# Runny nose and sometimes sneezing



## littlepixiez (Aug 3, 2013)

Hi everyone!

I have a 5 1/2 month old blue eyed white dwarf lop rabbit called Shiro. He's been castrated and is lively, lives indoors and is a sweet, human-social bunny who I love dearly.

I am in need of some advice. About two months ago I took him to the vet as he has had a wet nose, and would sneeze very rarely. The vet said not to worry as he was happy in himself, and to come back if the symptoms worsened. He also said it would be fine to castrate him if the symptoms did not worsen.

So, I had him castrated two weeks later and he recovered fine.

Within the last two weeks, he has sneezed a few times (not many times at all though) and still has his wet nose, which hasn't improved since the start. I took him back to the vet as he was sneezing more, who put him on Baytril 1.3ml syringe daily for 7 days, and said we'd swab him if it didn't improve.

I went to the vet on Thursday after 7 days who said that as the antibiotics aren't working it probably won't be bacterial but could be viral instead, so there's no point in doing a swab. So now I'm really confused. Is 7 days enough on anti-biotics? She said I could use the rest up if I wanted but there would be no point.

So, do I use up the rest of the Baytril just in case? Should I be worried about him? She said they get over viral things on their own and that I should go back in a few weeks if his nose is still runny. Of course it will be runny, it's been like this for two months and they can't help me!

What should I do? He sneezed once yesterday and the day before (so it is infrequent) but when he runs around you can tell he's stuffed up as his breathing sounds all snotty sometimes...

 Any advice would be appreciated... or any similar experiences. Could this be the hot weather, or hay fever? His poops, drinking and personality is all normal...

Thanks!


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## Funky (Dec 8, 2012)

Our bunnies were sneezing and have been on baytril on dose to clear pasturella just in case! We have given them antibiotic twice a day for 10 days!
One of them have had swab (he just sneezed at vet an had discharge) results came and nothing has been shown! They said they will dig deeper in lab but we have heard nothing.
We think is environmental reason for ours sneezing!
If I were you I would demand swab to make sure is not something nasty as baytril is not strong enough in some cases.


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## littlepixiez (Aug 3, 2013)

Runny nose and sometimes sneezing
Thankyou for your reply! I hope your buns are okay, I suppose if there are no results then it must be environmental? Bless them. Is it clear discharge? Shiro's is clear and his paws aren't matted or anything...

I feel like I should finish the Baytril off, as I've heard so many people say they've been given longer treatments of it and the vet said it won't do any harm, and then I will take him back to the vet and get a swab done. I'll aim to see the same vet from now on, I hate being given different information as now I will pay them another consultancy fee just because the other vet discouraged me from doing the swab. I don't mind paying the money, but £30 for a consultation and £40 for a swab adds up if the vets don't actually tell you what to do! 

Thanks so much for replying. It puts my mind a bit at rest knowing other rabbits have it and are okay, I just worry so much about the little man and feel guilty for giving him these icky tasting meds... :|

Your animals are beautiful <3


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

Could there by something you use in the house that he may have an allergy to? Like carpet freshener for example?

A heard of a dog with a skin allergy which was eventually put down to Shake & Vac


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

to be honest, your vet doesnt sound rabbit savy at all, baytril should be give twice a day (12hours apart) and any course of antibiotics should be over 10 - 14 days, im also not convinced the amount you are giving is right, how much does your rabbit weigh?

i would get the tests done as it could be pasturella, which isnt really responsive to baytril (responds better to septrin) 
it could just simply be an allergy to something in your house, in which case you need to try find what it is and eliminate it. do you use any airfresherners or anything in the rooms he has acses to?


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## jemma_79 (Nov 1, 2009)

I have recently posted on here about Dusty my bunny who did a sneeze/cough and had discharge. She's done it once since - sneeze/cough but with no discharge. We think it's odd and worrying. She eats and acts fine.


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

littlepixiez said:


> Hi everyone!
> 
> I have a 5 1/2 month old blue eyed white dwarf lop rabbit called Shiro. He's been castrated and is lively, lives indoors and is a sweet, human-social bunny who I love dearly.
> 
> ...


I am afraid that , like Lilmiss says, you don't have a rabbit savvy vet there.

Baytril is a basic antibiotic, but there are many others. A longer course would have been reasonable. Then swabs. That would show up what infection, and tell a good vet what antibiotics were necessary.

It could be serious, it could be less so. It could be an infection, it could be something else.

You really need a better vet - some are great with cats and dogs, but know very little about rabbits. They are highly specialist.

Perhaps ask on here for a good vet in your area.


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## sskmick (Feb 4, 2008)

I can't add anything of much value as touch wood I haven't encountered this problem with my two.

This is just a thought it could be an allergic reaction to something. Perhaps that is what is meant by other posters when they are referring to the environment.

