Sneezing/sniffles, head tilt and gagging?

[Bedlam Bunny]

Hello,

I’m hoping someone can advise here and recognise some or all of these symptoms in my 12 year old Rex rabbit, Poppy. I’ll give a run-down and as much info as I can.

Last week I noticed that she was sniffling loudly and briefly (which was kind of a sneeze), so I kept an eye on her. But once I spotted the very slight head tilt to the left, I went into panic mode. With my rabbit savvy vet having recently left, I found the nearest vet who claims to have some knowledge of rabbits but is not rabbit-savvy. There doesn’t seem to be any near me.

Poppy was examined and they couldn’t find anything obvious on the physical examination. Nor did she have a temperature. She had her bloods taken (as she has them done regularly now, being elderly her kidneys are beginning to wear down and there’s something going on with the liver, which I’ve started liquid milk thistle for). The results did come into today, at least for the bloods, waiting on a call back.

She was given Baytril just in case it was an infection causing sniffles and I’d mentioned her teeth chattering sounded different or her nostril was blocked. It’s a 14 day course, which I started on Saturday gone. But the sneezing/sniffles have persisted, though the head tilt seems not as bad. She’s also choking or gagging each time she eats, so I been cutting up just greens fine now. She is drinking, but not eating as much hay as I’d like. She was pooing small and hard poo up until yesterday, so now I’m hoping the Vet gets back about that for some gut motion meds.

Does anyone recognise the starting sniffles symptoms and more worryingly too the gagging? Is it a tooth problem? Despite them not having seen any issue (she’s never had any dental issues). Please advise. Thanks

 

[InspectorMorse]

Sounds as though she could have an upper RTI/ Middle ear infection. Does she have any nasal discharge ?

The gagging could be due to inflammation within her trachea, dental problems, cardiomegaly amongst other things

 

[Bedlam Bunny]

It does look as though her nose has ran, but no yellow/coloured discharge. Forgot to mention that her eyes were watery last week (but has dried up since)

Just felt her back/side of her neck (nearest to the back of the jaw) and there is a small swelling (much like you’d feel when your glands are down on your own neck, not overly soft and not overly hard).

 

[jmommy]

My rabbit was gagging and got her molars trimmed and eventually stopped choking.

 

[Shimmer]

The lump in the neck / jaw area may be an abscess. There may be more than one. Usual treatment is surgery to remove the whole capsule (they don't drain like other species do), followed by a penicillin based antibiotic which is injected (frequency varies from daily to a couple of times a week, IME). At 12 yo, I don't think I would be putting a rabbit through surgery for a small abscess (if that's what it is), but would do the antibiotic injections at home. A vet nurse can show you how to do it.

Baytril won't work against a rabbit abscess, although it's the usual first port of call for any suspected infection in rabbits.

Teeth can also change over time. Tooth roots also continue to grow and can affect the breathing, runny eyes, and be the site of an abscess. Teeth can be burred down and reshaped under GA. Trimming the tops also affects the roots and can reduce pressure on the structures they may be pressing into and causing other symptoms. The main problem is that the back teeth can't be seen properly in a conscious rabbit, and Xrays are needed to assess the tooth roots properly. So that would need sedation or a general anaesthetic.

The first thing is to get it all checked out. You can ask for a referral to a rabbit specialist, or for eg xrays to be sent for a second opinion to a specialist vet further away, for instance.

Meanwhile, I would look at giving top up feeds of either mushy pellets or syringe feeds (either pellets soaked in boiling water, mashed & cooled - , or one of the commercial critical care type powders), just to keep food and fibre going through her system. Also weigh her weekly so you can adjust her intake if necessary.

Inspector Morse has also given some other ideas. Bear in mind that we are making a lot of assumptions here, and you really need the advice of your vet.