Pasturella

[T.Bunny]

 Hi there

I have just recentely learned that my bunnies have pasturella. thankfully it has not developed into snuffles but I was wondering if any of you have a bunny that suffers from outbreaks  of this and how you deal with the day to day caring of bunnies with pasturella. I unerstand that most bunnies ( and cows sheep etc) are carries of the bacteria but I was wondering if any of ye would have any information on this and its effects on rabbits. Any help, links or references would be very much appreciated.

 

[Monkeybun]

Snuffles isn’t an accurate term, its kind of a generalization of an Upper respiratory infection. Which can be curable.

That said, pasturella can be controlled nicely, with infrequent relapses if the treatment is kept up

[Sarita]

Ditto what Monkeybun said – if your vet is calling anything snuffles, I would question that – it’s not an accurate term at all but describes some symptoms.

That being said, did your vet do a culture? Not all URI’s are pasturella.

It is controllable with a stress free and clean environment. When your rabbit has symptoms, it can be controlled with antibiotics and also nebulizing can help as well.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a rabbit who had been diagnosed with pasturella but the culture also showed a form of pseudomonas and we controlled it with the above. I wouldn’t be too alarmed about it, it’s not uncommon and is controllable.

[T.Bunny]

Thank you

yes we did do a culture on Ninja but I have also read (just internet sources) that almost all buns will test positive for pasturella from a nose swab.

The trouble in Ireland is that rabbits are still seen as an exotic species so some vets know next to nothing and we thankfully do have a good vet clinic nearby in comparison to what we would have in my hometown.

The really good thing is neither bunny are showing signs of a bad infection other than a small amount of white wet discharge from the nose and very little sneezing. Both buns are now on a 3 week treatment of baytril to get it under control.

Their cage is kept clean (cleaned morning and nighttime) and we switched to using carefresh bedding instead of straw/hay. The only problem is that we live in the city center so the buns cannot be outdoors a lot.

The main problem with us now is that we cannot board our buns if we need to go away for any length of time as we were told that once a bun has been tested positive for pasturella that they will be carriers for life. is this true?

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m sorry to hear that your bunnies have pasteurella but many bunnies live long, happy lives with Pasteurella.

I have also read (just internet sources) that almost all buns will test positive for pasturella from a nose swab.

Not sure how true that is but I had my bun Olivia tested and it was negative.

we were told that once a bun has been tested positive for pasturella that they will be carriers for life. is this true?

I believe that is true as there is no cure for Pasteurella. Even when they are not showing symptoms they can still infect other bunnies.

[Beka27]

I thought I read 1 in 4 bunnies test positive for pasteurella, but I could be confusing that with something else.

In terms of boarding, you might have the option of boarding at a vet’s office where they could be separated from other animals, and the space cleaned effectively afterwards. BUT… since change of environment is stressful… and stress can trigger illness… I would be more inclined to have a pet-sitter or trusted neighbor come to your home if you went away and feed/water once a day. The fewer changes, the better.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Ditto Beka-I would opt for least stress options like a pet sitter or friend who can watch them at home.
I also agree-I think most bunnies would test positve but not have acute illness. Keep us posted on how the treatment goes. Are you travelling soon or just worrying for the future?
{{Vibes}}

[T.Bunny]

Kokaneeandkahlua I agree with the lest amount of stress in their lives the better.

When Ninja started showing signs of it, it was the day of a wedding were we were suppose to travel at 5pm. He started showing symptoms as I was dropping him off to the sitter. We sat with them for an hour and decided that he needed to go to the vet as in that hour he had a few sneezing fits and discharge. This was at 12 noon. Rang our vet she was great told me to get there as soon as I could with both buns. She ran a culture and gave me Baytril initially. Ran home, rang the pet sitter and as there were lots of bunnies there with her she offered to come down and look after the buns over the 2 days we were gone. This was great but in the future we can’t ask her to do this as it is really far out of her way.

I was with the vet yesterday and she said it was a good sign that the Baytril worked so quickly. Within 2 /3 days neither bun had any symptoms. Now we still have a few weeks to go with the treatment but she said that if it worked so quickly its most likely going to be an asymtematic infection, as in the buns are carriers but are not in any other way ill.

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