Pneumonia and Arthritis?

[beebun]

Hi friends!

Chito is now 7 going on 8 and his chronic respiratory issue is cropping up again. He started having milky nose discharge around last month, so we took him to the vet, did xrays and it showed pneumonia and pleural effusion which narrows his esophagus.
We got started on Azithromycin and the vet said that she added other things in the pill that would help his body pull water out of his lungs and pee it out. I added benebac to assist with his tummy. We also moved on Nebulizing him once a day with saline, gentamycin, and ventolin.

It’s been two rounds (the first round for 13 days and the second for 7 days) and he still has the URI popping breath. However, now I’m also seeing worsening stiffness, like it’s hard and painful for him to move. I changed his litter box to a low entry box, but he’s still not very interested with it. He’s also got dysbiosis from his intermittent soft poop issue. I did a bit of reading and it seems like Azithromycin tends to do that for buns? Have anyone had a similar issue? Either way, he’s got poppy butt 🙁

Along with all of this we’ve done a culture and sensitivity test but it was done with a cotton bud (without sedation) so I don’t know how deep they got. The result came back negative for bacteria, so the vets think it’s a fungal infection? I’m not sure about this result bc of the method they took. Can it still be pasturella? And we’ve just moved, so the best vet hospital that I can get to is about 90 minutes one way. It’s a teaching vet hospital that has only one person with quite a handful of experience handling rabbits.

Now it’s almost holiday time here and the exotic vet won’t be in until the third week of May. It’s impossible to reach the vet or the hospital. If anyone has an advice could you share some tips with me?

For the Nebulizing, we’re doing 0.3ml of gentamycin, 5 drops of ventolin, and add saline up to 2ml. Can i do this twice a day? Should I split the dosage, or do I keep the dosage?

For the joint stiffness, has anyone tried Sherwood Joint Supplements? How did it go for you? It’s pretty expensive over here, but I’ll get it if it’d help.

He’s still eating okay, both hay and pellets. He has Burgess Mature pellets. I tried giving him more but it only gave him more soft poops. He lost weight and is currently around 1.5kg. The vet said he’s okay in this weight, just a bit under but I think he should gain some weight bc I can feel his spine 🙁

[DanaNM]

Sorry no one has replied to this yet!

I don’t have any experience with respiratory issues, hopefully someone else can chime in on that. I know that nebulizing is usually a good way to go though.

For joints, I haven’t tried the sherwood joint tabs but do use the Oxbow joint treats. I think they help, but it’s hard to say. My buns do like them at least. I have also used Myristol, which is a newer supplement. It was designed for horses originally but they make a rabbit formula now. I did use it briefly with an elderly bun and I do think it helped her. Is he on any pain medication? A daily dose of metacam may help him a lot more than any of the supplements.

Have you been supplementing his feed at all with critical care? If he’s having trouble keeping weight on that might be a good thing to try.

Sorry I can’t be of more help with the medications or the respiratory issues. I think it would be good to see the specialist if you can, even if the drive is a bit far.

. . . 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.  

[Bam]

I’m sorry your bun is going through this. I think its unlikely they’d catch bacteria in the lungs with a cotton swab? It is however true that fungi sometimes grab the opportunity to colonise tissues when antibiotics have done their job and killed the bacteria, which is why humans often get yeast infections after a course of antibiotics.

I second Dana about the metacam. It’s well tolerated by rabbits even for long term use (I have a bun that gets metacam daily going back 18 months).

Poopy butt is inconvenient, but not a huge issue. Its pretty much par for the course when a bun is ill and under medication. Probiotics can help a bit and should be given a few hours before or after antibiotics so the antibiotics don’t kill the good bacteria.

We have one member @dface who has extensive experience with nebulization of rabbits. I don’t know if I can reach her, but I will try. Meanwhile, here is a thread about nebulization: https://binkybunny.com/forums/topic/discouraged/

[Author]

Messages