Too hot? -Vet update!

[BaileyBun]

 Bailey has been acting weird all week.  First, I think she got ticked off because she didn’t get as much playtime as usual earlier this week (blame it on finals period!).  Today, she wasn’t as excited about food as usual.  She usually runs over to me, but I had to physically move her from under the bed (her favorite napping spot) to her pen for lettuce (which she did eat).  Logan seems fine.  He’s as perky as always.  But Bailey is just so cranky- not coming for treats, growling at me, ferociously digging at things- it’s like she’s a teenager all over again.  She’s just been a little sluggish today.  It’s one of the hotter days we’ve had in Boston this spring, and I’m wondering if maybe she’s too hot…?  It’s 70 degrees here, and it’s hot outside, but seems much cooler in my non-air-conditioned dorm room.  Is there a way to tell if it’s the heat that’s bugging her?  She isn’t panting, but her nostrils were a little more flared than usual- if that makes sense.  She doesn’t feel too warm/hot, and she’s eating and drinking.  

Any thoughts??

[Sarita]

70 doesn’t sound too hot to me – I keep my a/c at around 77 right now. It would be good to open windows though and get some circulation going.

It could just be that the longer daylight hours are affecting her.

[RabbitPam]

That’s not too hot, and it doesn’t sound like heat behavior. I wonder if she’s a bit unwell. It could also be noise related. Is your dorm clearing out for the end of the semester, or are there unusual activities in the halls that she could be hearing? Make sure she’s eating, drinking and pooing. If any one of those is off, she may need a vet visit.

[BaileyBun]

Thanks Sarita and RabbitPam. I didn’t think that 70 was too high, but thought maybe it just seemed too warm to her since she’s adjusting to the warmer weather. There was a concert not too far from my dorm, plus a barbecue on the lawn in front of my dorm, so maybe that’s what’s bugging her. I’ll keep an eye on her, and if she’s still acting strange tomorrow, I’ll take her in. Thanks

[BaileyBun]

 She’s just fine today. However, while I was cleaning under my bed, I found a nibbled-on Aleve tablet  so I’m wondering if she got into that.  Luckily, there was hardly any bitten off.  Looks like I need to be more careful and less clumsy.  We also have a big storm system moving through, so maybe she was sensing that.

[Lani]

It could be the storms, I know when we were expected to get those storms producing the tornadoes, my bun was acting like a neurotic crazy thing. Digging and chewing and getting upset if you sat against the wall and blocked her path to the door. She stopped after the storms and hasn’t been that way since so I figured she was doing her own bunny storm prep

[RabbitPam]

There was plenty of activity, but the nibbled Aleve would definitely be the culprit if there is no other animal in your room that could have done that. I am really glad she is OK today. She could have been worse if it was the med, so please be careful as you said. Just get down to floor eye level when she’s out and scan around, in case you spot anything she might taste. (chips are a favorite floor decoration. )

[BaileyBun]

I suppose Logan could’ve chewed it, but he wasn’t acting any differently than usual. I went through and vacuumed my entire room after I found it, just in case I had dropped more than 1 on the floor.

[BaileyBun]

Update: I’m taking her to the vet tomorrow. Something just doesn’t seem right. She has the sneezing/runny nose symptoms that Logan has been dealing with since I got him. Any tips for things I should ask the vet? I find it odd that she suddenly has the exact symptoms Lgan has, when he’s been here for months. Does it sound like whatever he has is contagious and she’s finally caught it, or are there other illnesses with these symptoms? This sounds silly, but could eating the Aleve cause sneezing and a runny nose?

[Sarita]

I thought Logan had possible allergies. Did you ever do a culture on him – I can’t remember.

Sometimes when a rabbit is under stress for whatever reason, this can lower their immunity.

I’m not sure if Aleve could cause that or not in a rabbit since it’s not something that a rabbit would normally be given.

[BaileyBun]

Sarita- Yes, the vet did diagnose him with allergies, but she didn’t do a culture (I think she said allergies don’t show up on a culture, and antibiotics weren’t helping). She wanted to hold off checking him out again until my heat was off in the building and I could keep my windows open all the time- she thought the ventilation/circulation might be the problem. I’ve just been able to turn off the heat and keep the windows open, and he’s better, but by no means are his symptoms gone.

