumps the 'steam' in, a bit like a sauna. That's really helped him.

I think getting a second opinion is the best bet. Can you ring other vets in the area and ask if they have any rabbit specialist? Or ask your vet to confer with someone else?
 
Jenova said:
I'd recommend a couple of things to try. One is septrim and the other is depocillin. Depocillin MUST be given by injection.

The other thing you could look into on your own is a nebuliser. I've been using one for my snuffly bunny, just with a saline solution (salt water), bought from Boots. I put him in his carrier with a towel over it and it pumps the 'steam' in, a bit like a sauna. That's really helped him.

I think getting a second opinion is the best bet. Can you ring other vets in the area and ask if they have any rabbit specialist? Or ask your vet to confer with someone else?
Click to expand...

Hi Jenova, thank you for your suggestions, I will definately speak to the vets about them.

So is the idea of the nebuliser to really get deep to the snuffles infection in the rabbit?

I am definately going to ring around other vets today if I am not satisfied after his appointment this afternoon!
 
Advice before appointment please?

Just bumping this up, to see if anyone else has advice or information to add before bens vets appointment at 4pm.
 
lilgems91 said:
Hi Jenova, thank you for your suggestions, I will definately speak to the vets about them.

So is the idea of the nebuliser to really get deep to the snuffles infection in the rabbit?

I am definately going to ring around other vets today if I am not satisfied after his appointment this afternoon!
Click to expand...

Pretty much. The saline solution just shifts the mucus but you can also put medication into it so that the medication gets right to the problem without going through the body first.

Grim is actually on Baytril now because that seems to be the best for his snuffles. Other antibiotics did not seem as effective. However it's starting to get worse so I'm actually going to the vets today to ask about combining his Baytril with another antibiotic in the nebuliser. I'll see what my vet says. :)
 
Jenova said:
Pretty much. The saline solution just shifts the mucus but you can also put medication into it so that the medication gets right to the problem without going through the body first.

Grim is actually on Baytril now because that seems to be the best for his snuffles. Other antibiotics did not seem as effective. However it's starting to get worse so I'm actually going to the vets today to ask about combining his Baytril with another antibiotic in the nebuliser. I'll see what my vet says. :)
Click to expand...

Ahh I see, that might be very beneficial for Ben, will mention it to the vets.

Exactly the same has happened to ben, the batril worked at first and now it has gone bad again.

Goodluck at the vets, fingers crossed we both get on ok!

Let me know what they suggest :)
 
We've tried lots of antibiotcs.

Metrondiazole is working great for us at the mo. Prior to that Baytril was the only thing keeping Bluebell stable (septrin, Alamycin etc didn't work). However it was a long course, by that I mean he was on it constantly for months and we also found it more effective nebulised rather than given orally as it gets in deeper.

I would definately ask your vet about bisolven. It thins the mucus and has been a godsend for us.
 
Amy104 said:
We've tried lots of antibiotcs.

Metrondiazole is working great for us at the mo. Prior to that Baytril was the only thing keeping Bluebell stable (septrin, Alamycin etc didn't work). However it was a long course, by that I mean he was on it constantly for months and we also found it more effective nebulised rather than given orally as it gets in deeper.

I would definately ask your vet about bisolven. It thins the mucus and has been a godsend for us.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for that info, have got bisolvon at the top of the list for suggestions!

Does your bun have any side effects from taking it long term?

I am very interested in trying ben with a nebuliser :)

Is it used daily?
 
I would definately try bisolvon, my Barney is on it longterm, it keeps his snuffles under control without using antibiotics everyday, and as far as I know there are no sideeffects, the vet said Barney could take it everyday for the rest of his life with no problems, and he probably will. If we miss even 1 day of bisolvon we usually get some sneezing, so its obviously keeping it under control for him. Plus you can tale it alongside the antibiotics with no problems. Hope it goes well today!
 
nessar said:
I would definately try bisolvon, my Barney is on it longterm, it keeps his snuffles under control without using antibiotics everyday, and as far as I know there are no sideeffects, the vet said Barney could take it everyday for the rest of his life with no problems, and he probably will. If we miss even 1 day of bisolvon we usually get some sneezing, so its obviously keeping it under control for him. Plus you can tale it alongside the antibiotics with no problems. Hope it goes well today!
Click to expand...

Thank you, I will let you know the verdict soon as I get back.

Wish us both luck :)
 
If it really is pasteurella, then metronidazole won't touch it. I'm assuming that the c&s test previously came up with pasteurella and baytril as a drug it should be sensitive to?

Two issues with this, I think. First, it is shown that baytril works better given in a higher dose ONCE daily rather than a lower dose twice - and also that a higher level is found in the body if it is injected rather than given orally. So if baytril really is the best option, it might simply be a case of changing the dosing regime and dose rate. Baytril injectable still says 5mg/kg twice daily on its own datasheet, but my vet now gives 20mg/kg once daily by injection where baytril is the 'right' drug.

Second, baytril doesn't necessarily have the greatest tissue penetration, so if the infection is in an inaccessible place, the baytril won't work if it can't get there! So sometimes another drug may be tried for that reason. But like I say, it might just be that baytril would work fine if given in a slightly different way.

Good luck xx
 
At the moment we're trying depocillin again with the baytril because Grim's eyes have become really infected. The depocillin seems to work well for his eyes so I hope it does again. My vet is looking into the best option to put in the nebuliser if the depocillin doesn't work.
 
Hey, back from the vets now!

The vet was under the impression that I thought these meds would cure the pasturella, and when I explained that from the start I knew nothing could cure it, and I just wanted to try something else to find a certain type that could control he started to understand.

He looked at the list of ideas I had written down from advice off here, and crossed penicillin of the list, he said it can be very harmful to rabbits.

He then started to give me a lecture on how Baytril is the only licensed drug, and that he thinks give that the best shot first (as we have already done) and then move onto other options. He still didnt seem too pleased but at least there is progress!

However, Ben has now been moved from Baytril onto Septrin for 2 weeks when he has another appointment to see if there is any improvement, and has also been given Bisolvon to take whenever needed.

On the plus side he said the spikes on bens teeth have nearly gone, all this hay eating is really helping him, my good little boy :)

What do you guys think of the stuff prescribed? Has anybody had any experience with using it?
 
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