Snuffles?? help please!!**update**

for those of you that havnt seen it this is my other thread i started- http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=20226

basically my stupid sister bought a rabbit from a very bad pet shop on wednesday. she doesnt have a clue about rabbits and so ended up ringing me about 20 times asking all sorts of questions. from what she was telling me i told her he sounded sick and to get him to the vets. now she supposedly made an appointment for yesterday for him, but whether she did or not doesnt matter because she didnt take him anyway!(she went to get her hair cut instead :evil: )

she went away last night and wont be back until tuesday, and has said one of the neighbours is going to feed and water him. i went to check on him today and he is in a right state. i changed his whole cage as she still had him on sawdust even though i told her to get him off it. he had no water :evil: and sat and drank for 10 minutes when i offered it to him out of a new working bottle :evil:

anyway, he looks very sick. he is very skinny and sneezed 58 times in a row he sneezed well over a hundred times in the hour and a half that we were there. he is also wheezing quite bad. after each sneezing fit he was flopping down exhausted and breathing quite heavily. he had gunk all over his poor little nose too. can anyone tell me what this sounds like? and what would be needed to treat it?

if it is snuffles, what are the chances of my bunnies getting it if he was eventually given to me? it doesnt look like he will be going to the vets until atleast tuesday now as i really cant afford to bring him myself will he just keep getting worse? i feel so guilty about leaving him there

Oh Belinda, such a terrible situation for you to be in.

What about contacting the PDSA, say he's not your pet, you're looking after him or something, see if they will treat him/her, maybe hand him over for rehoming?

What about taking him to a local vet, say you found him and see if they'll treat him?

I know Pasturella can be passed on but I don't know how contagious it is, I'd be very careful after being with this bun and then being round your animals

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

thing is, i just dont have the heart for him to go into rescue and then not know what happened to him especially as someone else said on the other thread-he may be pts in a rescue if he has snuffles etc

i put all my clothes in the wash and have had a good shower-definately wouldnt have gone into the animals without doing that!

oh, and the PDSA vets round here are really bad-they would just advise to have him pts(trust me, when i first started keeping rats its all i got off them)

Is there no one on here local to you with a rescue?

I don't really know what to say :?

Two of my buns recently had an allergic reaction to a new hay I tried - it was horrible, I was even woken up by their sneezing one night. Squishy got a gunky nose and Rex got a weepy eye.
Their symptoms grdually decreased once the hay was taken away but it took a while.
Perhaps the sawdust is really irritating him and even if it isn't the original cause, may be worsening a respiratory condition and making him sound and feel worse, and lack of water would make him decline further I imagine.
It's very difficult when it's someone you know and knowing whatever changes you make will most likely be ignore and discarded once you're gone :?
Maybe you can agree for your sister to pay the bill if you take the bun to the vet yourself? Or perhaps explain to the vet and try to arrange a payment plan if they're leniant enough?

If this poor Bunny does not receive Veterinary attention VERY SOON, TONIGHT IF POSSIBLE, then from what you are describing I doubt the poor little soul will last the Bank Holiday weekend Sorry to be so negative and so graphic but all I can say is PLEASE try to get the bunny Veterinary attention. Even if you do I am so sad to say that all the symptoms you describe, if I am interprteting them correctly, point toward a very poor prognosis.
I hope that you can help this Bunny
Janex

This is so sad....another case of neglect I am afraid (mostly starting with the breeding and pet store end I guess) and I know it might be touchy subject but it seems even within families people can't seem to get the message about care for animals being a right not a priveledge.
We made a pledge between us to not go to such breeding places to ever get an animal, as we are most happy when rehoming needy animals. Having said that Vicki likes to check on the condition of animals in places like garden centres and have a bit of a coo over the prettiest ones, I always want to stay clear of them.

I am not having a go at you because I have slightly similar experiences myself and its difficult to get the message across to these people, whether they be your blood or not !!! Plus also others like neighbours etc, thats who we rescued some off which if left longer might have been similar circumstances.

:evil:

I personally wouldn't think it fair to offload this on a rescue, and they have the risk of infection to other animals.

