Pasturella/respiratory infection

Hi,

so my 6 year old female mini lop gave us a big scare today. Back in the summer last year when she was living outside, she came down with pasturella or very similar. Had brown gunk coming from her nose, she was gasping for air and panicking. She saw a vet and got over it with meds thankfully.

She moved inside at the begining of dec as she was losing weight from trying to keep warm all the time and she now has a cosy setup inside. She is eating well and on junior pellets for weight gain and has a mix of meadow hay and redigrass plus green veggies and she likes to eat the straw bedding as well.

Well she did the same today as last summer and prompted another emergency vet trip who has prescribed 2 meds for a week and to see how she goes. He said the biggest help is aftercare and keeping her comfortable.

Can anyone offer and tips or advice on post-pasturella care please?

Thankyou
Bx

Has she been sneezing a lot too. Your description of brown gunk coming from her nose and gasping for air sounds more like a choking episode

InspectorMorse said:

Has she been sneezing a lot too. Your description of brown gunk coming from her nose and gasping for air sounds more like a choking episode

Click to expand...

No I wouldnt say she has been noticeably sneezing any more than the odd sneeze every now and then.

Your suggestion of a choking episode is interesting, why would that cause brown gunk to come out of her nose if it wasnt already sitting in the lungs? I'm not very clued up on rabbit health matters, amy was our first rabbit and she has always been very health up till last summer.

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As well as antibiotics to fight the infection, you can get mucolytics from your vet to thin the gunk and make it easier for her to breathe. Bisolvon is a powder that comes in sachets. Sprinkle a pinch on food daily - really easy to do and it works.

A nebuliser may also help if her breathing is affected. You can use just saline to loosen the mucus, or ask your vet about other dugs to use with it. Attach the nebuliser nozzle to a carrier mesh door, put rabbit inside with whatever keeps her happy, throw a large towel over the lot and switch on for 5mins, or whatever is recommended - once or twice a day.

If she's eating straw, I would be tempted to just give her hay as it has more nutritional value but will still keep her warm, even if you have to get some cheaper hay for bedding.
She may also appreciate a microwaveable Snugglsafe heatpad for colder days / nights. Put it under a pile of hay for a cosy bed.

BeckyMY said:

No I wouldnt say she has been noticeably sneezing any more than the odd sneeze every now and then.

Your suggestion of a choking episode is interesting, why would that cause brown gunk to come out of her nose if it wasnt already sitting in the lungs? I'm not very clued up on rabbit health matters, amy was our first rabbit and she has always been very health up till last summer.

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One of my previous Rabbits after he choked on a Science Selective Pellet. I had to do the Heimlich Maneuver to save him

Sending vibes.

Hi again, a bit of an update on Amy. So after getting back from the vet adventure, we got into the rhythm of giving her the syringed meds which she hates because we have to pick her up in a towel and she doesnt like being handled in the first place.

She tolerates it bless her and she perked up immediately once we got her home and in her bed.

We happily went on like this for almost a week with her not showing any signs of the snotty nose coming back and we thought we were home and dry...cut to 6 days after the vet trip and she suddenly starts snotting and bubbling again and sounding very wet in her breathing.

Phoned the vet straight away and they saw her within 20 mins. They checked her over and they said the 'episode' had passed and she was fine again. The vet said that post-pasturella can be like this with the odd flare up and we would learn to cope and up Amys treatment when needed.

They also started her on Bisolvon once a day to help breakdown the mucus in her system and she can stay on that as a matter of course for the long term.

She also advised to reduce any dusty bedding to try keep her airways clear so we have removed the shavings from her litter tray and would like tips on what's safe and not dusty that we could use in it instead of straw which doesnt absorb anything!

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I hope she does not have any more set backs

Re dust free litter, try megazorb.

https://www.millbryhill.co.uk/eques...fmENdQvkX2uYbsJCEl5dZ_Q3o-ZhYnw8aAtF9EALw_wcB

InspectorMorse said:

I hope she does not have any more set backs

Re dust free litter, try megazorb.

https://www.millbryhill.co.uk/eques...fmENdQvkX2uYbsJCEl5dZ_Q3o-ZhYnw8aAtF9EALw_wcB

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Thankyou, I will look into that bedding x

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