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    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

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Bunny Asthma

My 5 year old English Spot started to breathe rapidly on the odd occasion. Everything else is fine in all respects except for this rapid breathing which looks like trembling. After seeking advice from bunny parents, sanctuaries and such I decided to see a vet. There are truly very few real rabbit vets in this city. She could not hear the heart when listening from her back and had to go to the chest to hear it. She said that it is rare that one cannot hear the heart from anywhere on the torso and thought a chest x-ray might be in order. I had it done and she said it looks like asthma but would like a specialist to confirm. Extra money.
The radiologist confirmed what she thought was asthma and said my bunny was very obese. She also stated the heart looked good but there is a fatty mass in the area which partly obstructed the view of the lungs. She weighs 2.5 kgs and has maintained that weight since adulthood. Even the vet was surprised by the comment.
The vet has now recommended a 10 day course of Baytril and an inhaler which would be an enfant size mask.
The general consensus among rabbit people is it might be a bit too much. The bunny is showing no outward signs of asthma - no sniffles, no wheezing and no noise in her chest. I am in a quandary as what I should do. Follow the vet's advice or let it sit for a few days and see. This has been going on for for almost 2 weeks and I see no signs of it worsening.
I saw a vet a week ago for an unrelated item and told him about the breathing. He checked her vitals and heard her heart from her back contrary to what was said by vet number 2.
So far this has been an expensive ordeal and I am happy to pay it as long as I am getting her taken care of.
 
It may be that Vet 1 thinks Rabbit has a pasteurella infection on her lungs, this can present without any sneezing/nasal discharge etc. So the treatment given by Vet 1 seems appropriate if that is what the problem is. Antibiotics may be needed for longer than 10 days though. You can make a nebulising chamber to use if a mask is too stressful for your Rabbit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JpVeWhJ8RA

A non steroidal anti-inflammatory such as Meloxicam is also needed to address the inflammation in the lungs

Is your Rabbit spayed ? I ask as a 5 year old unspayed Doe is at very high risk of Uterine Adenocarcinoma- uterine cancer which has spread to the lungs. Although one would hope a Vet would have picked up any sign of this on the Xrays taken. But if the Vet is not too clued up on Rabbits maybe they could miss it. So I would want a specialist to take a look at the Xrays. At least getting an accurate diagnosis will mean you know what you are dealing with and you can then make an informed decision about what to do re treatment options.

Good luck
 
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