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You guys who have bunnies with chronic snuffles/Pasteurella

Oompa-Loompa

Warren Veteran
How do you manage it? How do you keep it at bay, so to speak? Are they on any long-term pain relief, antibiotics or something like that? Basically what do you do to keep them happy and healthy :)

Also, do they have any symptoms when they don't have flare-ups? Or do they act normal until all of a sudden the breathing issues etc. come back?

Just asking in case this is what Boris has :( He's on a long course of abx at the moment, 20 days right now but will probably be even longer in the end. So far the symptoms have come back every time he's come off the abx :( Which is why I insisted on getting him a longer course in case that was the problem. He's doing much better now after 14 days, seems a lot happier and eats a lot more, the breathing problems are also improving but very slowly :( I'm just worried about the future.
 
Ginger's are constant.

She sneezes all day every day, but the frequency/severity has gone down dramatically since the introduction of a nebuliser and F10SC (Veterinary Anti-Bacterial Cleaner).

She is on daily metacam (0.6ml x2) but this is for her teeth too, the anti-inflammatory properties of the metacam help to keep her airways open.

We also have them living in my office, where the windows are always open and the radiator switched off.

Ginger's life is one big flare up, but she lives with it, is 'happy' and 'bright' when she's okay.
 
Thanks for replying. Your Ginger seems like such a little fighter :love: And Boris is being very brave as well so far. I wonder if Metacam might help him as well if he has chronic problems. My two live in the basement where it's definitely cooler than the rest of the house, but I'm wondering if it's enough. I think the radiator will stay switched off for as long as possible now...

When Boris is at his worst it tends to affect his appetite as well, which concerns me. However this COULD be due to him being in pain or generally feeling like **** rather than the actual snuffles. He will quite happily eat some treats and pellets but refuses to eat hay :( I just hate seeing him breath so quickly and have these little coughing/sneezing fits :( I still haven't seen any discharge from his nose though so I guess he's lucky in that way. But it's also making things harder as there's no way of knowing exactly what's wrong with him (can't do a C&S test for example)
 
Sneezing is a sign of illness? i have a rabbit he sneezes a bit not loads but daily, he is young too but don't seem to have any other problems
 
It can be but with snuffle bunnies it's usually very extreme, like Boris literally has fits that last for several minutes, he has a little bit of trouble breathing as well sometimes :( If it happens daily but not a lot it could be an allergy.
 
I'm not sure if Mischa is chronic snuffles or just chronic infection, he seems prone to picking infections up, of various kinds. But i'll write a little about it anyway :)

It presents in a variety of ways. His first, presumed to be infection, episode was when he had head tilt agd one, coupled with chronic balance problems, this was so bad we nearly lost him. Then last January he got another ear infection, sneezing with gunk and dribbly eyes. Then a few months ago he got a tear duct infection when he just had dribbly eyes and nothing else. This time he started sneezing a bit, nothing hugely major and no discharge initially, but that started gradually getting worse and worse, then his eye started again and now he's started waggling his ears and bobbing his head which might be another ear infection, we're not entirely sure at the moment.

I don't do anything when it doesn't flare up, although I'm trying to work out why it does flare up. We were thinking the cold, but my room doesn't get cold, then we thought peaks and troughs in temp, but after putting a room thermometer in here we realised it's actually pretty stable. Now I'm thinking that maybe the air in here gets stale, as I can't have the door open, so I'm thinking of getting a gate I can put up during the day and take down at night.
 
Thanks for sharing your story :) I actually have no idea what has triggered Boris' problems either, although I suspect the weather outside might be a contributing factor (might sound strange but it does affect the air inside as well. The temperature is still well above average for this time of year).
 
My lops are moulting again! In December! It's all very strange. I could understand if we'd had the fire roaring but we've not had the fire lit much at all and when we have we've not had to have a big fire.
 
