Runny nose

[Sr. Melangell]

Hi Guys.

First of all, we hope you all don’t have a delicate tummy, or you are eating.

Its Olly here, the human doctor for animals says I have allergies, I sneeze then my nose is covered in nose dirt, Mummy gets a tissue for me, but by the time she has done that I have eaten the nose dirt, Mummy understands its important for a big boy like me to keep clean, but Mummy is worried, she says that humans don’t eat their nose dirt (Apart from dirty little boys, she says they poke their noses in playgrounds etc etc) Mummy said that humans don’t  eat nose dirt or snort to make it go down the throat into the human tummy because too much and a human can vomit, us bunnies we don’t vomit, but mummy is worried that too much of this nose dirt and it could make me ill, it happens once every 2 days, the mega sneeze and then runs down towards my mouth, is it OK to clean my own nose? Is it just a dirty habit I’ve picked up? When we had visitors the other day, people who help Mummy because she can’t see very well, her support worker is blind, but the other man saw what I did and said. “You are a proper little boy Olly.” and laughed, the blind man obviously didn’t see what I did and when his friend told him he said. “Yes I used to breed rabbits before I went blind, not to worry, he’s just cleaning himself.” Then told Mummy I’d be fine, but Mummy said that humans sneeze, vomit or something else because the body is getting rid of germs, she worries that I might be putting germs back in my tummy.

[Wick & Fable]

Wick would lick his nasal discharge away a lot and he was fine while fighting his upper respiratory infection. I am concerned that you aren’t sneezing constantly, but rather snorting the discharge in, which is odd.

Has anything changed which would give you allergies?

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.

[Sr. Melangell]

Wick, sorry I didn’t make it clear, its humans that snort not bunnies, I had problems typing, I’m visually impaired, Olly doesn’t snort.

[Sr. Melangell]

We hope Wick is well now

[Wick & Fable]

After 3mo of treatment, he is all well now thanks

Olly licking the nose run-off is normal; he’ll do that since it’s a part of the grooming process for rabbits and it’s just an easy thing to do. You can help out when you can, if it’s too big of a mess for him to clean up. It’s perfectly normal and fine.

If you started a new bag of hay recently, or have gotten to a dusty portion of a bag, that may be setting it off. If you’ve switched brands, this can set-off allergies too, as different brands will grow their hay in different outdoor environments, so the hay will carry different pollen and dust.

I would continue to monitor. If Olly’s runny nose discharge goes from clear to white, it is most likely a respiratory infection, in which case you’ll want to visit an exotic vet to get antibiotics to treat it. Another sign will be an increase in sneezing frequency, despite all other variables being constant.

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 agree with Wick. He’s just cleaning himself. Only really sick rabbits won’t clean themselves. If he gets wet cheeks and matted cheek fur, he could need help with that, constantly wet skin can be an open invitation to fungus and bacteria.

I don’t think swallowing his own snot will harm him, any germs will be killed by the stomach acid.

[Bam]

I agree with Wick. He’s just cleaning himself. Only really sick rabbits won’t clean themselves. If he gets wet cheeks and matted cheek fur, he could need help with that, constantly wet skin can be an open invitation to fungus and bacteria.

I don’t think swallowing his own snot will harm him, any germs will be killed by the stomach acid.

[Author]

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