Quick thread

[HareIvoryWhiskers]

So sorry about the title. But I have to type fast since my laptop is about to die. So Honeydew has been sneezing a lot. She’s also shaking her head yet she’s eating and drinking normally and even acting feisty towards the hay bag! I just took her to the vet for not eating and they couldn’t find anything wrong. My parents (dad and step-mom) don’t want to take her again so soon especially because they would have to pay for it. Yesterday I found this weird bug that was a little larger than a flea, long, thin, orangish-brownish and has like a clear “butt” end. I look away for a second to grab a toilet paper to kill it but it disappeared! I can’t find anything about it on the internet and I have no picture for it. Neither rabbit is scratching so I think the bug might be irrelevant. What should I do? Should I try to convince my parents to take her to the vet or should I just keep an eye on her?

[Bam]

I cant say what the bug is, but if you look through your buns’ fur and dont find any bugs there nor any flea droppings, and the buns arent scratching themselves, I think the bug has nothing to do with this. There are lotsof bugs around in the summer. The majority are harmless to buns and humans.

Rabbits can as you know get “bunny colds”. Does your bun sneeze out any opaque snot? That would be a strong indicator of an upper respiratory infection

For lop buns, ear infections are a real risk. The risk is significantly lower for up-ears buns (according to a recent survey, over 60% of unsymptomatic lops was found to have some form of ear infection, compared to like 5% of up-eared buns. The rabbits that were part of the study wasnt at the vet bc of suspected ear problems).

It is very difficult when you have to ask your parents for vet money. I’d say keep keeping a close eye on apoetite, poop and general behaviour for now. What you describe could indicate a bunny cold, but it could also be “nothing”, like irritated nasal mucosa from exposure to hay dust.

 

[HareIvoryWhiskers]

So sorry for the late reply. I haven’t seen any snot or discharge nor anything on her paws. She isn’t a lop and her ears aren’t down as of yet. As for the bug I tried to find more but I didn’t. Though they didn’t let me look very well or comb them to find out.

[LBJ10]

There are different kinds of fleas. Perhaps this was a flea, just not what you’re used to seeing? Did you look closely in her fur for signs of fleas like flea dirt and flaky skin? IF it is fleas, then you can treat relatively inexpensively with Revolution or Advantage. Just remember not to use anything with fipronil in it on a rabbit.

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