Is this vet rabbit experienced? What they say doesn’t make sense.
If your rabbit has a URI and it wasn’t treated by one antibiotic, another should be tried. Antibiotics cover a wide array of bacteria, so if one doesn’t work, you try another until you find the one that affects what your rabbit has. In some cases, vets do trial and error, and in other cases you do a culture and wait to get the specific bacteria. Wick had a URI and it took 3 modifications until we found the right combo. We didn’t do a culture since we didn’t want to wait.
I’m mostly confused by what the vet said about probiotic. It’s great your rabbit was given a probiotic with the antibiotic, and that should be done if a young rabbit is taking an antibiotic. An antibiotic will kill gut bacteria, but the probiotic will help it grow back. Both are needed when treating to ensure your rabbits digestive system doesn’t get affected by the medical treatment. Now if you rabbit still has gastric distress while on a probiotic/antibiotic combo , the antibiotic may be too incompatible with your rabbit, in which case you should change the antibiotic.
Your vet may have been thinking about the antibiotic killing the probiotic, but the antibiotic should not be taken at the same time as a probiotic, but when a probiotic is given an hour or two after an antibiotic administration, it helps reverse what the antibiotic may cause to the digestive system. This should have been something you were informed about from your vet to prevent the probiotic from being neutralized. Just because a probiotic is given, doesn’t mean you can’t give an antibiotic. A probiotic is given because you’re giving an antibiotic.
The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.