Sneezing/snoring advice

[Takarai]

Hi there, i’m new here. I’m here seeking advice from all you bunny owners. My bunny charlie is around 5 years old, mini lop. He has been snoring since last year and the vet said he is healthy and prescribed benadryl (for allergies). After 10 days or benadryl, he is still snoring until today. So we decided that it was ok - maybe he is just getting old. However recently (since last month), he has been sneezing on and off. But last week, i monitored him closely and he averages 3 sneezes a day. No discharge came out. The vet said he looks good. He is still eating and pooping. So i thought maybe it’s the dusty carpet. I moved him out into the living room where it’s hardwood floor (less dusty than carpet). He is still sneezing around 3 times a day with no mucus / discharge. His eyes are not watery either - he just has the regular crusty eye gunk. I had called the vet and she said she is not too concerned and told me to monitor him. His pooping and eating seem fine - he eats timothy hay, has paper bedding, gets fresh veggies and water daily. However i ma afraid that this is the early signs of snuffles / pasteurellosis. Do any of you have similar experience? Or maybe know what i should look for before taking him to the vet again? I dont want this to develop into a full blown pasteurellosis situation. The vet does not think his current condition requires antibiotics. I’m torn between nipping this in the bud early on or trusting the vets (i went to 2 separate bunny vets). Also, how long does it take for mild sneezing to turn into respiratory infection? Is it days, weeks, months? Thank you in advance!

 

[tonibun]

Hello and welcome. Your Vets seem happy with your rabbit so I wonder if it is the hay which is making him sneeze. Timothy Hay does make some bunnies sneeze. Maybe it is worth trying another type?

 

[binkygirl2013]

This sounds exactly like my bunny Oscar. He's 5 year old and has snored and grunted in his sleep since he was a baby. Since September last year he has been making occasional nasal noises and sneezing on and off. I've had him to my rabbit savvy vet a couple of times and she is of the opinion to just keep an eye on him, she doesn't think he seems too bad and his chest and lungs sound clear, there's no discharge on his inner paws or eyes and although I have seen a bit on his nose it's minimal. The vet doesn't want to start giving antibiotics and him getting immune to them in case he needs a dose at some point later. I've always used the same hay however I did try using dust free timothy hay which can be bought online but it hasn't seemed to make a difference. He can go for days without doing it then he might do it a couple of times then not do it again for another few days so I still don't know what it is. I've recently started given him Echinacea and I don't know whether it's a coincidence or not but he does seem to he doing it less.
At the minute he's happy and otherwise healthy so I just keep monitoring him. I do wonder if some rabbits just have sensitive noses like some humans do :roll:

 

[Jack's-Jane]

Hi there, i’m new here. I’m here seeking advice from all you bunny owners. My bunny charlie is around 5 years old, mini lop. He has been snoring since last year and the vet said he is healthy and prescribed benadryl (for allergies). After 10 days or benadryl, he is still snoring until today. So we decided that it was ok - maybe he is just getting old. However recently (since last month), he has been sneezing on and off. But last week, i monitored him closely and he averages 3 sneezes a day. No discharge came out. The vet said he looks good. He is still eating and pooping. So i thought maybe it’s the dusty carpet. I moved him out into the living room where it’s hardwood floor (less dusty than carpet). He is still sneezing around 3 times a day with no mucus / discharge. His eyes are not watery either - he just has the regular crusty eye gunk. I had called the vet and she said she is not too concerned and told me to monitor him. His pooping and eating seem fine - he eats timothy hay, has paper bedding, gets fresh veggies and water daily. However i ma afraid that this is the early signs of snuffles / pasteurellosis. Do any of you have similar experience? Or maybe know what i should look for before taking him to the vet again? I dont want this to develop into a full blown pasteurellosis situation. The vet does not think his current condition requires antibiotics. I’m torn between nipping this in the bud early on or trusting the vets (i went to 2 separate bunny vets). Also, how long does it take for mild sneezing to turn into respiratory infection? Is it days, weeks, months? Thank you in advance!

When he was examined by the Vet did he/she check his teeth ? You say that he does not have any nasal discharge, but have you checked the inner side of his front paws ? Is the fur matted and gunky ? Sometimes we can miss a nasal discharge as most Bunnies will wipe their nose a lot. So the discharge is transferred to the fur on the front feet.

You mention no ocular discharge, just 'regular crusty eye gunk'. This is actually abnormal, Rabbits should not have a build up of crusty gunk in the corners of their eyes.

Is your Bunny maintaining his weight ? Have you noticed any change in his respiratory rate/effort and/or any change in his activity levels ?

Some Rabbits can be prone to allergic reactions to things in their environment, but ongoing sneezing episodes/noisy breathing can also be indicative of Dental problems (elongated tooth roots) or respiratory tract infections.

 

[SREwaller]

Hiya! I had a rabbit who was sneezing and had no discharge and the vets I went to also didn't find anything on a clinical examination (lungs sounded clear, they were eating and excreting fine and were behaving normally too). I had to really insist for them to refer my rabbit to a rabbit specialist for a nasal swab and then they found pasteurella. Because of the delay it meant that I lost one of my rabbits. If you can, I would try and get a deep nasal swab done just to be sure. It's always best to be safe than sorry with these things. Although, if your rabbit is 5 it is unlikely to be pasteurella unless he has recently been in contact with other rabbits.


Hope this helps