Help-Snuffles in NEWBORN bunny

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

Help please…

Faith caught snuffles either from her old home or from Fitz. (The foster newborn)

What the heck can I do??? I can’t take her to a vet because I JUST spent a ton of money on formula and Fitz’ meds…
And they won’t see her because she’s a week old.

I need advice on maybe a natural treatment or something…and also should she get any critical care?

Should I separate her from her sibling?

[Wick & Fable]

Snuffles is one of the most common diseases found in rabbits, and many rabbits have it. Some remain dormant holders, but others have the symptoms flare up. Thankfully, the large majority can be treated with antibiotics. It is very standard for rabbit-experienced veterinarians to address this sort of situation with young rabbits, since their immune system may not be as developed Wick had a URI. I received him at 8wo and at that point, he was already sneezing, then the stress of a new environment probably kicked it into high gear. That being said, we started treatment a week later (waited to see if it was dust or something else), and now he is free of sneezing and gross snot, ew.

I do not have knowledge on the diet requirements of a one week old rabbit. If the rabbit should be eating on its own, and it’s not, then force-feeding would be needed to ensure nutrients. But if the rabbit is still acting normally and only sneezing and having snot in addition, the drive to eat and ability to eat is still there, so I wouldn’t be too concerned.

If Faith has it, her other sibling probably has it too because it’s very contagious. At this point, I don’t think it would be beneficial to separate them, because the infection doesn’t work like 2+2=4, so Faith having a 2 will not add onto a sibling’s 2…. if that makes sense. If they both have it and Faith is showing symptoms and the other is not, that means the other may have a stronger immune system and is able to handle it better.

In terms of treatment, again, unsure of a one week old rabbit, but the main thing is making sure breathing is possible. You can wipe the face a bit to clear discharge out of the way for grooming purposes.

For treatment of any infection, yes, the sooner the treatment, the better; however, if symptoms are not escalating drastically and are immediately impeding daily activities, I do not think waiting until you get some funds will make much difference. It hypothetically could extend treatment (infection has more time to multiply and create copies), but I personally delayed, as I said, one week until bringing Wick to the vet, even though he had a sneezing fit once every 15 minutes. He was fine after treatment and throughout was always eating and functioning generally the same.

I think reading about snuffles being highly contagious makes it sound very harrowing and scary, but based on my experience, observations, and what I’ve read, I don’t think it’s an illness to keep you up at night necessarily. Yes, there are cases that snuffles evolves very quickly, but I do not think that’s the vast majority of cases. Also, in my, uninformed, non-vet opinion, if a rabbit dies very suddenly of snuffles/respiratory illness, a round of antibiotics may not be effective quick enough to save the rabbit, and it could be a general sign that the rabbit was already very weak from another reason. I think the numerous topics on BB of rabbits having snuffles and then being fine after antibiotic treatment is a testament to how manageable it can be.

.. What sort of symptoms are you seeing?

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.

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

Ok.

He or she is only on formula. (They don’t eat any pellets or hay until 2 weeks)

The symptoms are frequent sneezing and some clear-white discharge. No wheezing yet, but I’m sure it could develope.

[Wick & Fable]

Thanks for the info on baby rabbit diet. Odd hearing “formula” outside the context of a human baby. If formula is meant to be the sole nutrient-supplier, than ensuring the rabbit is getting enough formula daily is key. I don’t think critical care would be appropriate for a baby rabbit meant on formula? My guess would be formula provides a lot of necessary nutrients for a growing rabbit, more so than critical care. It is nature’s design. Any problems giving the formula or the rabbit ingesting the formula? Binkybunny forum users will not have a lot of experience with baby rabbits because we are strict about talking about intentional litters, thus the presence of baby bunny posts is generally very low; however, other rabbit forums online may have users with more experience and insight! I don’t want to give misleading information, but I also understand random thoughts with lots of caveats is not very helpful either.

Wick never wheezed (thankfully), but it is good you are keeping an ear out for worsening symptoms. Generally, I think trying to reduce nasal irritants is important. Lessen dust in the environment, any sort of fabrics used or bedding should be rid of as much dust as possible, and then also helping with grooming if the discharge gunks up the nostrils.

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.

[LBJ10]

I agree with Wick. Assuming that this IS snuffles and not some other kind of URI, both of these babies probably got it from their mother. In general, when a very young rabbit has it, it is because the mother has it. Vertical transmission is very common with pasteurella. Just because only one has symptoms, it doesn’t mean the other one does not have it. So I don’t see any reason to separate them at this point. If this baby is sickly, it likely just means their immune system is weak.

Wick is correct, you may be able to just make sure the baby is stable and breathing OK for now. One of the problems with antibiotics at this stage is that many should not be given to very young rabbits. This includes Baytril. After a few weeks, you may be able to ask the vet if there is something that would be safe to use.

Keep in mind that the reason you are seeing symptoms so soon is likely because they are not with their mother. Baby rabbits will get some protection from symptoms through milk and then that wears off once they are weaned. So if the baby is susceptible, then they typically start showing symptoms around that time period (like Wick did).

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

Ok thank you.

I need some ideas on fundraisers….

Fitz has been off meds for less than two weeks and is already sick again…so this may be a long term antibiotic treatment and I can’t get a job for two years ?

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