I know! It's so weird :shock: Boris was moulting too a couple of weeks ago. His breathing did actually improve a tad a few days ago when it was colder outside. Stupid weather :(
 
Ginger's trying to moult. She has NEVER had a complete moult in her life :(

She never has the energy to do it as her body is so fracked up.
 
bisc and matt are kept stable by twice daily nebulising with parvolex and hypertonic saline, and metacam twice a day. every 4/5 weeks matt has a flare up and then he has gentamicin added to the parvolex and saline for a week. bisc is stable enough to have the week off nebulising when matt needs the gentamicin.

they show symptoms everyday really. bisc has scar tissue damage in his nose so his nostrils become very narrow when he sleeps so he snores and whistles and snorts aswell. matt generally seems to get tired out more quickly and rests after a few binkies. he gradually gets more blocked up and by the 4/5th week he starts to make a bunged up sneezing/squeaking noise and that's when i know to order the gentamicin. he has sneezing fits and they're very bunged up.

bisc stays generally ok but if he gets too cold he does very dry sneezes. even though he was stable after the first 3 months he still needs nebulising and metacam to make sure his nose stays as clear as possible so he's not in discomfort when he sleeps, and to stop him not being able to breathe when he sleeps aswell.

both have scar tissue damage in their noses. matts always been worse than bisc and has regular flare ups, but overall the combination of meds now has worked for a while after going through a horrible time of tests and xrays and nasal draining and so many meds and med combos.

overall they do really well and i'm so proud of them. :love:

eta: the vet told me that aslong as they are kept stable then their life expectancy shouldn't be any different to that of other bunnies. there is always the chance that long term meds could shorten their lives a bit, and there is always the chance something else could result from the respiratory problems, but overall their futures should be fine if the condition is managed well. :)
 
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Barney is on a vitamin and mineral supplement and bisolvon daily, and also echinacea for a month if hes a bit worse. I tend to give a bit more bisolvon if he is worse. These keep his snuffles managable, and he'll be on them for life. Bisolvon helps his snuffles more than abx did. He nearly always has running eyes though, although they arent infected. We get periods of sneezing, it starts with just one or two a day and soon escalates into sneezing fits, the most I counted was nearly 20 in one sneezing fit :( It ususally flares up around the time his teeth need doing. But he hasnt needed abx for months now. I'm lucky with him as he seems to be able to get it under control himself, especially after the dentals are done (I wonder if the antiinflammatory properties of the metacam help?) after a week or two, and then we go back to runny eyes.
 
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Sneezing is a sign of illness? i have a rabbit he sneezes a bit not loads but daily, he is young too but don't seem to have any other problems

Yes, and if left untreated snuffles can cause permenant damage to your rabbit's lungs, and can also make going under anesthetic more risky. Even mild sneezing can be snuffles, even just runny eyes can be a symptom of snuffles, it doesnt have to be full-on sneezing fits. My rabbit often doesnt sneeze much, not even everyday, sometimes not for weeks, but he has snuffles, and has permenant scarring inside because of it. I would advise you take your rabbit to a rabbit-savvy vet for a diagnosis.
 
Nutmeg also has permanent scarring in her lungs (from snuffles before she came to us) but she's pretty stable now and has only needed one short course of abx this year. :thumb:
 
Barney is on a vitamin and mineral supplement and bisolvon daily, and also echinacea for a month if hes a bit worse. I tend to give a bit more bisolvon if he is worse. These keep his snuffles managable, and he'll be on them for life. Bisolvon helps his snuffles more than abx did. He nearly always has running eyes though, although they arent infected. We get periods of sneezing, it starts with just one or two a day and soon escalates into sneezing fits, the most I counted was nearly 20 in one sneezing fit :( It ususally flares up around the time his teeth need doing. But he hasnt needed abx for months now. I'm lucky with him as he seems to be able to get it under control himself, especially after the dentals are done (I wonder if the antiinflammatory properties of the metacam help?) after a week or two, and then we go back to runny eyes.

