Bunny with URI- need help

[Kimmy]

Hey guys, I’m new to this site and need help. My little 11 month old holland lop Henry, is very sick. I got him 4 months ago from a previous owner who had him in a hutch outside. When I got Henry he was already sick (sneezing) and the owner denied him being sick.
Long story short he has upper respiratory infection and before he was having light white discharge under his nose, brought him to a vet who wasn’t as helpful and gave baytril and metcam. Was on it for almost a month and no change. Still sneezing and nose discharge but he was eating and running around fine. The past 3 weeks he has been very aggressive and not getting along with my other bunny. I had to separate them. He bites me a lot too. but on Sat he started breathing heavy and loud. He stopped eating, drinking and he was hiding in a corner all day. I brought him to a new vet yesterday and gave me new meds “Chloramphenicol”. I have been giving him critical care 6 times a day, along with bene bac probiotic powder and Vet RX oil for his nose and baby food I blended up myself. He thinks it’s pasterella (hopefully not) and told me to give him 1ml twice a day. His nose discharge is very heavy and thick white and dries yellow. Any advice for congested nose? Right now I’m cleaning it with a damp warm towel. I have the humidifier on with peppermint oil and lavender oil. (Seems so be working a bit) Right now Henry is in a hunched position, I think he’s having tummy pain and still breathing heavy and won’t let me syringe feed him. He’s still having diarrea and can’t clean himself (heartbreaking seeing this) whenever I go near him he tries to get away from me (he can barley walk- is this normal). At this point I’m so devastated and so sad I feel I’m not doing anything right. I’ve been losing sleep and been so stressed making sure he’s alive.

Any tips and advice? And also what do you think it is out of everything I said?

[Wick & Fable]

Was the hunching and loose stools (is it actually diarrhea, and if so, did you let the vet know?) occurring before or after starting the Chloramphenicol? If it started to occur after, it could be the antibiotic is causing issues, in which case discussing with your vet about trying a different antibiotic may be worthwhile. If stomach issues from the antibiotic are making him uncomfortable which is causing him to be defensive and reject food, continuing the antibiotic, in my opinion, isn’t worth it, as usually a URI antibiotic course needs to be at least two weeks long.

It is not uncommon for a rabbit to be on an antibiotic for a URI and nothing happen. Many types of bacteria can cause a URI, and different antibiotics will affect different bacteria. For example, Bactrim was first prescribed for Wick, but it did nothing, while Baytril actually did something. Baytril didn’t get rid of all symptoms, so we added Flocillin injections and that did the trick.

I have no experience with Chloramphenicol.

It is concerning that he isn’t walking properly, and you are hearing difficulty breathing. Did your vet listen to his lungs for congestion, and have you called the vet to update on some of these concerns? The aggression towards not taking medication is pretty natural, but not walking correctly and general discomfort doesnt match Wick’s symptoms from his URI. He generally functioned the same, except he’d sneeze constantly. It sounds like this URI has progressed to build up beyond the nose, which could be bad.

The damp cloth is a fine approach to cleaning. If you can follow that up with a dry cloth, that’d help to lessen grooming on your rabbit’s end. Since it is bacterial, make sure not to reuse the same towel unless you wash it.

… This may be a separate topic, but is your rabbit neutered, is the other rabbit fixed, and how long have they been together? It’s possible the aggression has nothing to do with the URI, but has to do with improper rabbit bonding (which starts with both rabbits being fixed). Regardless, it’s good you recognized the aggression and have separated them.

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.

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