Pine pellets and sneezing?

[whispercalm]

Has anyone whose used wood pine pellets for litter had any issues with it causing sneezing in their bunny?

Charlie was on antibiotics (long story and I have posted in past about her respiratory issue) for 9 months straight before her sneezing and nasal discharge stopped.  She’s been off of antibiotics for about 6 months now and doing well. She occasionally has a sneeze here and there, but nothing that concerns me.

I was using pine pellets for her litter when we first got her, but our vet had us switch to Yesterdays News when her URI symptoms started. She was only on the pine pellets a few weeks before the switch, and since we did many, many months of antibiotics after the switch to Yesterdays News, I would think if it was pine causing the issue it would have stopped long before when we made the switch.

However, the reason I’m asking is since I can no longer  get Yesterdays News, I purchased a bag of TSC pine pellets yesterday for her. Mixed some in with some of YesterdaysNews I had left in her litterbox. Today she has done a bit of sneezing. Nothing terrible. Just a sneeze this afternoon, and a rougher more rattle sneeze tonight when she left her litter box. Like I said, she does occasionally still sneeze and I’m probably worried for nothing. Just has me wondering since I made the litter change late yesterday and I noticed the two sneezes today.

I used pine pellets for years with another bunny with no problem, and I’d like to use them with Charlie since they are so much less expensive. I would have kept her in the Yesterdays News though.

 

 

[DanaNM]

Hmmm I haven’t heard of this, but I suppose it’s possible. Maybe you could take them away and use just hay in the litter box and see if the sneezing goes away?

. . . 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.  

[whispercalm]

Well, she was doing some light sneezing again earlytoday, so we did remove the pine pellets from her litter box and also the bag which was stored in a wicker trunk in the den where she sleeps at night. Same set up as my previous bunny had for years using the pine pellets. I have a small amount of Yesterdays News left, so am using that. I ordered some of Oxbows eco litter which should be here Saturday.
Tonight has been a different story…Charlie has had some terrible sneezing fits this evening. Multiple strong sneezing with that rough sound from her sinuses. I haven’t heard this in months. We changed the litter box out about 5 hours ago…but the bad sneezing has been after that.

I am suspicious about the pine pellets setting this off. I added the pine pellets late Tuesday afternoon and this started Wednesday. Removed pellets today… Thursday. Otherwise it means her old URI is raising its head again or the pine pellets have triggered her old infection to come back.

[DanaNM]

If the sneezing got worse when you removed the pellets then I’m guessing the pellets are just a coincidence and it’s the URI, unfortunately. 🙁

. . . 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.  

[whispercalm]

I called our vet yesterday and we have started her on some Baytril to be safe. He said it’s possible the pine pellets irritated her, but again we can’t be sure. She is doing much better today.

This bag of pine pellets from TSC had a very powerful pine smell when I opened the bag. Much stronger than the brand I had been getting from a feed store for our previous bunny. I thought it was unusually powerful, but so many people are using the TSC brand.  The Tampa. Any rabbit rescue also uses this brand.  Maybe there was something wrong in the processing of this batch.

[DanaNM]

It could have been a weird batch for sure!

. . . 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]

It has been awhile, but was she checked for chronic sinus problems like tooth roots or another obstruction (abnormal shape to the cavity, etc.)? The reason I’m asking again is because this sounds all too familiar. I had a bunny with chronic sinus issues (tooth roots). He was sensitive to strong smells, hay dust, etc and he would sneeze whenever something bothered him. His sinuses were prone to having gunk build up and, after awhile, it would become a breeding ground for bacteria. He would be put on antibiotics, it would clear things up, and then the cycle would repeat itself.

Anyway, it is possible that the pine pellets triggered the sneezing episode. But you would think that the sneezing would get better once they have been gone for a little while.

[whispercalm]

Because she was so very young when this started originally, our vets didn’t think it was necessary to do scams of her sinuses and teeth. We did discuss this later but cost ruled it out for us, plus we would have to travel a distance with her. At the time our vet was going to check on cost and a facility, Charlie pretty much finally stopped after close to a year of sneezing and discharge. We’ve gone a wonderful 6 months until this new episode.

I really do think the pine pellets had a major role in this new episode and got her all inflamed and irritated inside again,encouraging growth of bacteria. This bag was just so overpowering strong in its pine smell.

She is doing better on Baytril. She’s on day 12 now and last night she did sneezed about 7 times but they were light sneezes. Not the ripping out her sinuses sneezes. I think we will probably extend the Baytril again for awhile.

 

[HannahOvergaard]

I recently switched to another brand (with pine), and one of my rabbits is starting to sneeze as well 🧐… (Just a hypothesis) maybe it’s all the dust it brings with it?

 

[whispercalm]

These were dustier than the brand I used for our previous bunny and so much more potent in the smell. It actually made my eyes water when I opened the bag. I went ahead and tried it since it’s the same brand the Tampa Bay Rabbit Rescue uses and many people here. I truly think there was something wrong with this batch as I’m sure it’s not the norm for them to smell so strongly.

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