Thoughts on garlic for sick bunny?

[Apollo'sMomma]

Hey all,

So my bunny Apollo seemed to get better for a few days after fighting off a possible upper respiratory infection, and eye infection. Eyes are still a little funny (I think), but overall, he was doing better. Yesterday morning, he woke up sneezing, and he sneezed all day and he seemed tired again. I can’t figure out what is making him sneeze! So, I have been looking up herbal medicine for Rabbits, and thought garlic would probably help, although there is mixed info online. I started feeding him some dandelion leaves yesterday. Are there any other good foods for sick bunnies? And what are your thoughts on giving garlic to rabbits?

Thanks so much!

[tobyluv]

I don’t think that it would be good to give garlic to rabbits. Garlic and onions are in the same family (allium) and onions are listed as vegetables to avoid for rabbits. https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/VeggieList/tabid/144/Default.aspx

Has Apollo seen a vet? He may very likely need an antibiotic, such as Baytril. Or he may have allergies. He needs to be seen and diagnosed, then to receive the proper treatment for his condition.

[Sirius&Luna]

I also thought garlic was poisonous to bunnies, so would strongly advise against. I would speak to a vet before trying anything unconventional.

[Wick & Fable]

If it’s an upper respiratory infection, it must not all have been treated and it’s coming back. How long was Apollo on medication for? Antibiotics are required to completely treat a URI.

Do not give him garlic.

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.

[Apollo'sMomma]

Yes. He saw a vet a few weeks ago, and was put on Bactrim for 2 weeks, and was later prescribed antibiotic eye drops for 10 days. I really am starting to think it might just be a timothy hay and pellet allergy though. I stopped giving him the timothy hay and switched to orchard, oat, and a little alfalfa while he was still on the antibiotic, and that seemed to help, so then I stopped giving him timothy pellets all day, and just gave a handful in the evening. Well, the night before last, apparently my husband gave him 1/4 cup of pellets, and he was sneezing all day yesterday. I decided not to give him pellets at all last night, and today I haven’t heard 1 sneeze, and his energy is way up! I’m just looking for ideas to help with illness, because every time I think he’s doing better (like today) I feel like things are looking up, and then he wakes up the next day sneezing. And, if he does get worse again, I’m terrified to take him back to the vet, because the last time, he was so upset about the car ride/vet visit,  we ended up fighting off gi statis for 48 hours. It was awful, and I wasn’t sure he was going to make it. I just hope I don’t hear any sneezing today, as that would pretty much narrow it down to the pellet allergy, and those pellets are going in the trash!

[Bam]

There are buns that are allergic to timothy. I’d try removing all timothy from his diet and environment. Garlic is not good for rabbits, it hurts their red blood cells. Dandelion is fine though.

But if the sneezing persists, maybe you could just call the vet that saw him before and say the same symptoms have returned and could they perhaps just prescribe more antibiotics? Maybe he could get Baytril this time, it’s a more powerful antibiotic.

[jerseygirl]

Interesting about the pellets. Are they particularly dusty? Does he have any wood based litter/bedding or anything like that too? That can really exacerbate some respiratory issues.

You might like to give echinacea a try for some immune support. The flowers are rabbit safe. The herbal preparations of it are more concentrated so you’d only give a little if using it.

[Apollo'sMomma]

I am about 99.9% sure it was the timothy! I haven’t given him the pellets for 2 days, and yesterday I only heard him sneeze about 3 times, and not AT ALL today! So I think that was the source. The pellets weren’t particularly dusty. The bag was still really full, so not even at the bottom where all the crushed bits are. I think he truly just has an allergy to timothy grass. If he starts up again, I will call the vet and ask about baytril. And, Jerseygirl, I will look into echinacea. Definitely feel like I need to be doing something to boost his little immune system.

[Author]

Messages