Watching Sneezing, Worried About Snuffles

[olliepop_bun]

Hi everyone, I have a 1 year old bun names louie. He has recently started sneezing, but not super frequently, maybe like once a day for the last three days. I’m definitely a worrier so I immediately looked up why a bunny would sneeze and thinking about my sweet boy having snuffles freaks me out.

He has a history with teeth problems, he has had his molars trimmed 3 times already and he’s only a year old. Fortunately after we did a more intense trim where he had to go under anesthesia, he hasn’t needed them trimmed for 6 months now. My vet and I are starting to think that when he was a baby he was given too many pellets and never ate hay, so all he needed was one intense trim to get all that baby teeth growth down and now since he eats a lot of hay he has been keeping them there. I mention all this because I read that snuffles can be related to teeth problems?

He still eats, plays, runs and he hasn’t had any nasal or eye discharge (unless crusty sleep in his eye counts?) It’s really only the one sneeze a day thing. But all these stories I’ve been reading about people that had their bunnies only sneeze and then die randomly one day has me legit terrified. I will totally take him to the vet, but more often than not when I take one of my buns to the vet before they are in an actual bad condition, the vet just doesn’t know what to do. They seem to only be useful once the bun stops eating or the condition is super obvious. It’s hard to catch things early when the vets can’t see things early.

I would also like to mention that louie is currently shedding, and I am at the bottom of my box of hay which can be dustier than normal, so I know those can cause sneezing. And one last thing I’ve noticed is snuffles can be an inner ear thing too, and louie has always been scratching his ears a bunch, I always check them and they always look clean but he keeps scratching them. That has been a thing way before the sneezing came up though.

Sorry for the long post, any advice would help! I know I could be over thinking, but I really need to know what is the smartest thing to do right now is, I feel like I’m in a weird middle ground just waiting and watching.

[Wick & Fable]

It’s definitely normal to be worried and think about the worse case scenario, and it’s good that you’re trying to figure out what is an appropriate level of concern with these issues. Too much, and you can really stress yourself and your rabbit out, and too little can be dangerous for your rabbit.

Sneezing once a day is not something I would be concerned about. The progression of an infection is typically to get worse over time. Something teeth related would typically show more signs at the eye discharge from what I’ve read through.

My rabbit who had an upper respiratory infection had sneezing fits of up to 12 sneezes in a row, once every 15 minutes. Snuffles,  which is a chronic condition, is distinct, but is just one possibility. A URI is caused by a bacteria and is treatable. My rabbit hasn’t sneezed in a worrisome way in over a year after medication when we saw his sneezing was definitely abnormal.

I would continue to monitor, but nothing sounds abnormal to me at the moment. It’s good to stay vigilant and monitor if things progress though.

 

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.

[olliepop_bun]

I forgot to mention he has developed one sore hock on one of his back feet. And I’ve read that skin sores are also a symptom of snuffles. I am really sad as tonight I was grooming him and checked his nose and he seems to have a little bit of a wet nose now. I’m very scared from all the things I’ve read about snuffles. Is it really lifelong? Can a bunny not just get it once?

Also he lives with my two other bunnies and the trio was notoriously hard to bond. So do I have to separate them if he is diagnosed? and if snuffles is highly contagious shouldn’t I just assume they need to be treated too?

I’m so overwhelmed, I am going to make his vet appointment in the morning.

[DanaNM]

I think best is to talk to the vet, I don’t necessarily think the sore hock has to be snuffles. Can you post a pic of the hock?

Don’t separate your trio. If it is snuffles, they will all have already been exposed to it anyway, and the stress of separating will make things worse. Bring all three when you go to the vet as well (sometimes when one goes away and returns it can cause issues).

My understanding of snuffles is that when rabbits have healthy immune systems they can fight the infection and may never show signs of disease. So important thing is not to panic!

This article has some great info: https://rabbit.org/pasteurella-its-health-effects-in-rabbits/

Also note that there are many other things that can cause the same symptoms, so it’s important not to immediately assume it’s snuffles.

Focus on providing all bunnies a clean environment and a healthy diet, and ask your vet when you can. It’s very easy to jump to the worst conclusion when googling (because we typically google the worst things we’ve heard of), when the actual cause may be much more mild!

 

 

 

. . . 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.  

[olliepop_bun]

Thanks for the responses they have really helped me 🙂 Louie went to the vet today, and he said he didn’t see any sign of an infection and that he didn’t think it was snuffles or any kind of bacteria problem. He checked his ears, eyes, teeth, and everything. He thinks that Louie has allergies, which does seem to line up with the extra excessive ear scratching he’s been doing lately.

He sent me home with Atarax Suspension. Have yall heard of this? I’m supposed to give Louie 1 ml of it twice a day. I gave him one dose when I got home from the vet and he’s kind of acting loopy now… He just sits in his litter box staring into the distance with his eyes kind of heavy. I don’t know anything about allergies, so I don’t know if that is normal for allergy medication. Also he still sneezed anyway after I gave it to him lol

Anyway, I am very relieved and happy that the vet didn’t see any sign of infection, but I am still waiting to see how this allergy medication works out.

Does anyone have a bun with allergies?

 

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