Hello! Hoping somebody can help me please. I have two bunnies, a 2 and a half year old male, and a 1 year old female. Yesterday, when I was watching tv in another room, I heard noises and ran into their room. My boy was in the middle of a violent sneezing fit, and in between sneezes, he would grind his teeth and wipe his face. They both nap on an afternoon, so they weren’t in the litter tray, but there is the odd strand of hay dotted around their room, and they’d got apple sticks nearby. When the episode stopped I had a look at his face and couldn’t see anything untoward, no discharge, etc. I offered him pellets, and he did take them. However, for the next few hours, he would sneeze every couple of minutes. When my boyfriend came home at 6pm, he sat in with him as I had to pop out, and when I got back, he said they’d both eaten their dinner fine, and that there hadn’t been any more sneezing. This continued, and I really hoped we were out of the woods. I’d planned to stay up all night with him, but because several hours went by without incident, I thought we’d be ok to sleep. 2:30am though I heard more sneezing, stayed with him for several hours, and again, it was a sneeze every few minutes. My boyfriend took over for a few hours this morning, and no sneezes for him. But this afternoon, he has been sneezing a bit again. I am sick with worry. Usually I would rush them straight to the vets, but they both stayed with an external bonder last week who has bonded them for us, so the process is ongoing and their relationship is new. I know to take them to the vets together, but I am reluctant to put them through that stress so soon. There has been no mouth or laboured breathing. An ever so slightly moist nose after sneezing, but no discharge from the nose or eyes, no drooling from the mouth. He had his teeth checked recently and they were fine. He has been pulling at the fur on his chest, has a couple of loose tufts so is molting a bit. I have severe anxiety myself anyway, so when it comes to my babies I am terrified. Sorry for the long message, but I would be so grateful for some advice please. Thank you.
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Help for Sneezing Issue
- Thread starter BunMomEm
- Start date
I can understand about not wanting to take him to the vets as it's a new bond. I think if it were me, I would monitor the situation for a few days. It could be just that something different in his environment has produced an allergic reaction, which has caused the sneezing. The fact he is eating fine and presumably also behaving fine as well, is a positive sign that there is not too much to get concerned about.
If the sneezing continues for a few days at the same level, or if he develops other symptoms, then I think sadly you should get a vet to take a look. But hopefully it won't come to that.
Have you just opened a new bag of hay?
If the sneezing continues for a few days at the same level, or if he develops other symptoms, then I think sadly you should get a vet to take a look. But hopefully it won't come to that.
Have you just opened a new bag of hay?
Hi! Oh, thank you so much for getting back to me. I’m going crazy here, I worry so much about them, so your reply helps me more than I can say. He has been eating absolutely fine today, just still doing the odd sneeze or two. No idea what brought it on yesterday, as I say I heard noises form the other room, but couldn’t even say what they were, I don’t know if it was sneezing, but because of the new bond, and because our lil girl has a habit of chasing then mounting him, and noise is making me run in to check on them. When I was in their room he was mid sneezing fit, but I don’t think he’d been in the tray before that, it looked like they’d both been sneezing together. We hadn’t opened a new bag of hay, I honestly have no idea what may have led to it
He’s just done some big sneezes, my poor boy.Hi. We’ve just taken him to the vets, just got home. After I messaged and after he did those big sneezes, he did two really big noises, and I couldn’t even tell you what they were. They didn’t sound like normal sneezes, just big noises that came from him. We called the vets and they said to bring him in. The vet didn’t seem too concerned, she said if there was something seriously wrong, like something lodged in his throat, etc, she’d expect there to be constant sneezing, and while we were in the room with her he didn’t sneeze once. She checked his nose and mouth as much as she could and couldn’t see anything. She gave him an anti inflammatory injection and has given us meloxicam for 5 days for pain relief/anti inflam. She said if he doesn’t improve/the sneezing doesn’t stop, we may need to be referred for a camera down his throat under anaesthetic. So I’m currently terrified. The bunnies seem ok together, travelled well together and clearly wanted to get back together when our boy was being examined. I’m just so worried, I don’t know what those big noises were, and I’m wondering if that was what I heard yesterday. I worry so much though, I have severe health anxiety myself, so for my babies it’s even worse. I can’t thank you enough for replying to me xx
Make sure he carries on eating and pooing normally. Look out for any discharge from his nose, or any new staining on his 'wrists' where he will have wiped it away while grooming, as that would indicate an infection - maybe a respiratory tract infection or maybe from a foreign body (eg dust or a piece of hay). That would need further treatment / investigation.
