Sneezing fits

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could give us some advice. About a month ago our house bunny Jasper started having really bad sneezing fits, they would go on for about 2 minutes and then he would stop and frantically clean himself. This continued for a few days until we decided to take him to the vets.

On our first visit we were given Baytril for 6 days and his sneezing did seem to get better whilst he was on it. However, as soon as the course had ran out, the sneezing started again.

We went back to the vets and got another course of Baytril for 10 days, again, the sneezing seemed to get better (it was still happening but only a normal sneeze here and there.) Unfortunately when the 10 days were up, his sneezing returned with avengence.

We're taking him back to the vets tomorrow but we wondered if anyone else had any experience of this and if so, was there a specific cause for the sneezing? The vets had mentioned that if the Baytril didn't work it could be his teeth...

Anyone advice would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Sarah and Dan

Unfortunately short courses of Baytril are seldom helpful for cases of upper respiratory tract infections/'snuffles'. Repeated short courses will just lead to antibiotic resistance.

One option is for the Vet to obtain a deep nasal swab to try to have a culture and sensitivities test run. This could identify the exact bacteria involved and the most appropriate antibiotic to prescribe. It is usually pointless the Vet just taking a superficial nasal swab, the 'core' of the infection is often deep within the nasal passages. So the procedure usually needs to be done with the Rabbit under sedation. Not ideal in a respiratory compromised Rabbit.

Alternatively the Vet could omit C+S testing and go ahead and prescribe a different antibiotic and for a much longer course. Whilst Baytril is the only abx licensed for use in Rabbits a Vet can prescribe 'off licence' via the Veterinary Prescribing Cascade

http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/pdf/vmgn/vmgnote13.pdf

So there are several other abx that the Vet could prescribe. Some may be reluctant to go straight on to a 'higher risk' abx such as an injectable penicillin. But Septrin may be a preferred choice after Baytril. I have seen a lot of good results with the use of Septrin in cases of Rabbit RTIs. But the course MUST continue for several days AFTER all clinical symptoms resolve.

There are various other treatments that can be factored in, I am a bit pushed for time now to be able to type them all out. But this thread may be useful to take a look at :

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?340086-Snuffle-bunny-thread&highlight=snuffles

I hope the Vet is able to help Jasper and his sneezing xx

dbowes said:

Hi,

I was wondering if someone could give us some advice. About a month ago our house bunny Jasper started having really bad sneezing fits, they would go on for about 2 minutes and then he would stop and frantically clean himself. This continued for a few days until we decided to take him to the vets.

On our first visit we were given Baytril for 6 days and his sneezing did seem to get better whilst he was on it. However, as soon as the course had ran out, the sneezing started again.

We went back to the vets and got another course of Baytril for 10 days, again, the sneezing seemed to get better (it was still happening but only a normal sneeze here and there.) Unfortunately when the 10 days were up, his sneezing returned with avengence.

We're taking him back to the vets tomorrow but we wondered if anyone else had any experience of this and if so, was there a specific cause for the sneezing? The vets had mentioned that if the Baytril didn't work it could be his teeth...

Anyone advice would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Sarah and Dan

Click to expand...

H there

Sorry to hear about your sneezing bunny. Could it be due to anything new in the house? Or dust (pardon, but thought I would ask!), or any other allergen introduced? Some rabbits this year are getting a brand of 'hay fever' ....

If the Baytril helped, but not enough, then perhaps your vet could try Septrin? I had cause to see a Specialist recently, and they have a preferred injectable which works very well for many things, and they prefer to try that initially - before Baytril. I know vets are supposed to try Baytril first (as per the prescribing cascade) but they are not obliged to.

Yes, it's worth looking at the teeth, as this certainly affects the whole mouth ..... Good luck x

Hi Mighty Max, a brand of 'hay fever??'....this is interesting, as I suffer with hayfever quite badly and Obi my bunny is a snuffles bun but I have to say he does seem to be just like me, runny nose, doesn't sneeze at all during the day but sneezes through the night (just now and then) and I keep joking with him that I think he has hay fever! Bless him!

Dbowes - the last course of Baytril my bunny had for snuffles lasted 6 weeks, you have to hit it really hard to try and shift it and even then it's usually only for a while unless you are lucky and it doesn't come back. Obi (my bun) always has a a bit of a wet nose and one watery eye, now and then it clears up though on it's own, I always keep a close check on his breathing but thankfully he copes very well and has been ok with it although sadly I think he will always be snuffly not unlike his owner!

Colly said:

Hi Mighty Max, a brand of 'hay fever??'....this is interesting, as I suffer with hayfever quite badly and Obi my bunny is a snuffles bun but I have to say he does seem to be just like me, runny nose, doesn't sneeze at all during the day but sneezes through the night (just now and then) and I keep joking with him that I think he has hay fever! Bless him!

Dbowes - the last course of Baytril my bunny had for snuffles lasted 6 weeks, you have to hit it really hard to try and shift it and even then it's usually only for a while unless you are lucky and it doesn't come back. Obi (my bun) always has a a bit of a wet nose and one watery eye, now and then it clears up though on it's own, I always keep a close check on his breathing but thankfully he copes very well and has been ok with it although sadly I think he will always be snuffly not unlike his owner!

Click to expand...

Aaaww Colly, it may be so! I learned it from an exotics vet! Of course you have to make sure there's no infections lurking, but I have treated a rabbit (long while ago now) who went through myriad tests and in the end we came up with allergy/hayfever

Yes!!

Will reply more fully later but...

My current situation:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=441810




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Thanks guys,

Jasper seemed improved last night/this morning but I don't think this problem is just going to go away any time soon. I spoke to the vet this morning and her response was to give him another 10 days of baytril. I totally take on-board your comment Jane about building resistance against the anti-biotics but because he has showed improvement while on it I'm hoping another dose can finish it off. It's good we don't have to take him back in right away as it is stressful for him. If we are in the same position after 10 days the vet suggested bringing him back in. She said it could mean knocking him out and doing an x-ray as teeth abscesses remain a possibility. Perhaps they could take a swab at the same time to find out one way or the other what we are dealing with. I'll certainly mention this thanks.

Thanks MightyMax we did wonder about allergies. He's a house rabbit but we haven't changed anything. We are clean freaks so I don't think it could dust related. The only thing I can think of is his usual hay sometimes can have dusty batches but he sneezes wherever he is in the apartment as he's free range. As we have seen white discharge that suggests it is bacterial rather than allergy but I'm no expert.

He's started to crunch/grind his teeth, just the odd little crunch which I know is a bad sign and could be indicative of something. He has also changed his usual routine of where he likes to sit but that could just be a seasonal thing. On the flip side he still has a good appetite and we still see the occasional flop out and he even did a mini binky this morning so he's giving us mixed messages.

I guess the plan is to just carry on with baytril for the short term and see what happens. Thanks again, I will let you know what happens and pass on the advice to the vet for her opinion.

SJH said:

Yes!!

Will reply more fully later but...

My current situation:

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=441810


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Thanks SJH. I read your post with great interest!! Similar to Jasper except we are only dealing with sneezing, his eyes seem fine! Glad Hector is on the mend!

dbowes said:

Thanks SJH. I read your post with great interest!! Similar to Jasper except we are only dealing with sneezing, his eyes seem fine! Glad Hector is on the mend!

Click to expand...

I hope he goes on ok. I'll be watching this thread.


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