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Pasturella/Snuffles Question

Fifibutton

Wise Old Thumper
Paddy has cold weather snuffles and today his nose is quite snotty, his breathing is noisy and it almost sounds like bleating but only when I pick him up. He gets distressed at being handled and having his nose cleaned. I am worried though. He is on medication (baytril, biosolvon and critical care formula) but I don't think its enough. He lives in a large pen in my garage and its cold in there. All the other rabbits are fine and they also play in an outdoor run daily and have done for the past two years. But Paddy is still young, under 1 year and this is his first winter. He shares his run with a large friend so they need space. Ideally I would bring them indoors (but we already have two separately living house buns) or would it be better to buy a heater for the garage (oil filled radiator) and put it in his run to warm the air up a bit and then let Paddy free range in my hall instead of outside so he doesn't get a temperature shock?

I want to get it right for him so I would appreciate all advice. I am willing to rearrange things in the house in order to fit him in if need be.
My only concern with giving him a radiator is that the warm air might spread to the middle and back of the garage where my other buns live and so might cause them to suffer from temperature shock.
 
I can't really offer much help temp wise as my snuffle bun was worse in warm weather not cold.

You could use a greenhouse heater?

Have you thought about nebulising him, even if its just with saline to break down the mucus?
 
You say he lives in a pen. Has he got a bed box full of hay or a box with vet bed in? If so he should be OK as he will grow a thick coat like the others. Keep him out of any drafts and damp (from wee). My bun has snuffles too and is on the same meds, well not baytril anymore as it does not work on snuffles.Try septrin or zithromax instead. Bisolvon is good though for breaking up the mucus. Can you get him some cone flower (echinacea) from Pets at Home or Jolleys and let them snack on it. I just have some in a bowl in her hutch to have as and when she wants. Also having some Metacam can reduce the inflammation in the nasal passages.
 
I can't really offer much help temp wise as my snuffle bun was worse in warm weather not cold.

You could use a greenhouse heater?

Have you thought about nebulising him, even if its just with saline to break down the mucus?

I have definitely considered the nebusliser. We used to steam for a bridge bun who had snuffles. I didn't know warm weather could make it worse either. We had a really hot summer and he was fine then.

I have never heard of a greenhouse heater before, how does it work?
 
I think they are electric, but I imagine they are a gental heat and pretty economical. You can get cages for them so safe from bunny teeths.

My snuffle bun loved the cold. He was always much better in winter, but I guess they are all different.
 
You say he lives in a pen. Has he got a bed box full of hay or a box with vet bed in? If so he should be OK as he will grow a thick coat like the others. Keep him out of any drafts and damp (from wee). My bun has snuffles too and is on the same meds, well not baytril anymore as it does not work on snuffles.Try septrin or zithromax instead. Bisolvon is good though for breaking up the mucus. Can you get him some cone flower (echinacea) from Pets at Home or Jolleys and let them snack on it. I just have some in a bowl in her hutch to have as and when she wants. Also having some Metacam can reduce the inflammation in the nasal passages.

Thanks for this. I can get echinacea (have used it before). Paddy's pen has several boxes full of hay and a hutch full of hay. Its dry but cold in the garage. He wees on hay filled litter trays which absorbs well and gets changed regularly. But he has been playing outdoors when the ground is wet up until he was diagnosed the other day. He is a very small rabbit (1.5Kg) so I don't know if that will make him more susceptible. I wish I knew what was best. If I bring him in, he and his mate will have less space then they are used to but he may suffer less with symptoms.
 
I think they are electric, but I imagine they are a gental heat and pretty economical. You can get cages for them so safe from bunny teeths.

My snuffle bun loved the cold. He was always much better in winter, but I guess they are all different.

Thanks, that does not sound too dissimilar to a mini radiator then. I wonder if it would be best to keep Paddy in his home but add a heater and then not let him free range outdoors until winter is over then.
 
Last night I put my old oil filled radiator into Paddy's run behind a metal barrier (puppy pen panels) and set on a timer setting. I put his hutch in front with cosy blanket in front and then set up a video camera and left the garage. I came back about three hours to find he was sitting on the hutch enjoying the warmth (its on a medium to low setting). I played the video recording back too. That was very interesting, Paddy spent a lot of time sitting in front of the radiator, he ate some cecotrophs and nibbled some hay but mostly he slept with front paws folded under his chest in front of that radiator. His wife on the other hand, jumped up several times to nuzzle paddy, chin the metal barrier and eat some high up hay. Then she did a lot of jumping on and off the hutch and in and out of her big hay bed. I didn't know she was so active. But she didn't sit up with Paddy to get a heat. So it seems to me that he does need and enjoys it. I have big perspex panels which act as barriers between rabbit runs (to prevent deferred aggression) and they are pretty tall so they have almost acted as walls or doors and thankfully the air in those runs is much cooler. So after a night of warmth Paddy seems cheerful. I can't tell if there is more mucus present in the nostril but the area around the nostrils was clean and dry. His breathing sounds clearer and he went mad for a treat too. I will keep checking him though but I ope this helps him through the winter. He is only a tiny bun and his fur isn't that thick tbh.
 
If the mucus gets thick, a low dose of metacam daily may help as it will help with the inflammation of the airways.
 
i hope you manage to figure out what works best. i had one of each - bisc is worse in the cold, and matt was worse in heat, so it was a struggle.

agree about the metacam mentioned aswell :wave:
 
Glad the heat it helping.

I have just bought a petnap electric heat pad for my piggies - I got the flexiguard one which is totally metal with a metal case on the electric cable so totally chew proof. They love sitting on it. If you have access to electric perhaps he'd enjoy one?
 
Thanks for all the tips guys, it really helps :D

Well Paddy loves his heater and likes to sit in front of it. But his breathing is still noisy and the mucus is still present, its not too thick now and is sometimes white and sometimes clear. There is some sort of black dirt or dust around the nostril occasionally, caught in the moist fur. I keep wiping it away. I always have to lift him up to do this so I have a good look at the nostrils too. The left nostril seems smaller, less wide compared to the right nostril. I don't think it was like this before. I am wondering if his nostril is slightly swollen so I hope metacam will help. I'll phone the vet and arrange to pick some up tomorrow.
 
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