# Treating Rabbits With Penicillin?



## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

ok so i need to ask this, has any one here got any experiance of treating rabbits with penicillin?
i know the drug in itself is highly controversial in rabbit use and can be leathal, but i have made my mind up to try it.

after loosing my beloved chocolate at the start of december due to pasturella, the vet wanted to try penacillin, but i decided to try baytril first, due to the dangers of using penicillin, the day i decided to try the penicillin, she lost her battle

one of my favorite pictures









one of the last pictures i took









today, to my horror, it looks like my darling vodka has developed this devastating, illness too, iv started her on baytril for today, and im going to get her straight to the vets in the morning to start penicillin injections, im dreading it, i could loose her no matter what i do

my beautiful vodka









so yeah, in short, does any one have any experiences with penicillin either way?


----------



## amy104 (Jan 14, 2011)

We haven't tried penicillin yet for Bluebells respitory problems but I have heard of lots of people using depocillin with good success. They key is to make sure your rabbit is on a good probiotic when on long term antibiotics to protect the gut. Baytril is normally the first thing vets try but can be pretty ineffective against respitory infections. There are alternatives you can try first if you are really worried about penicillin. So far Bluebell has had Alamycin Long Acting Injections which is an Oxytetracycline and we are now moving onto Septrin paediatric suspension which is made up of two different medicines called sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim.


----------



## srhdufe (Feb 11, 2009)

I dont have any experience with using it hun.. Just didnt want to read and run

I hope Vodka is ok hun x

Keeping my fingers crossed for you xxxxxxxxx

How beautiful is your choc bun. RIP sweetie x


----------



## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

thanks hun, i hardly slept last night, i started vodka on the penicillin today, vets were fully booked but luckily they know me, quite funny really
i rang up and spoke to someone who isnt normally in our branch, said i had a rabbit with pasturella and needed an apiontment, they were fully booked so she put me on hold, next thing meg, one of the receptionists was on the line and knew who it was before i even opened my mouth :lol: so we were squeezed in to see andy, the vet, on a nurses appointment

im just so worried, the penicillin itself could kill vodka, but if it works and cures her, its my fault that chocolate died because i said no to penicillin

chocolate was my special grumpy girl, we went through so much together from getting her as a half dead bag of bones, she was a fighter


----------



## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

sorry to hear this. Poor vodka, does the snot look green/white or is it just clear? I dont think this second cold patch can be doing our buns any good.

Is she well out of drafts? has she got a friend or a snuggle safe to keep her warm at night, or a layer of vet bed/ fleece under her hay?

I think you can also try echinacea with rabbits to boost immune function
I hope this helps Echinacea/Snuffles - Rabbits United Forum

I would defiantly get some good bacteria biolaps (i think thats what its called) to put in their water

heres also a link to a website that sells rabbit supplements 
Other Supplements.
Dr Squiggles Products


----------



## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

shes inside now, totally away from the other rabbits

she was with her 2 friend, and they had loads of straw & a shelted hutch, theres actually no mesh on their hutch, its 5ft x 3ft and has a door thats always open thats around 8" x 8" leading to a 5 x 7 run, thats 2 thirds covered 
all of my rabbits are bonded, rabbits are highly social animals and it isnt fair to keep them on their own, i have a group of 9, 2 pairs & a group of 3, at the moment

the snot shes had has been white, the pasturella isnt very advnced, yet, so shes only had a few globs of snot clogging her nose, its more a constantly damp runny nose

shes already on probiotics, Avipro Plus
she is on whats known as a stressed animal dosage, which is double the amount (1 scoop per 100ml as opposed to 1 scoop per 200ml)

she doesnt seem to be sneezing as much today, and there have been no snot globs in her nose, so fingers crossed she will be able to fight this
shes in for her second dose of penicillin tomorrow, and the 3rd and final dose is due on tuesday


----------

