Sneezy bunny

[Willow_Bunny]

I know there has already been a topic named this so I apologize in advance but I did not want to hijack the original posters topic/question. Anyway, onto my own unique circumstances.

I’ve had Willow for three days (since Thursday) and, upon purchase she was perfect. Now, since having her, I’ve come to realize my error in the choice of bedding. Mistakingly I chose pine, but have replaced it. She had only been exposed to it for a max of two days and I have complete cleaned her cage to be rid of all remnants of it (scrubbed every surface of her cage with soap and water). But I’ve noticed that she’s a bit sneezy and has been since the first day. Should I be worried? She has no other symptoms of being sick and eats, drinks, and potties regularly. As I type she’s even binkying (quite unsuccessfully inside her cage, might I add). Could it be the pine shavings still effecting her or is it the hay? Should I even be worrying if she’s acting so completely healthy?

Thanks

Kelsey & Willow

[BunnyBrigade]

If you’re worried it’s always a good idea to take her to a rabbit savvy vet. It, also, doesn’t hurt to become established with a vet. It may or may not be the bedding. It may be the hay if it dusty. It really just depends. But since you just got your bunny, it wouldn’t hurt to get her a wellness check any way.

[Willow_Bunny]

I am planning to take her to the vet with my next paycheck. I’m mostly worried about having exposed her to pine shavings. They’re gone now but since she is my first Bun I’m probably being over protective of her. Either way, she’s acting normally and is very happy-go-lucky. So long as she is pooping and eating well I’ll try not to worry too much while we wait for vet funds.

[BunnyBrigade]

I did the same mistake when I got Skipper, my first bun. I would think that having her exposed to Pine Shavings for two days wouldn’t be much of an issue. If you got her from a pet store, it may be that she had picked up something from where ever they got the buns from.

[Willow_Bunny]

(triple post)

[Willow_Bunny]

(Triple post)

[Willow_Bunny]

I’m just worried because, overall, she appears to be healthy but the more I read the more I worry about snuffles. She doesn’t have any of the other symptoms (discharge from her eyes and nose) and isn’t acting sick. Is there anything I can try to help the sneezing? I also work with horses and for a while we had to soak their hay because it was too dusty. Should I try that? Could it be stress related (i.e new smells + new environment)?

[LBJ10]

My vet says to mist the hay to cut down on dust. You don’t want it too wet because it might get moldy. Just spritz what you’re putting out.

The sneezing could be a number of things. I don’t think it’s the pine shavings though. Since you are taking her to the vet when you get paid, I don’t think you really need to worry. It doesn’t sound like an emergency.

[LongEaredLions]

You can try different hays as well to see if any have lover dust levels.
I don’t think the pine shavings could have affected her in two days, if you got her from a pet store she was likely housed on pine anyway.

[Willow_Bunny]

Thanks so much for the reassurance. I feel much better now. I’ll definitely try and mist down her hay and see if that helps (I know it did with the horses). I’m just hoping that it’s a mixture of new smells, new food (I read that sometimes that can cause a bun to start sneezing even), and hay. If misting down doesn’t help I’ll try a different kind. Right now she’s munching Timothy, what other types would be better/less dusty? I’m not sure of what hays are good for buns. Also I did notice that, when I cleaned her cage after the pine shavings fiasco, that there was a lot of dust lingering at the bottom. I cleaned it up the best that I could but perhaps that is a factor too. Who knows. Sometimes I wish she could just tell me what is wrong so I could fix it!

Thanks

Kelsey & Willow

[LBJ10]

Orchard grass is supposed to be low-dust. Oat hay isn’t bad either. My rabbits will eat both.

[Willow_Bunny]

Thanks! I’ll try both of those and see which she prefers. Already she doesn’t seem too fond of the Timothy hay, though she does eat it like a good bun.

[Willow_Bunny]

Thanks! I’ll try both of those and see which she prefers. Already she doesn’t seem too fond of the Timothy hay, though she does eat it like a good bun.

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