A vet is the only option in my opinion. Sounds like you are trying very hard for the poor guy anyway.

In all honesty, if he's as bad as you say maybe having him pts would be best for him? I don't know the recovery rate of snuffles but I've onyl ever heard bad things. I would change your clothes and shower before touching your animasl after touching this one, it's not worth risking passing it on.

I personally would call the blue cross as they also pay for vets for people who can't afford it. Maybe explain the situation they may be able to help.
Let us know what I'm happens.

One of my buns had snuffles and my vet tried loads of different anti-biotics but she just wouldnt respond to them,in the end i had her pts coz she got so wheezy and could hardly breathe her nose was also very gunky i couldnt bear to see her suffer and my vet agreed she wouldnt get better as it was starting to afffect her lungs,
Let us know what happens.

I think the PDSA is the way to go - they can't make you put him to sleep without trying to treat him, if you refuse. He needs treatment. Snuffles can be controled if it hasn't gone too far, and even when it is advanced it can often be kept at bay with constant medication. He deserves a chance.

I know you want your sister to be responsible, but just as with parents letting their children neglect their pets to teach them about responsibility :evil: it actually only teaches the opposite - that that little life isn't worth much and that its ok not to take care of them.

But he is worth it, please help him.

If you really can't then you could get him to me. Not that I need another snuffle bunny, I am really full, but as I said he deserves a chance. The RSPCA probably would put him to sleep straight away.

oh how sad for the poor little chap - I'd have him out of there, just keep him seperate from your own animals somehow (even if it's in the bathroom) and if your sis didn't like it I'd tell her where to shove all the sawdust :evil: How dare she go and leave him with no water? :evil:

No way would I leave a sick animal with someone as selfish and irresponsible as her - I hope now he's off sawdust he'll start feeling better, but she'll have him straight back on it next week anyway I bet

I guess most vets would put him on baytril, but really he needs something stronger at first, like marbocyl, to get it under control - then baytril will probably work long term to keep it manageable...but I can't see your sis giving medication long term, can you? :?

thanks for all the replies guys.

i didnt manage to see him today as im very poorly myself with the flu im going to see if OHs Dad will drop me over to check on him tomorrow though and will give you all an update then.

My sister says she is back Tuesday morning and will take him to the vets then. i will make sure she does-if she cant get an appointment for my vets then i shall give her the number for a couple of other vets that i know of that arent as good, but better then nothing i suppose :?

if i manage to get down tomorrow, im going to bring one of my carriers so she has no excuse not to take him(this was one of her excuses last week :x ) i will also leave a list of meds/treatment i think she should ask the vet about and tell her to take it with her.(some advice here would be good!)

if she hasnt gotten him to the vets by wednesday(and so help me god she better of!!) i will tell her i will take him to the vets. i cant see her giving him meds long term, and i think when she realises she has to she will probably ask me to take the poor fella i really do hope its sooner rather then later as the longer he is left with her the worse he will get if she is not treating him.

hopefully this might give her a wake up call and shock her into taking care of him-i can dream anyway....

edited to add, i doubt she will have him back on the sawdust as i threw out the whole bag of it so she couldnt use it. i cant see her going to get more when she can use free newspapers instead(thankfully)

edited again to say that my sister works so therefore wouldnt be able to use the PDSA vets. thing is, it isnt going to cost her *that* much at the vets anyway i shouldnt think? its just that *i* dont have the money to pay emergency/weekend fees. its such bad timing because if i could have gotten him to my usual vets they would have allowed me to pay at a later date :? i doubt any other vets would do that if i was seeing them for the first time!

Ryo_the_rat said:

i put all my clothes in the wash and have had a good shower-definately wouldnt have gone into the animals without doing that!

Click to expand...

Did you wash it w/ hot water? I am not versed in the bacteria of snuffles. Human can't catch this, can it?

Anyhoo, wrap a blanket around the bunny and put a heating pad underneath the blanket. Like Jane said, you can't wait till Tues., every moment counts.

A sick rabbit w/o water, I can't imagine how mistreated this bunny can get. Over here in this country, if someone reports this, whoever did it can get charged for it.

