myxi in the north east

Hi, one of my 2 6 year old rabbits has been confirmed today, i didnt ever think they were at risk as there is no way of wild rabbits coming into contact or even within 100 yards so i assumed (wrongly) that fleas wouldnt transmit and didnt realise midges were also a cause. They have been vaccinated in the past but missed their vaccine this year as one was too unwell to have it (EC at the time)
So far bun is on about day 6 or 7, she had a scab on her neck and ear since last weekend - that i put down to fighting with her hutch mate and as she was totally ok in herself and the scab nice and clean and dry i just let be. Shes now covered in scabs, still eating, enjoying being out in her run and generally ok. Her poos are small and her bottom a bit swollen so she has metacam and vets on monday.
Does anyone know what the usual length of illness is??? and does anyone have any advice ;other than vaccinate- i'm learning that lesson the hard way
I am willing to nurse her as much as needed, she has had recurrent GI stasis and just recovered from EC so we are used to it.
wishing all the myxi bunnies well,, Rachxx

Hi, I'm sorry your bunny has myxi I'm assuming she has seen a vet already and the appointment on Monday isn't her first? I don't have any experience of myxi luckily, but from reading on here I think she definitely needs antibiotics as well as metacam. If she hasn't seen a vet about this yet then she needs to go today, it can't wait until Monday. You need to start treatment asap.

Thank you for your kind words, i have some antibiotic at home and metacam, so all bases are covered. I have a fab rabbit vet, but she is unfortunately 250 miles away. she has diagnosed over the phone, confirmed dosage etc. the only reason i'm going to the vets on monday is to get more supplies (they wont give them without also seeing the rabbit -and they arent very good, they got the last dosage all wrong, so i even have to tell them what i need). Rosie has had 2 hours in her run in the sunshine and eaten pellets carrot and broccoli. Dont worry i'd never let one of my bunnies suffer and will make the right decision at the right time, i'm just hoping time and medication is enough to pull her through.

Judith at First Vets in Forest Hall is a very good rabbit vet. Fingers crossed your bun is okay x

well its the vets tomorrow

molly35, thanks for the info, i have already booked with my usual vet but will be contact with Judith if i dont get the answers i want. My long distance vet advises me on dosage levels etc and treatment so i make sure i get the right treatment and there is no question that this could be anything other than myxi.
Excuse the length of this thread- i'm using it to document her progress in case i come across this virus again in the future as well as to allow anyone with questions to potentially find answers.
Rosie has had baytril 0.9ml, zantac 0.3ml (precautionary - she is eating fine) and metacam (10kg cat dose)again today. She seems her self but accepted her meds better which usually means shes not actually feeling too good or up for a fight. However she did attack the tarpaulin on her hutch roof in anger afterwards.
She felt quite hot so i hope the metacam takes her temperature down a bit. Her hutch mate is still totally unaffected, i have taken the decison to leave them together as they stress when apart and chances are she already has the virus.
Her nodules look pretty much the same as yesterday, the smallest ones are possibly slightly smaller, the one on her bottom is still a little red but doesnt look infected. The largest nodule is approx 2 cm across. 1.5cm of which has scabbed over. She has no nodules on her nose and clear eyes. She has large nodules on her bottom, base of right ear and back of neck, medium behind both fore legs and small on both ears, left cheek and tummy. There doesnt appear to be any new nodules today.
She is eating well. i have been giving extra pellets (soaked in warm water) along with cauli, broccoli, spring greens and carrots. She always has ad-lib hay. I have deepened her bedding in her hutch as i have read that nodules are common on their feet, she has unlimited access to a concrete run at all times if she wishes. I have read loads of reports about life span of the virus but theres actually not that much info out their on its life stages. I am holding on to the hope that its 14 days as that will hopefully mean she is through the woods on the virus and now its just the secondary infections etc to worry about. If what Ive read is correct then its 14 days to appearance of nodules which would put her on about day 21 of infection.
If anyone has any advice I'd love to hear from them. Sending all the myxi bunnies lots of love and get well vibes xx

