Bunny syphilis x2

[LittleLionMan]

Hi again!
I posted a bit ago about my girl, Pixie, who was getting antibiotics for a sore on her mouth. Turns out, she has bunny syphilis! I’ve been treating her for the past few weeks with antibiotics, which has been a “fun” adventure, but just got the news that my male bunny is also positive for syphilis. They want to start him on the same 4 weeks of antibiotics, but I’m concerned it will be rather hard on his already sensitive stomach (he’s had quite a few bouts of stasis/near stasis in his lifetime). I read about penicillin shots as a treatment for treponema, and was wondering if anyone else has had experience with it? Obviously I’ll ask the vet as well, but just wanted to hear perspectives on it vs the long course of antibiotics. It’s hard enough to get Pixie to comply with meds 2x/day, and I know Wolfie will be a much less willing.
thanks again!

[DanaNM]

Penicillin shots are generally harder on the stomach than a bun-safe oral antibiotics. I’m not too sure about their use in treating syphilis, which antibiotic is Pixie on?

Often the meds can be compounded to taste sweet to make them easier to give. if not try mixing with some mashed banana. You can even start pre-training the bun to take some mashed banana and water from a syringe to get them excited at the syringe as a “treat delivery system”.

. . . 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.  

[LittleLionMan]

Oh interesting! I didn’t know it was harder on their stomachs than the antibiotics. She’s on 100mg/ml of Chloramphenicol 2x/day. The c-grip hold that you all told me about works phenomenally for the actual administration, but getting her to actually come out to get her meds is more difficult. I capitalized on her treat obsession originally, so now she’s less willing to come out for treats. She also liked the baby food at first but then became skeptical of it. We’ve powered through and are almost done with the meds, but Wolf is much stronger willed and fully holds grudges. Obviously I’ll do what I have to do to get them both healthy again, but my biggest issue is that he’s much more willing to stop eating at any signs of discomfort. I know there’s probiotic they can go on, but apparently it can’t be administered within 1 hr of meds…meaning they would get 3 separate med admins per day. If the shots were easier in terms of both side effects and admin I would totally do that, but I guess I’ll just have to bite the bullet and go the meds route. BLAH! Thanks for answering my constant questions!

[Wick & Fable]

My Wick was treated with PenG shots for syphilis. It was paired with oral azithromycin though because for a separate reason, Wick had received PenG shots earlier in his life (before we knew he had syphilis) so the logic was, well, if he still has syphilis now after that, perhaps we should add another med just in case PenG isn’t effective.

Wick doesn’t have stomach sensitivity so I cannot attest to whether PenG is particularly upsetting for rabbits overall, but he has never had an adverse reaction to it and it + azithromycin did successfully treat the syphilis.

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.

[LittleLionMan]

Oh it’s good to hear someone else’s experience with this! I actually just came across a recent research publication that similarly suggested penicillin shots may not be as effective as oral antibiotics, so I suppose we will just have to go the oral antibiotic route. I’ll still voice my concerns with the vet so we can have a backup plan in place, but maybe it won’t be as bad as I’m anticipating. I also hope that it doesn’t recur as it did for you…I’m not sure I can do another round of this for both of them 😅

I’m glad to hear you were finally able to rid Wick of it! Thanks again for your invaluable support!

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