How to Help Bunny with Nasal Congestion Until He Sees the Vet?

[HesaBadBunny]

Hello – me again. 😳

My bunny finished a round of antibiotics almost a month ago and he did well.

However, two days ago, he started sneezing again. His nose sounds congested and so do his sneezes. One nostril is wet. Both his eyes are dry (no leakage). So, I rang the vet yesterday, and they can get him in in 2 weeks. They do not consider it an emergency because he is still eating and active otherwise. Bathroom habits are normal too.

Obviously I will push for him to get in sooner if he takes a turn for the worse. However, I really hate hearing his sneezes.

What can I do for him in the meantime until he sees the vet to make him comfortable? I do not have any access to antibiotics or nose drops at the current time.

I am thinking of soaking his hay (well, not soaking it, but wetting it to keep the dust down) and have seen people “steam” the noses of their buns. Is that possible to do?

What have you done?

Thanks in advance…

[Bam]

You can spray water on hay or steam it, but only prepare small portions at a time, because wet hay spoils quickly, esp if the weather is warm.

You can nebulize a rabbit with saline, but you need a nebulizer.

I hope your vet will see him sooner if he takes a turn for the worse. I agree its not ideal to have to wait 2 weeks.

[HesaBadBunny]

Hi again and thanks for you advice! Yes, I would not leave wet hay just laying around due to spoilage. Always a good point to make.

As my gut feeling told me, this issue would progress, and I would need the vet sooner.

The respiratory issue has stabilized or mostly subsided but he is not eating again. He will pick at his food, GO CRAZY for a certain kind of treat, and eat bits of cardboard (which I am not happy about…) He has pellets (that get replaced often..), fresh hay (that gets replaced often..) and water, but he just wants to eat cardboard. He is not the biggest fan of veggies, but he gets kale and parsley to pick at (right now, what is available).

So I have started him on some CC to supplement the little that he does eat. Temperature is good. He is just not a happy camper.

Wondering if the respiratory issue is related to a tooth problem (after he had his teeth done in the spring, all of his problems cascaded..) since he does not want hard food. Although the one treat is pretty hard… and the nasal discharge is on one side. (It is clear, not thick or yellow.)

And then I wonder if all of this is related to the significant molt (biggest of his life – but he has no mites or skin conditions – all fur has grown back) that he is finishing up. I have brushed him daily but worried he could have still ingested enough to get a hairball. He is secured in a pen when I go to work but who knows how much hair he ingested since he loves to groom.

Going to get his appointment moved up.

People are telling me that he is an older bunny so “let him go” as in euthanasia, but when he is feeling well, he is back to binkying, digging, hopping around, and is still quite territorial! He still has quality of life, but I just need to get to the bottom of what is going on with him.

I get it that stress from his procedure + age has weakened his immune system and we are perhaps dealing with chronic pasturella, e.cuniculi, etc, but I at least would like to know.

[LBJ10]

Tooth roots can cause respiratory problems like discharge and sneezing. What happens is the tooth roots invade the sinuses and cause irritation. Stuff can build up in there and it can lead to an infection. I had a bunny like this and he was always a little snuffly. Sometimes he would need antibiotics because an infection would develop. But that underlying sneezing/snuffling was always there. He did not like certain treats, like it was uncomfortable biting down on something hard.

[HesaBadBunny]

A bit of an odd question..

What are the odds of a bunny having to have his molars trimmed and/or filed after being done just 4 months ago?

Obviously, I ensure he has a hay rich diet, but things seem to be pointing to teeth again. 😯 😡 🙁

[Bam]

Some buns do need frequent filings. Their teeth grow so very quickly 🙁 In some cases the bun needs frequent filings to get the teeth “on the right track”, then they need filing much less often. Buns with chronic  acquired dental disease (ADD) can need molar filings every 3 months for the rest of its life.

X-rays are needed to see the extent of damage in a bun that has dental disease. Tooth roots can die, abscesses can form around tooth roots, the teeth can as LBJ say grow into the sinuses and cause irritation. Skull X-rays can be hard to interpret though, esp for non-rabbit-savvy vets.

ADD tends to occur mostly in buns that have flat faces, simply because the shape of their head doesn’t allow enough room for their teeth. I had a very flat-faced little bun that ate a pile of hay the size of himself every day, but he still developped dental disease.

Buns technically can molt extra due to health problems, but my buns are molting like crazy now, and Ive bun friends whose buns also currently are in crazy molts. Vets look at fur quality in animals when they do a health check, but buns really can look quite absurd when they’re in a big  molt and still be perfectly healthy.

This could still be about sth other than teeth though. Antibiotics can have difficulty to reach into the sinuses due to swelling and inflammation of the mucosa that makes the narrow spaces even narrower. Sadly rabbits can’t have nasal spray with corticosteroids like humans can.

 

 

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