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Coughing bunny

Lyndsey1333

New Kit
Hello,

My bunny has started coughing! Last night she started making this funny little noise like a hiccup and it went on all night. I took her to the vet this evening and the vet reckons in all her years of working with bunnies, she's never had a bunny coughing.

She seems to think that maybe Bunny breathed in something and we just have to wait for Mother Nature to help her cough it up. Also, to watch out for any secondary infection.

Bun is eating, pooing and being her generally nosy self - she's not distressed at all.

Has anyone ever had this problem?

Thanks
 
Hello,

My bunny has started coughing! Last night she started making this funny little noise like a hiccup and it went on all night. I took her to the vet this evening and the vet reckons in all her years of working with bunnies, she's never had a bunny coughing.

She seems to think that maybe Bunny breathed in something and we just have to wait for Mother Nature to help her cough it up. Also, to watch out for any secondary infection.

Bun is eating, pooing and being her generally nosy self - she's not distressed at all.

Has anyone ever had this problem?

Thanks

Yes !!

One of my Buns started coughing and gagging last year. Veterinary examinations, Xrays etc under GA revealed nothing. Antibiotics/anti-inflammatories were given but had no effect. After about 3 weeks the coughing just stopped as suddenly as it started. No cause was ever identified and there has been no problem since.......*Touches Wood*
 
Grace coughed last night for the first time that I have heard. It was awful, she had a big sneezing fit which lasted about five minutes. My vet phoned me with the result of her swab today and she is starting different antibiotics tomorrow. Three months, injections twice a day. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this works and that she will be a well bunny eventually. Hopefully your rabbit's coughing was an isolated event
 
Thanks for your encouraging words. I have now stipped cleaning her poo pit with chemicals in case that's aggravating her. I'll keep you posted!!

:):)
 
Hazel, my parents bun had the same problem about a month ago. It lasted well over 24 hours so they took her to the vets and it had stopped by the time they got there! When they got home it started again so they phoned the vet and put Hazel on the phone so she could here her. The vet had no idea what it could be so they did a complete clean of her area and changed to a new pack of hay and that seemed to help. They think it was an allergy to that particular batch of hay. Might have been too dusty.
 
Update on the coughing Bun

Well, I took Little Bun off to a new vet who said she had never seen this before and suggested I just wait for Mother Nature to sort it out! Definitely not happy with that, I went back to my old vet who specialises in exotic pets and he reckons she was having trouble adapting to a change in environment.

She was an outside bun and is now an inside bun. The change and the dry air in the house (we turned off the heating!) caused her throat to dry and so the coughing.

She is now on a course of medication and we have installed a humidifier to dampen the air! She stopped coughing within hours of medication and humidifier going on!

Will keep this posting updated

Thanks to everyone for your help and encouragement :D
 
Kylie Coughing

When I got Kylie (originally Kyle) she had a tiny bit of a runny nose. The next day I had her check up with the vet who gave her Vibramycin(antibiotic) and Ben e Bac (probiotic, highly recommended for all rabbits) for her “cold.” A week later the runny nose has progressed to some sneezing and discharge. I take her back to the vet where they warn me that it may be Pneumonia. They give me a stronger cocktail of antibiotics and send me home. Another week passes and the sneezing has become more frequent, especially at night. The doctors then take X-rays. They both conclude it is pneumonia and the treatment will take longer. They give me Baytril, Vibramycin, and the probiotic and tell me to check back in four weeks. Two weeks later the sneezing has turned into violent coughing attacks that can last up to 3 minutes. I start steam boxing the bathroom every morning (put on the heater, and leave the curtains open while I shower and bath). This helps temporarily and gives Kylie a break from the coughs. Three weeks pass and I take her into the vet early. The vet tells me that if it was pneumonia it should have gotten better by now. He double checks the X-rays and decides to put her on very low dosage of Penicillin (a very potent antibiotic that without the assistance of a probiotic could shut the body down). I am to inject her every three days with the drug. That night instead of waking up every hour to calm her wheezing I was waking up to check to see if she was alive. It was the first very quiet night in a long time but by the middle of the day I heard sneezing again. Then coughs. The next day and its back to were it left off. That is where I am at today. I went to the vet on Wednesday and I had to make another appointment today.
Other than the coughs and sneezes though Kylie has been active and eating.
We are going to go over ;
dust in hay,
Allergies,
Pasteurellosis :(
Whatever it is I don’t plan on leaving it a mystery so Il update again today after the vet visit and until she is better.
Update!
The diagnosis is still Pneumonia. He said the penicillin would treat any Pasteurellosis but he doesnt believe thats what she has. He allowed me to continue her on Baytrill to make her discharge runny and gave me Brethine to open her airways to make the coughs less violent.
I definantly see an improvement in her breathing.
 
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I have 10 rabbit have had the oldest thumper about 4 years now we found her running the streets put posters up had her checked for chip or anything to identify where she came from with no success so decided to keep her and she has just stared making a mad noise what I can only describe it as a cough but I didn't think they could cough as they cant be sick but am getting very worried what would u suggest did ur rabbits problem ever come back up ???
 
I have 10 rabbit have had the oldest thumper about 4 years now we found her running the streets put posters up had her checked for chip or anything to identify where she came from with no success so decided to keep her and she has just stared making a mad noise what I can only describe it as a cough but I didn't think they could cough as they cant be sick but am getting very worried what would u suggest did ur rabbits problem ever come back up ???

This thread is 8 years old so it'd be best to start a new thread about your Rabbit :)

I would suggest that you take the 'coughing' Doe to a Vet to be thoroughly examined as there are several possible reasons as to why a Rabbit may make 'coughing' noises. The sooner you can consult a Vet the better so that any problem found can be addressed promptly.

Good luck x
 
I have 10 rabbit have had the oldest thumper about 4 years now we found her running the streets put posters up had her checked for chip or anything to identify where she came from with no success so decided to keep her and she has just stared making a mad noise what I can only describe it as a cough but I didn't think they could cough as they cant be sick but am getting very worried what would u suggest did ur rabbits problem ever come back up ???


Hi there and welcome to the Forum :wave:

If you want to find a good vet in your area (and I suggest you take your rabbit to see one) then you can start another thread in Rabbit Chat with the header:


Rabbit Savvy Vet needed in (your location)

...and members will help you out with their recommendations.

Alternatively you could look here:

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/vetfinder/vets-owners-recommendations


Please post back with how your rabbit is, and good luck :)
 
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