Bunny can’t breathe

[eowynbunny]

 I am having a problem with my bun…she has been on antibiotics for about 2 weeks. At first she seemed to be getting better, now she seems to maybe be getting worse again. She went into a sneezing fit and was hopping around looking nervous as if she couldn’t breathe. I can’t get her to a vet until later and this doesn’t seem to be an emergency…what can I do to relieve her breathing problems? Is it possible to give them a tiny bit of nasal decongestant? My rabbit is very jumpy and I’m concerned that trying to clean out or suction her nose may cause more stress than good…

Thanks! 

[Monkeybun]

I would say its an emergency if she can’t breathe! Vet, now.

[peppypoo]

I agree with Monkeybun, sounds like an emergency to me. I recommend taking her to a vet.

[Roberta]

Ditto on MB and PP – VET NOW

[RabbitPam]

How is she doing today? By seeing the vet later, did you mean later in the day yesterday? If not, I urge you to take her today as well. You want to hold off medicating her with anything that might interfere with meds the vet gives her that’s right for treating her condition. Please keep us updated.

[RabbitPam]

Stacey, I see you’re posting for the first time. I’m going to alert BB because I think we need to change your name that shows. We don’t use last names for your protection. I’ll notify her and she can help you fix that.

[eowynbunny]

First of all, at the time I wrote this, it was impossible to take her to the “vet now”. It was late at night. That’s why I asked the question. i wanted to know what I could do until I could get her to the vet. The purpose was not to ask if I should take her to the vet but if anyone knew how I could help alleviate her symptoms. I soaked a wash cloth in hot water and put it over her face to breathe it, not sure if it helped or not. I put her back in her cage so she couldn’t run around so much and gave her lettuce to distract her. She didn’t eat a whole lot and I was nervous that night.

The next day she still seemed unhappy, but later that night she seemed to be a lot better and ate plenty and went potty a lot and ran around and jumped with minimal sneezing. She is still sneezing but nothing as bad as that night…I’m thinking maybe she was irritated by something, not sure. She’s going to the vet monday but seems ok for now.

[eowynbunny]

For anyone else who may have this problem….the hot washcloth seemed comforting at least to her, and since it helps humans with breathing I imagine it helped open her airways a bit. Does anyone else have any ideas for emergency breathing issues?

[LBJ10]

If you are going to use a wet washcloth, I think it might be better to use a room humidifier instead. It can’t hurt anyway. Did you ever take her to the vet? Oh wait, looks like you said Monday.

[Malp_15]

I have a rabbit with chronic upper respiratory issues and some times he will get a sneezing fit and can’t stop, it’s usually because he has mucus stuck in his nose that he can’t free. So I take a Q-tip and wipe it out, very gently and making sure not to shove it up his nose.

I do urge you to look for an emergency vet, that is open 24 hours. Even if it isn’t your normal rabbit vet, any vet can help in an emergency.

[eowynbunny]

LBJ10 and Malp_15, great thoughts! Yes my mother suggested putting her in the bathroom and running the shower. i’m not sure if the Q-tip thing will work because she is quite jumpy, but I’ll give it a try if it ever happens again.

[Jenna, Chubs & Comet]

My vet suggested the shower thing as well. This is actually a treatment vets can provide in a more direct way but it’s a decent thing to do at home. Plain old saline drops in the nose can sometimes loosen things up too and doesn’t interfere with other treatments. Bunnies tend to hate it but it can sometimes loosen things up. My vet had me do that as well.

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