Belinda,

The prognosis in a rabbit with such severe Pasteurella symptoms is bad enough without being owned by somebody who has blatently decided to delay seeking veterinary attention.

You have just said yourself, that you 'can only hope' that she seeks veterinary attention. If anything i think the rabbit stands more chance of a peaceful passing without being under your sister's 'care'...or he will surely just be found dead one day.

The lungs produce so much pus/fluid that the rabbit will not be able to get enough oxygen into them...a very frightening situation for any animal to be in, especially on their own.

He will also dehydrate quickly being so poorly..so correct provisions MUST be made for him to have continuous access to water (also food & warm bedding)

At least if you took him to a rescue they will do whatever is deemed 'necessary' & whichever is kindest. Its better than waiting for your sister to act on the situation by sounds of it.

I don't know of any rescues open on Easter Monday, but it doesn't sound like a lot of joy will come his way if left.

What a shame you could not just say he's already gone as it was an emergency!!

I know what i would do, & it would be in the favour of the rabbit, not the person....

sorry its taken me so long to update.

My sister took the bunny to the vets on the tuesday as planned. the vet confirmed it is pasturella she gave baytril though-will this do anything? he will be on the baytril until next weekend and then she is to bring him back to see how he is. my sister said he has stopped sneezing but i shall be seeing him myself on sunday so will know whether that is true then.

i was worried that she wouldnt give him the meds, but she has been getting her boyfriend to help her with it so he has been getting them. she was also given a little starter pack from the vets which contained some science selective, a jingle ball and a load of leaflets. she said he loved the science selective and has said she will pick him up a big bag of it on saturday.

i was there last weekend and to be honest the bunny did seem happier. she has kept him on the newspaper(which i knew she would as its free!!) and she took him out for a bit and he lay down next to her and fell straight asleep! he is an absolute cutie i did get some piccies, but havnt put them on the pc yet-will post them ASAP!

lets hope that she continues to look after him and that she doesnt lose interest come the time when he needs vacs and neutering!

il keep you all updated on this little guys progress.

well I'm glad she seems to taken more interest in him.

I'm glad we acted when Nutmeg got sniffly, she's on stronger medicine but not sneezing as much and her nose is clearer (it had really bad snot all over and considly sneezed) the vets started her on baytrail to see if it made her better, but it was too advanced to complete get rid of it.
It is possible to get rid of it, but so far the vets keep charging us £30 each time they see her, even if it's a follow up!
So although they are very good vets, I wouldn't mind finding an equally good (but cheaper!) vets.
She's doing really well, but she lives indoors as I was afraid that it'll be too cold for her outside. (also house rabbits rule)

She has to have two lots of meds twice a day. So ingers crossed your sister will do that for him.

thanks for your reply. he is a house bunny anyway so hopefully that will help some too!

i was wondering if anyone can tell me if the dose he is on is ok? at the moment she is giving him half a ml once a day :? it didnt sound 100% right to me, and i know that even good vets sometimes get dosages wrong. can someone confirm either way?

Half a ml once a day sounds about right to me, he is still a youngster yes? I think the dose is around 0.2mg/kg once or twice a day, it's certainly somewhere around that. Baytril can work on snuffles, sometimes vets will try other drugs but no need to worry that he has been prescribed baytril. Other drugs that seem to work well include Septrin (I have a feeling it's banana flavoured so easy to give) or one of mine has Ronaxan (doxycycline) which is in tablet form so needs disguising in food! Hope the little fellow feels better soon xx

Great news

Baytril is a very good drug, and can work on snuffles when caught early enough. The dose is .2ml per kg twice a day, so for a young bun that dose of half a ml sounds about right. It is likely to take more than a week of it to do the job though, or it will probably come straight back, with a resistance to baytril as only the most resistant bacteria will have survived the week. Two or three weeks will be needed at least, possibly a month.

I hope he can charm her into taking good care of him for the rest of his life

oh good im glad the baytril might help then. i picked up some more for her whilst i was at the vets today and made sure that she had an appointment to bring him up next saturday which they said she has. as i said i will be seeing him sunday so will see for myself if he is better or not-im really hoping he is!!