They can have bisolvon? :shock: Is it the same kind that humans have or is it different in some way?

Thanks for replying everyone. This is giving me some hope for the future :) I'm just worried as so far the longest my boy has gone without needing antibiotics is 2 weeks :(
 
They can have bisolvon? :shock: Is it the same kind that humans have or is it different in some way?

Thanks for replying everyone. This is giving me some hope for the future :) I'm just worried as so far the longest my boy has gone without needing antibiotics is 2 weeks :(

No idea if its the same as human bisolvon but yes, its prescribed quite often. I'd ask your vet about it, as its something a bun can be on alongside antibiotics and longterm if necessary.

Have you had a C&S test done to determine the bacteria and which antibiotic would be best to use for it? You may be using the wrong one. And is your vet rabbit savvy? Non rabbit savvy vets often prescribe lower doses than rabbit savvy ones.
 
I lost my little girl....her lungs were deformed and she had chronic snuffles.
Baytril,good nursing and alot of love kept her going for 3 years and 2 days.Her entire life.2yrs and 6 months in my care.
 
I think it's all about finding the right combination of antibiotics for that particular infection. With Grimlock, he's on daily baytril and depocillin injections every three days. This is doing a great job of keeping the snuffles at bay. He has what I would say is a normal life. I know they are just keeping them at bay though, rather than getting rid of the infection and he will be on them for life now. He still has flare ups every now and then. When the weather is much hotter the infection always seems worse. During the summer I nebulised him every day for 20 minutes to half an hour depending on how bad he was. This helped so much and probably saved his life. I just pop him in a carrier with a towel over it and put the mouthpiece through the bars. I only use sterile saline solution (salt water) in the nebuliser. My vet was worried about him inhaling any antibiotics and them getting into his stomach but the salt water is a decongestant and just helps everything 'flow'. I tried bisolvon but it seemed to upset his stomach and he stopped eating. This is very odd for Grim, nothing stops him eating so after the first time I didn't try it again. Stress causes flare ups too. Once I managed to really frighten him by opening a door he was behind. He's lost a lot of sight through eye infections and ulcers so this is probably why he was so startled. This set him off on a sneezing fit. Most of the time I can get him to stop sneezing by stroking him and cuddling him on the floor. Painkillers have also helped a lot. His eyes get very swollen when he's bad and I always give him painkillers when they do. Makes so much difference. If his eyes are that swollen I always imagine all his internal passages are too. :( One key factor is getting all the puss to run out of the body so the antibiotics can get to the rest of it.

So key factors for me and Grim have been:
  • The right combination of antibiotics
  • Long term/ permanant antibiotics
  • Decongestant (in my case the nebuliser but bisolvon is a decongestant too)
  • Keeping stress to a minimum
  • Pain relief/antiinflammatory
  • Lots of love. :)
 
No idea if its the same as human bisolvon but yes, its prescribed quite often. I'd ask your vet about it, as its something a bun can be on alongside antibiotics and longterm if necessary.

Have you had a C&S test done to determine the bacteria and which antibiotic would be best to use for it? You may be using the wrong one. And is your vet rabbit savvy? Non rabbit savvy vets often prescribe lower doses than rabbit savvy ones.

Had not had C&S done as he has no discharge :? He only coughs, sometimes sneezes and has an increased breathing rate. He's on Septrin/Bactrim right now which appears to be helping although it's certainly taking longer this time. His breathing looks a tad better and he's eating properly again and seems happier :) He was on Baytril for a while which didn't help at all. Vet isn't very rabbit savvy, she seems to know some stuff and isn't completely clueless, but yes she does seem overly cautious about giving him any unusual meds or more antibiotics. I had to really push for a prolonged course of abx as she seemed reluctant at first. I'm pretty sure he's getting an appropriate dosage for his weight though, he has 0.6 ml twice a day and weighs about 1.38 kilos.
 
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