Bailey might be stressed from me moving stuff around my room, too (or maybe my stress from finals rubbed off on her!).

Do you think I should ask for a culture, or some other test (and if so, should I do the same tests for Logan)? I have a feeling that she’ll want to try putting Bailey on antibiotics first- I remember her saying that cultures are expensive, so she usually just starts them on antibiotics because that usually fixes the problem.

[Sarita]

Most likely you would only need to do a culture for one of the rabbits – they are expensive but then so again are medications and more vet visits so I think if it’s a continuous problem that is resolved by the first or second vet visit you are just continuing spending money. It’s true allergies don’t show up but there isn’t an allergy test for rabbits.

[BaileyBun]

 Sounds like a culture is the way to go. I read somewhere that the culture procedure might be a little painful or uncomfortable for them- do you know how they get the sample, or if there’s anything I can do to make Bailey more comfortable?

I’ve read the info here: http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/culture.html. From what I understood, a culture test can only find bacteria-related problems- is that right?

Thanks so much for your help!

[BaileyBun]

Bailey and Logan went to the vet this morning.  They’re both on SMZ TMP liquid antibiotic for the next 2 weeks.  I’ve never heard of it before, but the vet said it’s typically used for recurring/chronic respiratory problems.  They’re also taking Bene-Bac to prevent GI issues while they’re on SMZ.  I’m supposed to wait 3 days to see if anything changes.  

We did talk about doing a culture, but my vet wants to see if this does anything first- she also said that cultures are getting outdated and likely won’t give us very much information about what’s going on (I also read this in “When Your Rabbit Needs Special Care”).  I’m also supposed to switch their litter from wood stove pellets+YN to something that’s dust free.  She recommended using towels.  I was thinking YUCK!, but hey, I’m willing to try that for a week or so.  Otherwise, anyone have tips for dust-free litter?  Maybe a litter screen would help keep the dust off them??  I really don’t think the litter is the problem, since Logan was on it before he came here, and Bailey’s been using it almost the entire time I’ve had her… but I’ll try it for awhile.  

She said the next step is to just see if this round of antibiotics helps.  Then, if nothing changes, we’ll switch antibiotics, do a culture, and/or do a skull rad to check for dental issues (she says this is really unlikely, since they both have symptoms and they’re both eating fine, plus no obvious signs of swelling, etc in their mouths).  She thinks it’s just a chronic thing that I might always have to monitor and keep in check by using antibiotics whenever symptoms come back  

Whew.  It’s been a long day.  I’m trying to move out of my dorm room and get in enough hours at work to pay for room damages (thanks to Bailey’s spring break adventure) and vet visits, plus my mom is coming to visit on Saturday, which will be nice, but very, very stressful (she also doesn’t know that I have a second bunny  and I just know she’s going to react badly).  I think Bailey and Logan and I all need a vacation!  

[Sarita]

Yes, this is the same as Bactrim – it’s been prescribed frequently for my rabbits.

Interesting about the cultures – never heard this from a vet before. I would be gagging if I had to use towels as they won’t mask the odor and I have to wonder if they would even figure out this is meant to be used as a litter box. What about trying Carefresh?

If it’s molar spurs, you wouldn’t need a skull rad – she should be able to see these with an otoscope.

Makes me wonder if there is something in your dorm room that is causing these problems. It’s been ages since I’ve lived in a dorm but I don’t remember them being the cleanest healthiest places on earth.

[BaileyBun]

That’s a good point. Actually, they probably wouldn’t even want to use the litterbox if it was that smelly. I have half a bag of carefresh left over from when Bailey was spayed, so I’ll use that. I’m pretty sure I already tried switching to carefresh, now that I think of it, but I’ll do another week and see…. although then I won’t know if it’s the litter or the antibiotics that’s making the difference… Maybe I should wait 3 days to see if the antibiotic helps, then switch litter??

The vet did look in their mouths with a scope of some sort, and said they both have perfect teeth, so that’s good news.

