Hi there.
I picked up my new house bunny, Alby the Mini Lop, last Sunday. I had my previous house rabbits for 8 years (unfortunately, I lost Liquorice back in July) so I have experience in caring for rabbits & getting to know their behaviour. Liquorice was very poorly when we first got her and I had to spend some months syringe feeding her back to health, so I’ve also had experience recognising & caring for poorly buns!
Alby seems happy enough in himself (plenty of bunny flops, exploring & binkies!) but the more the days have gone on, the more concerned I’ve become about a few things.
The first thing I noticed was his dirty nose. At first, I thought perhaps it’s just the green hay staining his white fur, but when I felt it, it’s more of a crusty consistency, which leads me to believe it’s some sort of nasal discharge. I checked his eyes too, which visibly appear to be fine, but again I felt that crusty substance in the corners.
Then, and perhaps the most worrying, is the snoring/wheezing when he sleeps. I’ve never heard a bunny snore & I wasn’t even aware if they did! It just seems to be when he’s sleeping but it sounds to me like he’s having trouble breathing.
Now over the last day or two, I’ve noticed he’s sneezing and also grooming a lot, as though he’s itchy & irritated. It even seems that some of his fur has come off his ear where he’s scratching so much!
He still appears okay in himself, and eating/pooping normally for now. But something doesn’t sit right with me. I took him to the vet for his triple vaccine on Wednesday and explained my concerns to her then. She checked him over and reassured me his heart/lungs sound fine & she has no health concerns! But I’m not sure.
I’ve researched and I think he may have snuffles. I think I should book him in for another vet visit & get him checked over again, but I just wanted some advice as I have no experience dealing with this. People have told me I’m over-worrying and perhaps the snoring etc. Is just his own little quirk, but I’m not convinced. I’m beside myself with worry & guilt, questioning if maybe it’s something I’m doing wrong that’s causing these symptoms?!
* Update 15/12/20 *
Took Alby to the vets this morning. Suggested it was an upper respiratory infection & prescribed a course of antibiotics. I have to feed them to him in a syringe 2x daily (which is proving a challenging task!). Hopefully his symptoms start to clear up soon. Still very concerned, as I can tell he has periods where he is struggling with his breathing - this evening he almost looked like a cat coughing up a fur ball (almost like retching or a seizure with spams in his rear end, although could have been hiccups which he seems very prone to causing movement in his whole body). Vet assured me his lungs sounded fine, and he has gained weight since taking him for his vaccine last week.
I picked up my new house bunny, Alby the Mini Lop, last Sunday. I had my previous house rabbits for 8 years (unfortunately, I lost Liquorice back in July) so I have experience in caring for rabbits & getting to know their behaviour. Liquorice was very poorly when we first got her and I had to spend some months syringe feeding her back to health, so I’ve also had experience recognising & caring for poorly buns!
Alby seems happy enough in himself (plenty of bunny flops, exploring & binkies!) but the more the days have gone on, the more concerned I’ve become about a few things.
The first thing I noticed was his dirty nose. At first, I thought perhaps it’s just the green hay staining his white fur, but when I felt it, it’s more of a crusty consistency, which leads me to believe it’s some sort of nasal discharge. I checked his eyes too, which visibly appear to be fine, but again I felt that crusty substance in the corners.
Then, and perhaps the most worrying, is the snoring/wheezing when he sleeps. I’ve never heard a bunny snore & I wasn’t even aware if they did! It just seems to be when he’s sleeping but it sounds to me like he’s having trouble breathing.
Now over the last day or two, I’ve noticed he’s sneezing and also grooming a lot, as though he’s itchy & irritated. It even seems that some of his fur has come off his ear where he’s scratching so much!
He still appears okay in himself, and eating/pooping normally for now. But something doesn’t sit right with me. I took him to the vet for his triple vaccine on Wednesday and explained my concerns to her then. She checked him over and reassured me his heart/lungs sound fine & she has no health concerns! But I’m not sure.
I’ve researched and I think he may have snuffles. I think I should book him in for another vet visit & get him checked over again, but I just wanted some advice as I have no experience dealing with this. People have told me I’m over-worrying and perhaps the snoring etc. Is just his own little quirk, but I’m not convinced. I’m beside myself with worry & guilt, questioning if maybe it’s something I’m doing wrong that’s causing these symptoms?!
* Update 15/12/20 *
Took Alby to the vets this morning. Suggested it was an upper respiratory infection & prescribed a course of antibiotics. I have to feed them to him in a syringe 2x daily (which is proving a challenging task!). Hopefully his symptoms start to clear up soon. Still very concerned, as I can tell he has periods where he is struggling with his breathing - this evening he almost looked like a cat coughing up a fur ball (almost like retching or a seizure with spams in his rear end, although could have been hiccups which he seems very prone to causing movement in his whole body).
Vet assured me his lungs sounded fine, and he has gained weight since taking him for his vaccine last week.
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