Toots the Pasteurella boy looking for love...

Morning all,

I have a male rabbit approx 4 years old who was given to me last year by one of my customers as sadly the family were moving to France (I do rabbit boarding) And as I knew Toots and was used to giving him his medication I decided to take him on.

The family that had Toots before spent a lot of time and money on getting him on the right medication. Sine I have had him (about 7 months) I decided (with vets advice) to give him a break from the medication. And he has been doing extremely well, hardly any sneezing no mucus and is very healthy other wise.

He sadly lost his snuffles wife last year, Twitch, who he loved. Now he is desperate for another wife. I have been doing a lot of research about the condition and asked a lot of advice. I have also asked rescues and individuals if they know of any female snuffle rabbits? But I have also been told by one person that I could bond him with a rabbit who does not have it? This I am very apprehensive about but wanted to ask people on here what thier thoughts were?

Will put a thread out on the rehoming page too...

Thanks guys

I have a pasteurella active bunny bonded with a non-snuffles bun, and he's never really had any issues with picking it up. As long as the bunny being bonded with is healthy and has a suitable immune system, i would think it would be okay

Ginger is my snuffles bunny in my signature, Biscuit is her partner.

The issue with snuffles, is that its imperative to keep stress at a minimum, as it causes immune responses to be lower, so can cause snuffles to flare up, so that would have to be thought about as part of the bonding, so keep that in mind.

I would want to find another rabbit who has snuffles, even if that meant trying to arrange a bunny run from quite far away.
I don't think it would be fair to expose another rabbit to a known risk unless it was the only option for them. I wouldn't split up an existing bond either though.

My rabbit Vince had snuffles as a baby and it took us weeks to get him up to health. Every now and again he'll sneeze but no discharge will come out, he's definitely not ill anymore. Is this a 'sign' he has it long-term? My vet suggested it could be his nasal cavity is damaged due to the length of infection as everything sounded clear even during his illness:?.

I also have a snuffle bun (luckily only mild symptoms from time to time) bonded with 2 healthy rabbits and neither have shown any symptoms.
I was of the understanding that most rabbits carry pasturella but it only affects some rabbits if they have a weakened immune system.

I'm sure you'd be able to find a snuffle bun in rescue somewhere and a bunny run would be organised, if that's what you wanted. You'd be helping a needy bun too since most people are understandably loathe to take on a sickly animal over a healthy one.

My healthy bun lived with a snuffly bun for seven years and never had any probs.

My biggest concern would be keeping a closer eye than normal on your snuffle bun as bonding can put a stress on the immune system.

Hi all, thank you so much for the response, its such a hard thing to know what to do. I have also been told there are (I think) two different strains of Snuffles one is less infectious then then other which is what Toots has. He used to be bonded with another snuffles bunny who had the other more contagious strain. And sadly she was covered in abcesses and cancer so I had to have her put down. Since Toots has been ok, but I just would love to see him with a partner. He is a typical dwarf lop and doesnt seem to get stressed, in fact hes so laid back (I think 4 years of being investiagted by vets etc etc has helped) and cuddly you can do anything to him (obvioulsy I dont). But yeah the bonding will have to be watched even more carefully then normal.

I myself have had one snuffles bun and one without and the one with it lived until he was 12! and the other non suuffles bun lived until she was 13!

I have tried to put a advert out for a snuffles female on this forum but it keeps telling me I am not allowed?

Thanks again peeps!

MilosMummy said:

There is a poor bunny in the adoption section of our local P@H. She has pasturella and has been there for weeks. I felt so bad for her tonight because she was trying to binky but couldn't in the small area she is in I wish i could help her

Click to expand...

See here, I don't know how close you are:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?334876-P-H-Adoption-Section

Tim (?)

I have just replied to the post! I am in surrey so i am hoping shes not too far away!!! Fingers crossed

oooh, that's exciting. Well spotted Stator :thumb:

Just a little update on the snuffles bun in pets at home, I was meant to visit her yesterday but my friend who was going to take me had some bad news and what with mothers today I haven't had a chance. I have been thinking about her a lot. She was 4-5 months old and Toots is 5, is it bad of me to think "do I eat to take on the commitment of such a young aged rabbit with snuffles?" I feel terrible but also have to be realistic. Toots is an older bunny. And having such a young lady partner might be too much for him. Feel bad but I have to be honest.

I understand what you are saying but you might also find that it gives him a new lease of life
You never know how long they are going to live, you could find that he still outlasts her. All you can do is try to do the best for them here and now.