I would also see if you can get the sneezes on camera so you can show your vet exactly what it is like.
I would also see if you can get the sneezes on camera so you can show your vet exactly what it is like.
Thank you so much. So far he is eating normally. He wasn’t happy when we got back from the vets so didn’t eat his dinner immediately, but he did come back and eat it. So far no discharge from eyes or nose, and no drooling from his mouth. The main thing that worried me was the big noises I heard yesterday, I’m wondering if they were the same as what we saw and heard today. I’ve never heard anything like it before, it was so scary. The vet wasn’t overly concerned though, she didn’t see any particularly worrying signs. So I’m really hoping the worst is over and that he’s going to be ok. I’ve been so worried about their bonding too, so I’d hate for one of them to be hospitalised and their bond be threatened
Thank you so much for your response, I really appreciate it xx
Cuthbert&Dillon
Warren Veteran
Hope the sneezing settles down, and the big noise stops.
You dont have air fresheners or similar in the house do you that could make him sneeze?
You dont have air fresheners or similar in the house do you that could make him sneeze?
Thank you. No, we don’t have anything like that, and we have an air purifier in their bedroom too. I said to my boyfriend, the noise he made were so weird, not like a normal sneeze, the best way I could describe them is like when a human hacks (a phlegm in the throat sound you’re trying to clear, sorry for the nasty image!). It was really loud. But luckily he hasn’t done it since. He didn’t sneeze for ages when we got back from the vets, but my boyfriend sat in with him for a couple hours when we first went to bed, and said he had done a few small sneezes when loafing, but other than that was behaving normally and eating hay.
You are doing everything you can at the moment I think. Perhaps create a record of when you hear the sneezes with a brief note describing them. You could then take it to the vets, if you need to go back.
Hopefully though that won't be necessary. It's an important fact that he is continuing to eat and behave normally.
Hopefully though that won't be necessary. It's an important fact that he is continuing to eat and behave normally.
That’s a good idea, thank you. I keep trying to get a video, but every time I get my phone ready he doesn’t sneeze, the second I put it down he sneezes! So keeping a written log is actually really handy, thank you, I’ll start that tonight. Yes, still eating normally. I went out today but my boyfriend was with him all day, said he didn’t sneeze at all during the day, and had been eating and acting normally. So yes, always a good sign when an animal is still eating. They both mean so much to me, and they’re so young, I couldn’t cope if anything happened. So hopefully just something minor and nothing more. Thank you so much xx
bunny momma
Wise Old Thumper
When they were at bonder did you clean their area/items or added anything new?
Sending positive vibes the sneezing subsides soon.
Sending positive vibes the sneezing subsides soon.
Hi! We cleaned everything with a white vinegar solution, and brought new things like litter trays, water bowls, chew toys etc, but nothing they haven’t had before. We’ve had them back from the bonder for two weeks, and they’ve been absolutely fine, just this sneezing that started on Friday. I’ve been doing more research, other people online describe the big noises as like a duck quack sound, and now I know that’s what I heard both Friday and Saturday. I found other forums where people’s bunnies were having the same symptoms, and most people in the comments suggested it could be an upper respiratory tract infection. I’ll speak to the vets again in the morning and will see if I can get some antibiotics. He’s been sneezing and making that noise such a lot this evening, my poor boy. It’s 4:25am as I type this, I’ve moved into his room and am lying on the floor so I can monitor him. I truly hope it clears up and that there is no sinister underlying cause. My poor sweet baby! Thank you for your reply! xx
bunny momma
Wise Old Thumper
I hope your vet will be able to identify the issue based on your observations and description of his sneeze/snort/cough.
