Big has snuffles. Help.

She is sneezing and has a white discharge from her nose. Everything else is normal about her.

She was treated with Baytril but it didn't do anything. She is now on another course of Baytril but I can't see any improvement.

How soon after this course of Baytril can I ask the vet to put her on Septrim?

She has always lived in a clean environment and had a good diet, she has never been ill before. I don't know why she has got this?
Beige didn't seem to catch it from her? Could this be why he died? He had no symptoms.

How can I best look after her? Are my other bunnies at risk?

2 of my 3 have snuffles and have been on nearly every med for it and while some abx lessened the discharge and sneezing, they never got rid completely. Thumps started an excellent 'snuffles' thread which you may find helpful.
At the moment mine are just on bisolven, echinecea drops and metacam.

Don't panic, it is manageable.

You do need to find an abx which works - Baytril did nothing for any of our snuffly buns. We also tried Flagyl, but eventually found the only drug that worked is Alamycin, an injectable drug usually used on farm animals. Once I got over the terror of doing the injections (only every three days) I found I much preferred giving drugs that way as the buns hardly notice and it causes them almost no stress. The final proof for me was when we had a bun who became snuffly after his combi vaccine. Four weeks of Baytril showed no improvement in the symptoms whatsoever. Four hours after his first Alamycin jab there was a noticeable improvement.

How quickly you can move to a different abx depends on how open minded your vet is. They do have to try licensed drugs first but can justify trying others if the licensed ones have not worked.

It also seems to be important to keep on the abx waaaaaay after all symptoms have gone - at least two weeks.

Other key things with snuffles buns - keeping stress levels as low as possible (Coneflower or Echinacea helps here to reduce stress hormone production) and nebulising helps loads. We nebulise a solution of F10 with a pinch of Bisolvon in it to keep the mucus nice and runny.

Sorry - to answer some of your other questions:

If it is pasteurella, it *may* have been what Beige died from. Some buns do with no symptoms but the pasteurella has caused internal lesions which are only picked up post-mortem. We have several pasteurella carriers though, they all show symptoms from time to time and we have not had a bun die without an obvious cause. So in my view it is unlikely.

A lot of buns carry pasteurella. Many never show any symptoms. Key triggers seems to be stress or a strain on the immune system - two of ours flare up after their vaccinations (another is chronic and I will not have her vaccinated). One also flared up after losing his wifebun.

There is no real reason to think your other buns are at risk if they are not in physical contact and if their immune systems are healthy.

:wave: I'm so sorry that Big has snuffles.

I find that the really important thing to do is to make all the discharge really runny to help to get it out of the sinuses.
It's also much less distressing for the bun cos they can sneeze it out more easily.

I use bisolvon (A powder which he takes readily off a basil leaf. If you put it over his food I find it sinks to the bottom of the dish & doesn't get eaten)
If there's a lot of discharge, or the discharge is very thick, a nebuliser can help alot. I use plain saline in mine, & can put him on my knee & direct the mist towards his nose. Saline is fine if we inhale some of it & doesn't cause drug resistance.

To reduce swelling in the tiny passages, & pain from sinusitis. (Pain can markedly reduce the immune response) I use metacam when the snuffles is active.

To boost the immune response I use echinacea powder (cos he'll take it that way, although the liquid form is more potent)

Now we can look at ABx Benjie had marbocyl by mouth. Whichever ABx are used, they need a long course, about 6 weeks to stop recurrence from retained discharge. Yes we found septrin was very beneficial.

Go for it all guns blazing once you start ABx. My Benjie will be on bisolvon & echinacea for the rest of his life.
I'd also say that reducing stress by all means possible is important for them too.
Good luck hun.

ETA a further benefit of Bisolvon is that it increases the clearance of secretions throughout the respiratory tract. Hopefully it should help to prevent such complications as otitis media & lower respiraory tract infections.

Oh no my poor Big it sounds a lot more serious than I thought

Do you think I should bring her indoors as a house bunny, although she would have to be in a pen rather than free range?

I would be OK with any inject-able drugs as I had a cat who was diabetic and had to do it daily.How long do they have to take Alamycin for?

I think I will ask the vet to try Septrim first though and get some Metacam. Will see if vet will let me have it for 6 weeks.

Where can I buy Bisolvon powder and echinecea drops from? Would it be Holland and Barret?

All the bunnies use the same free ranging area, could they catch it this way? I will keep Oxo away as he is the only vulnerable bun.

Oh dear I feel stressed now :shock:

Thank you so much everyone for the info it is really appreciated.

It is a serious condition, but it is manageable.

There are arguments for buns being indoors or out. Some say that the environment indoors can increase snuffle problems and that fresh outdoor air is better. As long as her quarters are warm, dry and draughtproof (as I have no doubt they are) I can't see any benefit in bringing her in unless she needs intensive nursing - hopefully you can knock the infection back before it gets to that point. Our chronic bun is indoors but we have two outdoor snuffle buns who are maintaining condition without medication at the moment.

The course length for the Alamycin varies. Our chronic bun, who was just getting worse and worse on other abx, ended up on it for about 6 weeks; we carried on for two weeks after all symptoms had gone. Another bun who had a mild flare-up had three injections, so nine days cover.

Your vet should be able to give you Bisolvon, or you can get it on Vet UK but you will need a prescription.

Echinacea you can give as powder, drops in water or dried coneflower. We've ended up with the latter. I like the idea that my buns can choose their own dose. It's an acquired taste for them but now they are used to it they seem to like it. Dried Coneflower


I wouldn't worry about it transmitting between the other buns too much, as long as they have healthy immune systems. We have a quad in which one bun is snuffly and the other three are fine.

rabswood said:

Oh no my poor Big it sounds a lot more serious than I thought

Do you think I should bring her indoors as a house bunny, although she would have to be in a pen rather than free range?