They’re moving out of my dorm in less than a week. If they, by some miracle, do get much better, I can always try to switch to a different dorm for the next school year (as of now, I have the same room again for next year, but people are always willing to swap rooms). The building is ancient, and it’s carpeted, but there are newer dorms with wood floors that might be better allergy-wise (probably better for my allergies, too!).

[BinkyBunny]

 I’m glad your vet checked their teeth as sometimes that can cause the symptoms you are describing.  I thought, it sure would be coincidental if they both started having teeth issues, but it’s not unheard of.  Anyway, seems as if that was already checked off. 

 

Regarding the culture. I may be a little bit out of date myself as I haven’t been able to keep up with new information this past year due to other priorities.   I’ve been slowly trying to play catch-up and I will talk to my vet next time I am in.  She’s extremely rabbit savvy.  Last year I emailed her a question asking her how helpful is it to get a culture from the nose vs the lungs and this was  her response:  (Aug 2010)

Culturing the discharge from a nose is likely to yield normal bacteria, which may mask “the culprit”.  Doing a DEEP nasal swab is more likely to get you the causative bacteria, but you can still grow confusing “contaminants”  (bacteria or molds that were just passing through the nose). I sometimes do deep nasal swabs for resistant nasal infections.  Culturing a LUNG is more likely to yield useable results, but it is a bigger deal. You can do a fine needle aspirate of the lung ( kind of hit or miss because you could sample a normal area) or, under general anesthesia collect bacteria from the airway by flushing and aspirating fluids down the airway (tracheal wash) or doing bronchoscopy and collecting a sample through the bronchoscope.  The tracheal was is simpler and probably safer, but can sometimes be contaminated with bacteria from the mouth. I feel it’s a very useful test in LUNG, not nose disease

 

So I understand why your vet may want to try one last round of antibiotics, but obviously if your bunnies continue to have these issues, it may be something to discuss with her further.  My vet does try deep nasal swabs for “resistant nasal infections”.   I do remember her saying you have to be really careful with that as it is easy to pick up results that are contaminated.  (I don’t remember what she said she did in order to minimize that.)

 

I hope that this next round of treatment helps and it will be behind you soon.  Your bunnies are very very lucky to have you take such good care of them.  

 

Oh, and good luck with your mom’s visit too!

 

Keep us updated. 

 

 

[BaileyBun]

Thanks for the reply, BB! I do remember my vet saying something about the culture sample being easily contaminated. I know that if she does do a culture, she wants to get the sample from Logan because he has a lot more “gunk” in his nose than Bailey.

However, the good news is that there was MUCH less sneezing today. Bailey was a little sneezy in the morning, but I haven’t heard a sneeze in at least an hour. I’m hoping that’s the result of the antibiotics, and not just a coincidence.

The other news- still not sure if it’s good or bad- is that I accidentally said “my bunnies…” on the phone with my mom, and I ended up confessing that I might have somehow acquired another adorable fluffball (I’m pretty impressed with myself for not slipping up earlier, ha!). I’m sure she’ll fall in love with Logan as soon as she sees him, because he’s just so cute. I’ll just have to remind her that I’m an adult and financially independent… and that Bailey really did need a friend

[BinkyBunny]

However, the good news is that there was MUCH less sneezing today. Bailey was a little sneezy in the morning, but I haven’t heard a sneeze in at least an hour. I’m hoping that’s the result of the antibiotics, and not just a coincidence.

That’s great. Keep us updated. I’m sending healing vibes!

I ended up confessing that I might have somehow acquired another adorable fluffball

 

That is really funny.  ”I might have somehow acquired….”   

 Well, at least you don’t have to dread it her finding out now.  One less thing to worry about.   

[BaileyBun]

Update! My mom loves Logan! She thinks he’s just adorable. They’re both settled in at my boyfriends place and doing well- much less sneezing with Bailey, and none with Logan. I’ve been stopping by once a day to make sure all is well with the bunnies. He’s taking very good care of them and is giving them attention every night, so I feel better about leaving them for 2 weeks. Dealing with his housemates has been a bit of a nightmare, so to compromise, I’m “renting” the small storage room where the buns are living and keeping their hay on the covered porch outside. Sigh someday soon, I’ll have my own place

[Author]

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