I know what your saying Tim, and its really though. I have two other rabbits and a single girl bunny who wont bond with any male. The last thing I want to do is take on another rabbit which may or maynot bond with Toots. If i went to a rescue at least I would have thier support and back up. Its just so very very hard to know what to do. My friend who was meant to take me would have taken me today, but I am just a little apprehensive (plus I was with family all day). I feel bad for feeling this way. I am also expecting my first child in July and taking on another young rabbit is a huge commitment espcially one who is ill. I will have a think about it and I might go Tuesday if she is still there.

:shock:

Scarlet is 4 (and a dental bun), Ori (who we got as a husbun for her) is only just a year old. They get on fab, they're happy, and he had been in rescue since birth and needed a home. She does get cross with him, he's very excitable, but he isn't too much for her.
If you can't afford the veterinary care she might need though, then I would obviously say don't get her.

Im not really worried about Toots being too old, but I have adopted a rabbit from a rescue who I got spayed etc and she will not bond with any male rabbit I have had her a long time. I just dont want to end up with another rabbit who wont bond as that would mean buying another hutch as I have Toots, Pepe and Lucy and Lindi (single female) If this makes sense? I feel awful, if I wasnt pregnant it probably wouldnt be too much of an issue I just dont want to end up with 5 rabbits.

If you are looking for a rescue to get a friend for him from, I'd reccommend Alice who runs Windwhistle Warren in Gloucestershire. A bit of a way to travel but I travelled over 5 hours to get there and couldnt have made a better choice. She helped me every step of the way, and still will if I ever need her, in fact I'm about to email her tonight. When I first emailed her about a friend for Barney he didnt have snuffles, and when I found he did I couldnt decide whether to continue and get him a friend or not. I got very mixed opinions on here, some people saying it was cruel to risk passing on the illness, others saying the other bun wouldnt get it anyway, others saying I should only get a snuffles bun as a friend.

Alice explained that most rabbits will have it anyway, as in any multi-bunny enviroment, like breeders or rescues, there is bound to be carrier bunnies that doesnt have symptoms, and of course it may then spread to neighbours or the carer may transfer it from bunny to bunny on their clothes, hands etc - and it is airbourne so any bun kept near a snuffles bun will get it too. So pretty much all bunnies will be carriers. No pressure at all, she was lovely, and explained that whilst most rabbits carry it anyway, if I wanted to be sure I wouldnt pass Barney's illness on then she had some rabbits that had snuffles and there were a few that she knew had been exposed to it, so if I wanted to go ahead I did have options.

I didnt really have the money for a snuffles bun that wasnt covered by insurance, so unfortunately couldnt take on a snuffles bun, but I did end up getting Annabella, who had been exposed to it - her father had it who used to live with her mum before they came to the rescue (hence the litter containing Annabella!), so she would have gotten it from mum, but they were also born next to a bun who had snuffles. Also, because she had been exposed but hadnt succumbed to it, she obviously has some sort natural resistence, so I hope she never will become a snuffles bun.

I decided to bond myself to reduce the stress, I did it slowly and gradually, and thankfully it was a really easy bond so he didnt get too stressed.

Of course Annabella's littermates may have all been rehomed by now, they are a gorgeous bunch of bunnies, but it would be worth contacting Alice, as she has over 100 at any one time, and so is bound to have a few snuffles buns, or ones that have lived with snuffles buns. She only has a few on her website mind. www.windwhistlewarren.org.uk

I hope my experience helps a little

Thank you for your help guys!

I have been on contact with a rescue who has an older female with the same strain of Snuffles as Toots, still waiting to hear back from them. Will keep you posted. Feel awful for the little girly bun at P@H still.....its so tough theres so many rabbits out there!

Pepe said:

Thank you for your help guys!

I have been on contact with a rescue who has an older female with the same strain of Snuffles as Toots, still waiting to hear back from them. Will keep you posted. Feel awful for the little girly bun at P@H still.....its so tough theres so many rabbits out there!

Click to expand...

Having an illness will make any owner looking at the p@h snuffles bun do some research and take her to the vet too, and should also scare off any people that just want a cheap pet. In some ways she is actually a lot better off than most of the buns there, and to be honest, she'll probably find a home quicker with p@h than a bun in rescue.

Remember by taking a rabbit in rescue you are making space so another can be rescued, you could be saving somebun's life. If it is the right choice for you and your bun, you dont need to feel guilty.