Sneezing bunny:’(

[EveTheBunny]

I’m a new rabbit owner and have been with my bunny for about 3 months now (she’s going to 5 months).
This isn’t the first time it’s happening but I thought that it was normal in the beginning as apart from sneezing, she was completely fine. No runny nose or milky eyes. She’s just been really healthy, eating well and very hyper and healthy, which she still is.
However, the sneezing still bothers me as it’s always happening at the same place, her food bowl, where her pellets and hayrack are pretty much in the same area and hence I’m not sure what causes her sneezing. I know it should be one or the other but because I’m unsure which is causing the sneezing, I’m unable to make changes for her:’(
I’ve been trying to check her nose for any signs of mucus but there isn’t any green/yellow mucus although her nosebleed is usually moist. She does have a little bit of white patch near her nose area but it doesn’t look wet so I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be there or not.
I’m thinking of switching out her current hay with a different brand slowly as this batch finishes but I’m not sure if it’ll help. I haven’t brought her to a vet yet because I haven’t noticed any signs of her being ill (maybe the white patch is a sign but I’m not very sure, I’m sorry…). Would it be wise for me to wait for her steralisation in April to ask the vet about it or should this be consulted about now..?:’)
Please help!! Thank you so much!!

[Nutmeg]

I notice my hay sometimes has a bit of a “dust” to it sometimes from the smaller pieces and one time when my bunny shoved his nose right into it trying to get “just the right piece” of hay to eat he ended up shaking his head and sneezing lol.

I have also noticed that sometimes with the pellets there can be a bit of a fine powder too that comes up from the bottom of the bag… which if any of that / or from the hay, gets in their nose it can make them sneeze.

And I have also heard that being said, bunny’s can have allergies too and she may be allergic to the current hay. What kind of hay is it? Timothy? I know I even get sneezy around timothy hay.

I would suggest two things;

1. get a water spray bottle and put it on the mist setting (you can get them from the dollar store) and just light spray her hay before you put it in the hayrack – Don’t spray the hay in the bag, just lightly spray what you take out to put in the rack. This will help keep the powdery stuff down.
You can even try that on her actual food as well. But maybe try one first to help figure out which one it is.

2. Yes, she could be allergic to the type of hay and you could try switching to a different kind.

If non of that makes any difference than yes, I would advise at least calling your vet to see about maybe getting her in earlier. A rabbit being sick isn’t too be taken lightly. But if its any of the above you may see a difference really quickly if its one of those.

Sending good vibes your bunnies way!

[Levilovescelery]

yeah nutmeg that’s what I was thinking, dust from the hay or food.If you have her in a cage with bedding if you use wood chips it can cause some issues like that,i’m sure some other beddings can to.I was told to use paper so the dust won’t bother my bunnies breathing when the vet told me he has a respiratory infection.I’ve also heard of some bunnies having allergies to certain beddings.Maybe it could be an allergy to a food or hay somehow.I’d say the bedding or dust from food or hay is the most likely though

[EveTheBunny]

Thank you so much!!

I think I’ll be trying the water spray method later today hopefully it’s just the dust X)

I don’t think it’s because of allergies as she’s been having Timothy ever since she started eating hay but if the spray doesn’t work maybe I’ll try to change hay type too.

As for bedding, we keep her in a cage only when we aren’t around so there isn’t any bedding apart from the breederselect yesterday’s news in her pee tray. Could that be a factor too..?

Thank you so much for your responses!!

[Heaven]

Hi EveTheBunny!

I had exactly the same issue as you with my rabbit Sam. He was sneezing fairly frequently, so I switched his hay from timothy to oat (and also gave him a small daily dose of Metacam from the vets as an anti-inflammatory). It really helped him! So I would definitely recommend trying a different type of hay for her.

I think bedding is less likely to be a factor, though some types of litter can be dusty… I don’t have personal experience with Yesterday’s News but I use the UK brand Bio Catolet which is also the paper pellet type and he’s been fine with it.

To be on the safe side, you could try taking everything out of the food area, vacuuming & cleaning with dilute vinegar (her cage, food bowl & water bowl) to get rid of any remaining allergens, then trying a new type of hay. I’d recommend not transitioning slowly since it will be harder to tell what’s causing the sneezing.

My rabbit loves oat and orchard hays, so you could purchase small bags of each and try her to see which she likes before buying a bigger bag

Hope this helped!

[EveTheBunny]

Hi Heaven!

Thank you so much! I’m currently trying to water down the hay she’s eating currently and it seems to be working..? But we will be sending her to the vet’s asap to check what’s really going on and I think I’ll try switching her hay if the vet thinks that would be better for her too

Thank you so much!! X) your response really helped especially with the advice on cleaning and how to switch the hay X) thank you

[Heaven]

No problem, glad I helped feel free to DM me with any more questions as I’ve recently gone through/going through a very similar situation.

And let us know what the vet says! <3

[Levilovescelery]

good luck with your bunny, hope you figure it out

[Author]

Messages