• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Rabbit making strange noises - Please send good vibes, I'm off to the vet

JeffR

Young Bun
My rabbit has started to make some strange noises when she is grooming herself. I caught it this evening when she was done with her meal and grooming her ears: she was making some kind of very soft grunting, like a pig would. She also did it when she was playing with her blanket and when I scratched her ears. What worries me is that I caught her sneezing this morning when she was going around the house. She did find a rather large dust bunny uner a table chair :roll: so that could've been it, but maybe it is some respiratory problems/stuffed nose that are causing the noises.

She hasn't been spayed yet since she is not yet 6 months old. We don't know her exact age, but it's probable between 12-14 weeks old at this point. It isn't the typical "hoink" that means "I love you and haven't been fixed yet".

UPDATE: She has been doing this soft grunting more and more this afternoon, so I'm off to the vet to have her checked up :( Hope it's nothing serious.
 
Last edited:
Sounds respiratory. Nutmeg makes grunts like you describe when grooming, sleeping, stressed, etc, due to damage in her lungs from previous untreated snuffles. I would get her to a vet tomorrow in case it's an emerging infection.
 
I was going to say Grim makes these noises when he cleans himself, but he does have respiratory problems. I never thought they were linked though. He makes the noises rabbits make when they drink water, the loud sort of gurgly noises, but they are very much like an oink, oink. He does it mostly when he cleans under his chin/chest.
 
Barney does this, another snuffle bun. I always assumed it was because he is deaf, which makes him noisier than other buns as he cant hear himself, but I guess its actually the scarring in his airways now. He has always done this, even before he got snuffles with me, which supports my vet's theory that he had scarring before I got him due to non treatment or a nasty infection.

Definately get it checked out and discuss antibiotics and perhaps a culture and sensitivity test (to tell you which bacteria is up his nose) with you vet.
 
Last edited:
Yeah if all the snuffly buns are doing it, definitely get him checked out at the vet. :wave:
 
I'll definately get her checked out if it persists, but I'll be calling the vet tomorrow for her opinion anyway. Seeing as our vet is an hour and half away (I live in the boonies), I don't want to stress her out by taking her on an uber long car ride for nothing if I can help it.

I also thought about something: we are at the bottom of the hay bag right now and there is a lot of small pieces and hay dust (Living World Timothy Hay - she won't touch the bale of farm stuff I bought). This might be causing her episodes.

She hasn't done it since the only time I caught her doing it.
 
Last edited:
After consultation to the vet, she agreed that it was best not to have the rabbit travel 3 hours for a sneeze and a few episodes of 10 seconds episodes of grunting since she had no other associated symptoms (lethargy, loss of apetite, nasal discharge, chronic sneezing, etc.). She recommended chucking the rest of the bag of the old bag of hay, vaccuming and steam washing everything that the rabbit touches (this includes the couches and drapes:shock:...) and vaccuming the floor twice a day for a while. I must admit that I got a new contract last week and I skipped a few days of vaccuming because I was busy (I work at home), so this might be my fault :roll:

She hasn't done it since and she's been playing/running around/binkying for an hour straight :love:
 
Hmm, I suppose it could be related to a dust allergy, but really, if the problem persists you must get her examined. Snuffles can get serious if left untreated :( My Boris is a snuffle bun and he sometimes makes similar noises too. Initially he didn't display many of the typical symtoms, he ate well and wasn't lethargic at all, quite the opposite in fact. No sneezing either back then, he just coughed. Snuffles (or pasteurellos which is the proper medical term) can present itself in a number of ways, you shouldn't rule that out because your bun doesn't have the most common symptoms. Keep an eye on her, and if there still seems to be an issue, get her examined by a vet asap :)
 
Last edited:
If she still does it today or tomorrow, it's off to the vet for sure, don't worry. The vet stressed that it was very important to keep an eye on her.
 
She was referred to us by two local rescues: she works at a pet hospital and all the vets there have their speciality (dogs, cats, birds, etc.). This one handles pretty much all the rabbit/birds related issues, so I'd say she is rabbit savvy. I have two vets who are very close to where I live, but they are bad, even with cats and dogs, so I'd rather not go there if I can help it.
 
UPDATE: We brought our rabbit to the vet and she had a culture done. She immediately put our rabbit on antibiotics and she got better in two or three days. The results came back and it is Pasteurella, so our girlfriend and I know that we have a snuffles bun. She has been off the antibiotics for a little while now (it was a 21 day course) and she's been feeling fine. No more sneezing, a roaring appetite and plenty of binkies.

I'm hoping it stays this way for a while, but we know that snuffles is something the bunny stays with. The vet said that Pasteurella can remain asymptomatic for the rest of her life, as well as it could remanifest itself in a few weeks/months :( But for now, everything is well :D
 
UPDATE: We brought our rabbit to the vet and she had a culture done. She immediately put our rabbit on antibiotics and she got better in two or three days. The results came back and it is Pasteurella, so our girlfriend and I know that we have a snuffles bun. She has been off the antibiotics for a little while now (it was a 21 day course) and she's been feeling fine. No more sneezing, a roaring appetite and plenty of binkies.

I'm hoping it stays this way for a while, but we know that snuffles is something the bunny stays with. The vet said that Pasteurella can remain asymptomatic for the rest of her life, as well as it could remanifest itself in a few weeks/months :( But for now, everything is well :D

Sounds as though you have a good Vet and I am glad that your Rabbit's symptoms have resolved after the course of antibiotics :)
 
Back
Top