House rabbit and sneezing problems!!

[kori]

HI everyone! Im new to this site…so i hope im dong this right!

I have a question about house rabbits and respiratory problems. Well it all started in May when i got my first rabbit. He was a mini rex from a breeder in ohio. I got him when he was about 8 weeks old, and brought him home to live as a house bunny. He had a large cage ( marchioro tommy 102 i believe ) and I litter trained him, which he was very good at! I used no bedding in the cage, only blankets and they types of comfy pads for dog crates. I used yesterdays new (unsented) in his litter box and dumped it every other day. Well about two months after i got him, he began sneezing. He had no discharge from his nose, but you could hear he was stuffy when he breathed. He was eating fine and running aroung the house and playing, but i still took him to the vet. She is a very good exotic vet in my area, so i knew she would give me the right stuff to treat him. She gave me gentamicin drops for his eyes and nose. I gave them to him for a week and he got better..so i called and let her know. Well, sadly about 4 days later, he passed away. I found him lying in his fav sleeping position. So it looks as if he went peacefully. I didnt have an autopsy done…but the vet figured it was a herat attack of maybe stroke.

Well here is my problem. I got another rabbit (mini rex) about two weeks ago…he was going to be a buddy for my first one…from a breeder. He was doing well untill about 3 days ago. He started sneezing!!  He is acting and eating and playing fine…eats all of his salad, and hay and food…but he definatley has a respiratory problem. I have him in much the same housing as the other one…same cage ( which i thoroughly disinfected before he moved in) no bedding, litter box with yesterdays new etc. I dont understand what the problem is. What am i doing wrong?? I do have several other animal in the house ( 2cats, 2 guinea pigs, 2 hamsters, 4 rats,and some fish). I keep my house very clean…I am also very careful of the cleaners i use…most are all natural and unsented…and i dont use any room fragrances or burn candels. I dont know what is causing the poor rabbits to have these problems. I know they have sensitive respiratory systems…but goodness!! If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Unfortunatley where we currently live i cant move him outside…not that i want to anyway…so that isnt an option. I am treating his with the gentamicin drops…this is the 2nd day…if they dont work ill take and get him an antibiotic i suppose? But i feel really bad like im causing it…but i dont know what it could be!! Maybe the other animals and their smells…or perhaps i should be using bedding  or someting?? Please help!!

[Sarita]

Did you get this bunny from the same breeder?

Is there any discharge or is this just sneezing? I would have to say as far as the first rabbit goes it is possible since no autopsy was done (and even those are always definitive) that the sneezing and the death are probably not related if the vet thinks he died from a heart attack or stroke.

[Beka27]

my goodness. i’m sorry to hear about your first rabbit. it sounds as if you’re doing everything correctly so please don’t blame yourself. like Sarita said, your first may have passed away from something unrelated to the respiratory issues. there’s no way you will every truly know. that being said, i would not wait to take the bunny to the vet and explain that this one is having similar problems as the last one.

regarding the breeder: what kind of conditions were the buns kept in? at what age were they weaned from the mother?

[kori]

Thanks so much for your responses!!  I really want to get to the bottom of this!! I did not get the two from the same breeder. The first was from ohio and the second in pennsylvania. The one i have now, Bently, was three months when i got him so now he is about 3.5 months. The breeder didnt wean him untill he was 8 weeks. She is a very reputable breeder and he is from champion lines…unfortunatley he is booted…beautiful broken booted blue…so he isnt showable. I feed him oxbow rabbit food…and hay and he gets a salad of greens and some goodies like a baby carrot and cucumber everynight.

He doesnt have any discharge really. The area right around his nostrils is wet but his nose isnt running. He sneezes though. The drops i have been giving him for the last three days are seeming to help, b/c he is sneezing less frequently and you cant hear that he is stuffed up when he breathes…it sounds normal. I have noticed that he will like sneeze or something maybe twice a day and it sounds like he is hacking up snot!! Nothing is coming out tho? As far as taking him to the vet, I called her and she told me to start the eye/nose drops for 7days, and if that didnt help we could start an antibiotic. they seem to be helping…but Im worried about it coming back.  Do you knwo of any house hold things that my be bothering him? From your own experience?? I do know that he was born and kept outside untill i got him. Could it just be the transition from outside to inside? Maybe the temperature and such?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

You know what popped in my head was mold..is it possible to have your home checked for mold? there are many types that can be on the drywall or under the carpet or flooring. I believe the health board will come and check for no cost but it does depend on where you live. I know of two people who recently had to relocate because of poisonous mold. It would definitely be a rabbit who was affected before you would be.

Since they are from two different breeders I’d look at environment first.
But i’d also follow the vets advice and maybe ask for a ‘flushing’ of the tear ducts, that’s what my rabbit had when she had a cold. Ensure to watch carefully for pooping and peeing.

I can see how this is terribly alarming and scary considering {VIBES} and *HUGS*

[bunnyluvr]

I lost a bunny a couple of years ago to Snuffles. He sneezed alot and his breathing would sometimes sound like he had a cold and he would only be wet right around the nostrils but would seem fine. He would play, eat, poop and want attention all the time and I assumed that he was okay because everything seemed ok except the sneezing and the noisy breathing he would do sometimes. This went on for 3 years. Then one day his breathing got worse and then worse. I made an appointment with the vet and was told he had Snuffles and to keep him seperate from my other bunny because it is contagious and was given some antibiotics. He died in my arms that same afternoon. I’m not saying this is what your bunny has but maybe you can ask your vet about Snuffles. I believe that they can treat and he can live a healthy happy life it was just to late for my sweet boy.

[Sarita]

I think Bunnyluvr is referring to Pasturella (snuffles is more of a condition rather than an actual bacteria, disease, etc…and it’s usually used to describe Pasturella).

Pasturella is an upper respiratory disease. But this can only be determined by doing a nasal culture. There are other bacterial infections too that can affect rabbits but of course, again, you need a culture and sensitivity test to determine what the bacteria is and what drugs it is sensitive too.

Many vets will just treat for Pasturella without doing a culture – I don’t recommend that if you can afford to have the culture that is better to do.

[KatnipCrzy]

Are you using the same bottle of drops on the new bunny that you used on the bunny that died?  If you were treating 2 rabbits that had been exposed to each other and got sick at the same time- there wouldn’t be much of an issue with that.  But if this bunny was not directly exposed to the other bunny you should not use the same bottle- as the bottle should be considered contaminated since you do not know why the first bunny died.  When you apply drops from a bottle not all of the medicine that is “squeezed” out of the bottle is dosed- the suction of releasing the pressure on the bottle sucks some of the meds back in that could have potentially touched the eye or other part of the bunny.  So if the second bunny has something different and the immune system is already stressed- you could be introducing a new problem.

I am surprised that your vet did not want to see the sick bunny- it is not possible to rule out why the first bunny died- so your vet should advise being extra cautious and treat this bunny aggressively (as opposed to wait and see approach). 

If this bunny gets really ill- I would strongly suggest getting diagnostics done- cultures, x-rays, etc to determine what the problem is- otherwise you may not safely be able to bring another bunny into the house without knowing why they get ill.

 

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