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What happens to rabbits with chronic snuffles?

S

smudgeandb

New Kit
Hi all,

First-time poster and first-time forum user so bear with me!

My free-roam house buns have suffered from bouts of snuffles since I got them in April 2021. We have tried Baytril, Tiacil, Marbocyl and Azithromycin - none of which have managed to eliminate the infection. My vet tells me there are no other treatments left to try.

Instead, I'm managing their condition by using an open litter box with paper bedding, avoiding scented products, using an air purifier and humidifier, supplementing their diet with vitamin C and providing enrichment (stacking cups etc).

When reading about snuffles, many websites say that 'lifelong treatment' could be required. But what does this entail? How will it be treated lifelong? What happens when the last line of treatment fails?

If anyone here has a rabbit with a chronic infection, could you share your experiences with me? I really have no idea what will happen to them and being unable to help is breaking my heart.
 
My bunny is about 1 year old and had his first lung infection last week. Honestly I'm worried about it being chronic. I said I hope you can get help with this on the forum. I will follow this topic.
 
Sadly they did not investigate this thoroughly. They only took a swab (unsedated) and it came back positive for multi-drug resistant Bordatella and suspected Pasturella. We had them on Marbocyl for 6 weeks and then azithromycin for 3 weeks (twice).

Thank you for the suggestion of mucolytic, I'd never heard of that before and it would be useful. Ideally, I'd like to go ahead with nebulization and more diagnostics but none of this treatment is covered by insurance (they developed symptoms before their coverage started).

I've heard people doing nebulization at home, which sounds like it would be cheaper? However, every time I take them to the vet their noses clear up so the vet won't prescribe anything!! :|
 
Sadly they did not investigate this thoroughly. They only took a swab (unsedated) and it came back positive for multi-drug resistant Bordatella and suspected Pasturella. We had them on Marbocyl for 6 weeks and then azithromycin for 3 weeks (twice).

Thank you for the suggestion of mucolytic, I'd never heard of that before and it would be useful. Ideally, I'd like to go ahead with nebulization and more diagnostics but none of this treatment is covered by insurance (they developed symptoms before their coverage started).

I've heard people doing nebulization at home, which sounds like it would be cheaper? However, every time I take them to the vet their noses clear up so the vet won't prescribe anything!!
 
Sending love to your little one <3 I hope it doesn't develop into anything long-term. I'm going to look out for some disabled bunny communities for support. If I find anything I'll keep you updated :)
 
You can buy nebulisers online (eg Amazon). I use an enclosed cat carrier with a mesh door. Make bunny comfortable in the carrier. Set up the nebuliser outside it, with the nozzle pointing into the carrier (eg hooked through the door). Throw a towel over the carrier. Switch on the pump. 5 to 10 mins? at a time and once or twice a day, as far as I remember.

Saline is readily available to use with nebulisers and works quite well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0081EL...colid=P6AKZQ18C14N&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Isotonic-C...289a8&pd_rd_wg=qxYvC&pd_rd_i=B07PBCHVF2&psc=1

Mucolytics are cheap, but you need your vet to prescribe them. eg Bisolvon oral powder - add a very small pinch to food. One sachet lasts for ages.
 
Shimmer said:
You can buy nebulisers online (eg Amazon). I use an enclosed cat carrier with a mesh door. Make bunny comfortable in the carrier. Set up the nebuliser outside it, with the nozzle pointing into the carrier (eg hooked through the door). Throw a towel over the carrier. Switch on the pump. 5 to 10 mins? at a time and once or twice a day, as far as I remember.

Saline is readily available to use with nebulisers and works quite well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0081EL...colid=P6AKZQ18C14N&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Isotonic-C...289a8&pd_rd_wg=qxYvC&pd_rd_i=B07PBCHVF2&psc=1

Mucolytics are cheap, but you need your vet to prescribe them. eg Bisolvon oral powder - add a very small pinch to food. One sachet lasts for ages.
Click to expand...

Ditto to this, if Bunny is calm and co-operative they are likely to cope with nebulising via a mask

S47q0Ng.jpg
 
Thank you everyone. I followed your advice and bought a nebuliser and saline solution. They're not too congested right now but I figured it would be worth having if their symptoms got worse!
 
smudgeandb said:
Hi all,

First-time poster and first-time forum user so bear with me!

My free-roam house buns have suffered from bouts of snuffles since I got them in April 2021. We have tried Baytril, Tiacil, Marbocyl and Azithromycin - none of which have managed to eliminate the infection. My vet tells me there are no other treatments left to try.

Instead, I'm managing their condition by using an open litter box with paper bedding, avoiding scented products, using an air purifier and humidifier, supplementing their diet with vitamin C and providing enrichment (stacking cups etc).

When reading about snuffles, many websites say that 'lifelong treatment' could be required. But what does this entail? How will it be treated lifelong? What happens when the last line of treatment fails?

If anyone here has a rabbit with a chronic infection, could you share your experiences with me? I really have no idea what will happen to them and being unable to help is breaking my heart.
Click to expand...

Hi. We've had a lot of trouble with this with our little Tigger going back to March, which if you like you can read about here...http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...icking-Update-moving-forward&highlight=tigger

Can I just ask what your bunnies' snuffly symptoms are? Tigger still has the odd day or two of snuffly noises when eating/grooming now and then.


We've got a nebulizer. When we were using it we'd sit him in his carry box with a towel round the sides and back to cover the vents, and then hooked the breathing tube onto the front grill. He tolerated it pretty well for the most part. We've not used it though since the vet advised us to stop and see how he got on without it. We asked about a mucolytic on advice from here, but the vet said it was a bit "old hat" and saline would be as good as anything - not that we ever got round to using any. We had been using F10.

I hope your bunnies are ok.
 
Just a heads up, I found in the past that moulting can bring on a bout, as that's when their immune system is more vunerable and lower, so regular brushing out of loose fur can be helpful too.
 
bunniemum said:
Just a heads up, I found in the past that moulting can bring on a bout, as that's when their immune system is more vunerable and lower, so regular brushing out of loose fur can be helpful too.
Click to expand...

This is something we'd wondered too. Not so much their immune system (though we'll bear that in mind), but all the fine fur etc which might get up his nose and cause sneezes. It's made us more vigilant with the hoover and using lint rollers to try and keep any loose hair to a minimum.


After a prolonged process of elimination, we started to notice a pattern corresponding with the weather - in particular period of low pressure.
 
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