I would be OK with any inject-able drugs as I had a cat who was diabetic and had to do it daily.How long do they have to take Alamycin for?

I think I will ask the vet to try Septrim first though and get some Metacam. Will see if vet will let me have it for 6 weeks.

Where can I buy Bisolvon powder and echinecea drops from? Would it be Holland and Barret?

All the bunnies use the same free ranging area, could they catch it this way? I will keep Oxo away as he is the only vulnerable bun.

Oh dear I feel stressed now :shock:

Thank you so much everyone for the info it is really appreciated.

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Please don't feel stressed.
So many people think that ABx is the whole story with snuffles, but the discharge filled with bacteria gets thick & stuck in the tiny inflammed passages & sinuses, where the ABx can't be fully effective.

I was interested in snuffles cos I have the human form, so I know what it feels like. ABx were ineffective for me too! The best thing of all was to get a heavy cold & a good clear out in the runny phase. Then I'd get relief for up to a year.
I've watched so many buns have short courses of ABx only. Then it often recurs quickly. They didn't go on to getting the secretions runny until late on.
Benjie came to me before his plums had dropped having tried to cross a dual carriageway in a big town, in the dark. We think his immune system dropped cos he was so frightened.

He had snuffles & 2 abscesses on arrival (generalised pastuerellosis) which has a much worse outlook than ordinary snuffles. (I've not seen generalised pastuerellosis on RU) He had a course of Baytril for the abscesses & we kept the snuffles under control just with bisolvon, saline nebuliser & echinacea for 11 months. & it cleared up very quickly on septrin. Interestinly after sneezing & discharge had stopped for 2 weeks he had a sneezing bout on 2 consecutive days, passing a small amount of really thick stuff I hadn't seen for 10 1/2 months. He was a right binky bun after that!
The saline nebuliser did wonders for me too. (I make up my own saline from sea salt)

Although it should be infectious in theory; in practice tramission to a partner bun seems to be the exception.
Of all the buns on the snuffles thread, only Biscandmatt1's pair both have it, & the others are kept with their partners. Please discuss separating Oxo with your vet before you do it, because it may not be necessary, & could potentially stress both buns.
If you remember Maizey & her conti's, grooming by a partner bun seems to be very important to help a sick bunny. I stroked both Thumper & Benjie a lot when they were ill for this reason.

Here's Benjie having his saline nebuliser, & quite enjoying the fuss.

My rabbit Ginger has had very mild snuffles since about July. He lives with his friend Hettie who has never shown any symptoms at all, so I really wouldn't worry too much about your other rabbits catching it.
Other than the odd sneeze and a very, very small amount of discharge, Ginger's snuffles have hardly affected him as yet (he's his usual lively, mischievous self), although I'm struggling to find the right course of antibiotics to manage it as effectively as possible.
I think you need a really good vet who really knows what they're doing and is prepared to work with you to find the best solution. I haven't found one yet - our first vet would only prescribe short courses of Baytril, which only worked for a few days before the snuffles came back, and the most recent vet we tried prescribed Septrin, which worked much better, but seemed really confused about the best dose.
I'll definitely be getting some echinacea, and I'm going to try a third vet for antibiotics. I really wouldn't get too stressed about it - when Ginger first started sneezing I did some reading on the internet and was terrified but I think some rabbits are affected much more mildly than others. I think the important thing is to keep an eye on it and start working to find the best ways to manage it.

I don't have any knowledge of the condition, but sending vibes for Big. xx

I didn't realise the Coneflower was echinacea. I will get some ASAP.

I will ask the vet for bisolvon when I ask to have her put on Septrim.

How do you administer the Bisolvon? Do you mix a small amount up and syringe it orally to them?

Oxo my disabled bun does not live with Big. Sadly Big now lives alone as her brother Beige died unexpectedly (with no symptoms)on New Years eve. Beige did clean Big, I would watch him.

Thanks again everyone, this is really helpful and reassuring.

rabswood said:

I didn't realise the Coneflower was echinacea. I will get some ASAP.

I will ask the vet for bisolvon when I ask to have her put on Septrim.

How do you administer the Bisolvon? Do you mix a small amount up and syringe it orally to them?

Oxo my disabled bun does not live with Big. Sadly Big now lives alone as her brother Beige died unexpectedly (with no symptoms)on New Years eve. Beige did clean Big, I would watch him.

Thanks again everyone, this is really helpful and reassuring.

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You can sprinkle the Bisolvon on his food, you only need to give a pinch of it a day and so it is easy to disguise

I have had the shock of having a bun diagnosed with snuffles, then had some of my others get ill too. Thankfully, after a course of antibiotics most of them are now fine.

The bun who had it worst, had abscesses before I got her. She was only about 8-10 months old then, and is going on 3 now. She has antibiotics when she needs them.

One thing to think of, can you medicate Big without having to bring him in all the time? The change of temperature affects my bun a lot. She is indoors and always has been. Both times I have tried to put her outside she has become ill (once snuffles flare-up, once blockage).

I remember the panic I felt when she was first diagnosed, and it seemed to go through almost everybun. Now it is a nuisance, but if Honey has a flare-up, it's off to the vet for antibiotics and metacam. She gets dust free hay a lot of the time too. Bisolvon is good too, and really easy to use.

Luckily mine enjoy a saucer of apple juice {not from concentrate) after their brekkie so I sprinkle the bisolven in that and the saucer is licked clean.

Jack's-Jane said:

You can sprinkle the Bisolvon on his food, you only need to give a pinch of it a day and so it is easy to disguise

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Big likes oats in warm water with a little drizzle of honey so will sprinkle it on that.

Thanks again folks.