Possible URI? Concerned

[henry2809]

Hi everyone! I have a 2.5 year old male Lionhead named Mickey. Mickey is a completely indoor bunny and he is 100% free roam in my bunny-proofed bedroom. I’ve noticed over the past few days that he’s had some thin, watery discharge from his nose. Usually I would not be worried about this and would assume that it is just condensation from him breathing, but I’ve noticed him sneezing multiple times per day as well. He’s also been laying around more often. He has never had an upper respiratory infection before (knock on wood). There is no thick or colored discharge from his nose. He is eating and drinking normally and pooping normally as well. He also seems like he has normal amounts of energy (he has been binkying around as usual). When I put my head near his nose, I can hear a very slight whistling sound when he is sniffing. I’m not sure if this could just be some minor nasal irritation from dust, hay, fur, etc. or if it could be a respiratory infection or pneumonia. I am super paranoid about him developing pneumonia because I know that it is often fatal in bunnies, but I don’t want to stress him out by taking him to the vet and starting him on antibiotics if it’s unnecessary. Are the signs of pneumonia typically more severe and obvious? Should I continue to watch him over the next week or so or should I take him to the vet ASAP? Thanks in advance!

[LBJ10]

Pneumonia takes time to develop. Whistling in the nose doesn’t necessarily indicate pneumonia. It’s more of a sign of a congested upper airway (sinuses, etc.). Pneumonia would be a crackling or rattling in the chest. A vet would listen for this with a stethoscope.

If he is sneezing and you hear a whistling, then I would take him to the vet. It probably isn’t an emergency (i.e. no need to rush to an emergency vet), but sooner rather than later is a good idea. Antibiotics (assuming it is an infection) should clear things up and also prevent the infection from spreading further.

[henry2809]

Okay thank you. So you think it would be okay to wait until Monday or Tuesday? I’ve only heard him sneeze a handful of times and he’s still eating/drinking/pooping normally. Is death from a URI or pneumonia pretty rare in bunnies? I never know how to determine if his symptoms are just normal things that bunnies experience every now and then or if they could indicate something serious.

[LBJ10]

Sneezing and a nasal discharge (even if it’s clear) is something that should be checked out. Yes, a bunny can get hay dust in their nose and sneeze. But that would be an isolated incident. Sneezing multiple times and on multiple days indicates something more is going on.

Bunnies don’t just up and die from a URI. They would have to be really REALLY sick. So unless they have some kind of underlying condition, a URI isn’t going to progress that quickly. We have seen cases on the forum though where a URI was allowed to fester for a long time and that isn’t good. Treating it early is best. That being said, unless his condition worsens, you can probably wait until after the weekend.

[henry2809]

Thank you, this made me feel better. I haven’t noticed any more sneezing and he is still eating and drinking normally. There is still a small amount of watery discharge right under his nose, but it looks just like condensation from his breathing. I was becoming less concerned, but then he woke me up tonight at 1:30 am by thumping. He was in the corner of the room very alert and breathing very fast. I’m not sure if he could have heard something that scared him, but I was worried that he could have been thumping because he was having trouble breathing. I sat with him and gave him treats and he ended up playing and then hopping in his cage and eating some hay. He was just laying down and breathing quickly and I put my ear up to his nose to see if I could hear any sounds while he was breathing, but I couldn’t hear anything and it was completely quiet.  I’m not sure whether I should be concerned or not, or if I’m just reading too much into his behavior.

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