So sorry! I hope your bunny pulls through. Where about's are you in the North East?

snowflake-george, i'm in whitley bay. Worrying thing is that i have seen no wild rabbits with myxi and my rabbits are ina secure garden and have no contact with wild rabbits.... there are also no other domestic rabbits within at least 100m. Looks like the midges are transmitting it

Visit to vets

Rosie went to the vets today, i saw the more rabbit savvy one, she answered my questions and things are slightly more hopefull for the time being anyway.
I have done a thorough clean and flea treated the hutch, i dont believe it was caught from fleas but it cant do any harm. I still hold mozzies as the likely source of infection, theres millions around at the minute.
Shes to stay on baytril for 5 days- the nodule on her bottom is now infected so i have to try to soften and remove the scab to allow it to drain, and having zantac and metacam. I can stop the metacam in a few days if she continues to be well in her self, i think while she has an infected nodule that she will only benefit from the pain relief.
She has a new nodule on her nose, but thankfully at the minute its small and not in the way of her breathing sniffing etc. Her eyes are still clear.
I have some cream to put round the scabs to help them soften and lift off as apparently infection can hide beneath the scab and linger.
I'm not sure how successfull this will be as she is frantically trying to clean it back off.
Shes still eating well and showing frustration at the syringed medicine so i think she feels ok.
The vet predicts that she will get more nodules over the next week or so, some will dry up and heal and new ones will appear until her immune system combats the virus. She also said that sometimes some of the nodules can hang on for months and be very difficult to get rid of. Its all down to her immune system and theres no definate answer as to how long it will be till shes out of the woods.
Her hutch mate will be vaccinated in 3-5 days if she shows no sign of infection, i'm keeping my fingers crossed, so far she is 100% well and looking after her pair in the way that bonded rabbits do. I still havent separated them as i keep getting conflicting information about whats best.
We also discussed Rosies EC, she has had 45 degree tilt for last 6 months after a bout of EC. This has completely disapeared with the myxi?????? Maybe its just coincidence????? who knows.. She has advised me to keep an eye on her EC state as she predicts the strain on her immune system may allow the EC to recur.
So all in all a positive visit, I know she still only has a slim chance as her vaccinations werent up to date but at least she has a chance. Wishing all the ill bunnies well Rxx

No change

2days since the vet visit and there is no change, the nodule on her bottom looks less swollen and less infected but looks quite bruised. Some of the smallest nodules have scabbed and fallen off. She's eating and seems fairly well in herself. Poppy is still showing no signs at all and fingers crossed will be vaccinated on Friday. I'm starting to feel quite hopeful, i think she is on day 10 of symptoms and as she has the slightly weaker nodular strain I am hoping she will get no worse if I can keep infection at bay.

all the best-it sounds like she will hopefully be ok:thumb:

Glad she's doing well. Sending lots of vibes xx

Change to meds

She is now on 10kg dog metacam, 0.5ml bay trial twice daily and 0.3ml Zantac twice daily. Cream is filtabac. No new lumps but have discovered some large ones at the top of her hind legs. She's starting to bite at the scabs, they must be uncomfortable so we will persevere with the cream. Vet didn't say whether to take her back if no worse so will take early next week just for a checkup- consultation in the car, I am very paranoid about passing this on as is my vet who is very cautious.

Things still seem ok

Rosie is continuing to eat and act normally apart from her obvious uncomfortableness with the scabs. She should be off all meds by now but I'm not convinced that without them she won't get an infection. Again it's rained all night, her run is damp and even being cleaned out daily as they spend more time inside, I wouldn't say it was clean enough. So I ve left her on them till I can see vet on Monday. The cream doesn't seem to be softening the scabs, does anyone know of a good way to remove scabs, they are huge and the ones near joints are all cracked. All in all there's no change - apparently this is a potentially long fight and we are gonna give it our all. Hoping all the poorly bunnies out there recover well xx