Bunny's having sneezing fits!!!

Hi everyone

im a bit worried about my new bun Jack. Since i got him from the RSPCA he has had a few sneezing fits most evenings for 2weeks. They seem to be quite violent and last quite a long time i.e. he sneezes about 20times, or he has about 5 sneezes 2 - 3 times an evening. Ive not noticed any other symptoms, im sure he hasnt got a runny nose or eyes, should i take him to the vets?? if he has discharge what could this mean?

ive just had a look, he has a wet nose but its not runny or white or yellow, its clear and his nose is a bit wet

his eyes are slightly wet aswell not runny tho

please help!!!!

help!!

Can any one help???

sneezing fits

Hi

I had a bunnie taht did this and i was very concerned just as you are, so off to the vets i went and the vets could not find anything seriously wrong and advised me that the Rabbit could be allergic to the Hay/Straw as somethimes the dust can make them sneeze in this Bunnies case it was the Straw that made him sneeze so i removwed it and the sneezing stopped. So this could be what happening to your bunnie just a idea

ummm

No i dont think its hay or straw, ive only seen him sneeze when he is on the sofa with me, he has no hay or straw around him. do you think he is allergic to my perfume?? i dont think it could be that, as ive heard him sneezing from upstairs (he is downstairs, bf is looking after him)

im really confused and worried!!!!!!!!

Don't expect nothing to be wrong just because you can't see any discharge from the nose, we've been to hell and back with our little boy and in the end he had to have his front teeth removed as this was causing him an infection, it took 5 month to realise this was the cause of his sneezing fits and our vet sent us to see an exotic vet who in turn did the X/Rays and discovered the teeth problems, as for the discharge well Fudge just had a damp nose it wasn't running like you'd expect and you had to be quick to see any dicharge when he sneezed as he lick it from his nose, my advice is to try and get to your bun as soon as he starts sneezing and try and ripe his nose with your hand, we use to do this with Fudge as often as we could cos the amount that came out was about the size of a pea which i'm sure wasn't doing him any favours by him swollowing it, anyway best of luck.

I agree with Twiggy i'm afraid.

The thing is rabbits very rarely get allergies or temporary colds like us human beings...their biggest weakness is Pasteurella which all rabbits harbour BUT only surfaces at times of immunosuppression or stress (such as going to new hom/environment, etc) . When the symptoms emerge, the Pasteurella is in its infectious state (& always will be from there on, despite so called 'treatment' which clears the signs but not the infectious element)

I too have seen rabbits with 'wet noses' without the thick yellow/white discharge that people mention......well let me tell you it does happen that way.

I had a rabbit PTS with minimal symptoms (clear wet nose, occasional rattley breathing)& when the vet put a needle into the lungs after, he said there was so much thick pus in there, there was no way i could even have kept her as an isolated pet & have her treated. His words were " even antibiotics wouldn't clear that lot". That of course, is just one example.

When you have had rabbits for a while you get to pick up the signs fairly quickly.

I hate to sound so cynical about it but seen it/hear it so many times. As a pet owner you can have a vet give antibiotics, etc but you have to remember it will be infectious even when symptoms are cleared & also that you may have flare-ups in the future that need veterinary attention as well.

There is definately an infection present I too would think pasturella. Zeus used to have sneezing fits when his weepy eye started to get worse and I couldn't see any discharge but when he did it at the vets we were holding him and we could see there was small amount of whiteish discharge but he quickly removed it.

I think a long course of Baytril may be needed to clear this up also try and keep him away from the other bunnies for now until he is diagnosed and wash your hands between handling bunnies. If he is bonded don't remove his partner as she will already have it but probably isn't affected if she isn't showing symptoms. Some bunnies seem to be more affected than others.

Caz

Caz,

Baytril & other antibiotics clear the symptoms up lovely, but they don't get rid of the problem itself & that rabbit remains infectious to other rabbits even after treatment.

Many vets either don't know this or don't tell you this unfortunately.

I have seen it in bright & alert rabbits that look in good condition & are eating/drinking well. The reason you don't always see it until its advanced is because as we all know, the rabbits disguise their illness as a defence mechanism.

thanks

thanks for your advice everyone

i went to him this morning as i heard him sneezing and this time i have seen the white/clear discharge (snot like and stringy - like us humans have, :lol: )

im gonna take him to the vets on monday - does this mean that he cant be near the other buns aswell?? will they catch it from him??

Hiya, it may be prudent to isolate the bunny until you have seen the Vet for advice at least.

I hope you gave some positive news at the vets, some infections do respond well to antibiotics, but as Cheryl rightly said, others dont fair too well.

Fingers and paws crossed it is not a serious problem, please let us know how he gets on.
Thinking of you, best wishes
Adele

I know Baytril doesn't completely clear the bacterial infection even after a long course (I did a lot of reading up when it was suspected Zeus had it) but it does cut down the number of bacteria to a level that the rabbits own immune system can then handle (until the bunny gets stressed or weakened when it will flair back up again) so it make the bunny's life a lot happier.

What I meant was she needs to isolate him until our suspicions are confirmed by a correct vets diagnosis. If it is something completely different then he doesn't have to be isolated anymore but I assumed the vet would confirm pasturella and ensure the quarantine was maintained, it is interesting that you said most vets don't mention they can still be infectious as I know my vet was very cautious about Zeus coming into contact with other rabbits when they thought he had pasturella but I suppose I am quite lucky to be so close to a specialist.

I think nearly all rabbits carry it anyway but some are more susceptible to it getting out of control and developing into a nasty infection than others so it is probably pointless trying to quarantine now even though I did suggest it as they may all have it but it does mean she will have to be careful if she plans to get any more bunnies.

Caz