Chronic snuffles

[bunbun00]

Hi all,

So about a year ago I adopted a beautiful blue eyed, pure white fur English Angora. She was living as an outdoor rabbit at the time.

A year on, my dear Rat is absolutely SMITTEN with this bun. They are a team and inseparable and honestly melt my heart.

So, when I first got this rabbit, Bebe. She would just snore constantly (she also has splayed front legs so slips and bonks into furniture). They’re both completely free roam and with me living alone, I am always with them. It is not quite a wheeze, just like a very loud breathing when she’s awake, and a snore when she’s asleep. I would occasionally notice snot (off white colour) around her nose and on her paws. I took her to the vets and they told me she had a chronic pasturella or bordetella disease.  At this point I was obviously heart broken (and fuming because of my Rat!!!). Previous owner said they didn’t know what I was on about.

I’ve done as much as I can, e.g. “dust free” hay, a humidifier for the main room, I have a bissell to clean the area rug (remove any germs or dust) and I clean everything as much as I can.

She’s never had a “bad” flare up but I wanted to know if anyone knows what the outlook is for her and if this is a normal thing? I can’t find much about it online.

I wasn’t that attached to her at first but as Rat has, I have fallen in love with her too (as dopey and thick as she is bless her) and I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can.

Does anyone have any ideas?

[LBJ10]

What treatments has she already had? I assume you tried some different antibiotics to try to clear it up? Did your vet suggest a nebulizer?

[bunbun00]

When I first adopted her and took her in a few times, they gave her 2 different antibiotics although I’m not sure of the names. Because she generally is fine because she isn’t always snotty (I just don’t think the snorting is normal and she will sneeze a lot and make snot). In the end they said it is just her and to bring her in if she’s really snotty or wheezy.

I’ve not tried a nebuliser and my only experience with them is medicating hedgehogs with ringworm. I will try research it now

[Wick & Fable]

I understand both an owner and vet’s efforts can seem futile after 2 failed attempts. At the same time, I will mention that it took, from start to finish, five months for my rabbit to be free of his sneezing symptoms from a URI. We first tried Bactrim, then Baytril, then ended with a course of Baytril + Penicillin shots. It took trial and error sometimes, but that can often be conflated (and hard to differentiate) from the chronic snuffles. Sometimes I feel vets “default” to it being chronic snuffles, but there might be cases where the right antibiotic just wasn’t identified yet. Very much an unprofessional opinion. Some vets have access to getting cultures to send to labs to figure out what the particular infection may be susceptible to, though it’s not uncommon for vets to overlook that because they can be unreliable at times

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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