I don’t know all of the info on Ziggy’s case. But I do work at a vet clinic and and familiar with treating allergies for dogs and cats.
I am not sure there is reliable testing for allergies for rabbits. There are 2 ways that I see allergy testing done- the 1st way is a blood draw that is sent to a lab and the blood is analyzed. I can’t explain exactly what they look for- but I am not sure this would be considered a great option for a rabbit-as I assume they would not have reliable data to support testing rabbit blood. The second way is that they sedate the pet- and then shave an area on the pets side- usually square or rectangle. With Sharpie marker a dot grid is marked out on the side- how big depends on what allergies they are testing for- how many “dots” they need- plus the control tests. Then as a timed test- a measured amount of allergen is injected at the designated “dot”/spot- each allergen and then controls having a different spot. After the time elaspsed- the reaction is measured- with a plastic rule type thing that show how big the “injection spots” are. The bigger the reaction in the spot- the higher the allergen injected ranks.
With that being said- in alot of cases to get a pets allergies under control- a serum is developed just like for humans- we basically inject them with what they are allergic to to try to develop immunity. So if allergy serum therapy is determined to be beneficial- injections are started on a – decreasing schedule- once every 3 days, once a week, every other week, etc- to try to get to a maintanece point where injections can be given about every 3-4 weeks.
I am speaking mainly from a cat and dog point of view and applying it to my understanding of rabbits. The advantage for doing any tests even if you are not going to pursue an allergy serum type treatment- is that at least you might get a good idea WHAT the pet is allergic to. But is is expensive to test for allergies- and ALL things are not tested for. And I wonder if bunnies would have things that we put in their environment that are not being tested for- for example dogs and cats are not exposed to the beddings and hays and even probably ingredients in the food pellets like rabbits are. For example- my dog is around the rabbit cage- but not as close to have as much direct contact for as long periods as time with the hay or bedding.
In my personal opinion- I am not sure I consider rabbits a good canidate for either testing- the first- 3 mls of serum needs to be sent to the lab- so it would be a fairly good sized blood draw. And the second testing- unless this has been done alot on rabbits I would be afraid of sedating and injecting allergens into the bunny- multiple foreign “procedures” to the body. And unless I was 100% convinced that Rabbit medicine has evolved to where Dog and Cat medicine is- I would not want to do it.
Alot of cats and dogs are allergic to house dust mites and mold- this does not mean the house is “dirty” or not clean in any way- it just means the pet is sensitive to common things in the house environment. And there are things that you can do for this that do not involve treating the pet directly. I will look up and see if I can find the info online or I will bring some of our hand outs home from work.
I strongly agree with stearing clear of the spray air freshners- in fact if you live in a small house or apartment it might be best not to use them at all. This can only irritate the pets skin- it may do nothing- but it will never help. Air cleaners such as ones that use a HEPA filter or the ionic filters I believe can be used. I am going to dig up some more info on these.
There are other medications other than allergy serums. They mainly treat the sypmtoms- not the cause- but for a pet to have a good quality fo life- if this works- that is great. One options is steroids- not a great option to use and can have side effects/long term effects. The second is antihistamines- in cats and dogs there are typically no side effects- other than sometimes drowsiness at first. And they may or may not work. But are generally a pretty safe option. Disadvantage is medicating the pet probably 2-3 times a day. BUT there are compounding pharmacies out there that can make liquid medicines in a flavored “sweet” syrup- and you may be able to find something that works that your bunny likes. It is more expensive to have a medicine made like this as opposed to buying pre-made pills- but that depends on the specific medication- and it may be a med that is made for children that is over the counter or in stock pharmacy stuff (Wal-greens, etc).
I would talk to your vet and get some more info- do they suspect allergies- do they suspect contact allergies? Do they think an antihistamine might help? Is allergy testing realistic in Ziggy’s case? Do they have any suggestions if it in an environemental allergy? They may not be able to answer any of these questions- as it sounds like Ziggy’s problem is a bit of a mystery.
Can you give me some more info to think over? What food is Ziggy on? bedding? etc?
Do you feel your vet is a very knowledgeable rabbit vet? Or is he/she a good vet that treats rabbits also? There are good resources out there for vets to consult on-line with other vets that are EXPERTS in their areas- oncology, opth, cardiology, exotics, etc (this service is typically an annual fee to use the message boards). Some vets are used to doing things one way and are reluctant to change and “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” But there are others like my vet that researched and learned about timothy based diets, deworming protocols, etc. They are not relying on books the read in vet school X many years ago.
Sorry for the long post- and I want to say again- that I am a vet assistant- and this is my personal experience- and in no way am I trying to detract from what your vet might suggest to give Ziggy a good quality of life. I am relying on my experience with help my vet counsel clients with allergy cats and dogs.
Julie
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