My little girl had a severe infection after being spayed she was on 3ml once a day of Baytril, a totally different problem so the amount and times per day will no doubt vary.

I do wish there was a sticky thread where members can add rabbit savvy veterinary practices in the UK. I wouldn't have had a clue where to take my two if it hadn't been for Bernie.


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## littlepixiez (Aug 3, 2013)

Hi everybody, thanks for replying!

Lurcherlad, I'm not entirely sure. I'm trying to do process of elimination really, trying to think what I've changed back then... I've stopped using the pet disinfectant spray I bought, so will just keep going I think to see if that works..!

Lil Miss, that really concerns me, as I've read similar things on forums. She prescribed 1.3ml once daily for a week by syringe and that I could mix it with some blackcurrant to sweeten the taste. When I went to the vet he weighed 1.75kg so I don't know if that sounds right? When I went back on Thursday he'd gained weight, he's now 2.08, but the vet didn't seem concerned?! 

Jemma, it is concerning isn't it.  Shiro's been like this for so long, and he's sneezing more now which is unusual. I wish the vet would just figure it out. Have you been to the vet? I'll look for your post now!

Summersky, I think I will go back to them and get a swab done. I'm just so annoyed that they discouraged me in the first place, as I would have got it done! Maybe the inconvenience?! Who knows. It's driving me mad not knowing so I'd like to just know.

I live in North Somerset, so if anybody knows of any rabbit specialists around here please tell me, I have searched online but can't seem to find any?

sskmick, I'm not sure. I just can't think of what it could be, I've been picking at my brain trying to figure out what it could be . I will keep eliminating certain things, but it's so hard to know! Thanks for the information, there really should be a sticky thread... I have no idea..!

Thank you everybody so much! <3


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

assuming your using the 2.5% oral solution, 1.3ml would be the right dossage for a 3.25kg bun on 10mg a day (lower end of the scale for less severe infections, can give up to 20mg for more advanced/serious cases, but that should be that dossage given twice a day. so as your vet has had you giving it only once a day, split that down 3.25/2 = 1.625 means youve been giving him enough medicine for a 1.625kg rabbit, but not in the right way, and as at his lowest he was above that any way, he simply hasnt been reciving enough medicine, bare in mind that baytril is only active in the body for 12 hours too.

i really would look for a different vet and get nasal cultures done

depending on how much baytril you have left i could tell you a different dosage to try in the mean time, but a rabbit savy vet is your best option


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## littlepixiez (Aug 3, 2013)

Thankyou lil Miss, you seem to know your stuff and have been very helpful!

Hm, that's very concerning. It really worries me as the first vet I saw (the one who did the dosage) seemed to know what she was doing... Urf.

I think I'm going to need to speak to them about my concerns, they're one of the better vets around here and living in the middle of nowhere there are a lot of farm animal specialists rather then small animal, but I'll keep hunting.

What dosage do you think he should be on? I mean the vet said to just keep giving it to him and not to worry, she didn't even think about the weight gain... I will definitely demand a swab. Do swabs usually cost £40-45?!

Thank you!


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## littlepixiez (Aug 3, 2013)

Hi there lil Miss, I thought I posted a reply yesterday but it must not have gone through!

The vet I go to is one of the better ones around here unfortunately, a lot of them are farm vets as we're in the middle of no where! But I will keep searching and ask around and hopefully I'll find a rabbit specialist...

What dosage do you think he should be on? You've been so helpful, thank you very much!  xx


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

i would prefer to send you the dossage in a pm as i would rather people not read it and decide to self medicate, but you dont have enough posts yet for me to PM you and i cant remember how many you need to have before you can use the PM function, do you have an email i can contact you on?


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## littlepixiez (Aug 3, 2013)

Oh sorry I posted twice  Didn't realise it started a new page...

Well I rang the vet earlier and a vet rang me back to give me a third opinion. He said that the vet said not to do a swab was because the Baytril would give inconsistent results back, so that I should wait for a week and stop giving him Baytril so they can do a swab and it should then give me more reliable results??

I don't really want to post my e-mail on here just in case a spam machine picks it up  But when I do more posts I would like to know your opinion?

Thank you so much lil miss.


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## littlepixiez (Aug 3, 2013)

Just to give an update on Shiro... He's been checked over numerous times, and his teeth are fine, everything's fine as far as the vet's concerned... He had a swab done, and the results came back with no bacteria, however there was a presence of yeast? And they said I could treat it but it would be fairly experimental as one time is a topical cream which would be difficult for the inside of the nose, another type is a medication with horrible liver side effects and the third has never been tried on rabbits?!?!

The vet said the yeast could be due to the antibiotics killing off all the good bacteria so I'm a bit confused on what to do now, they said to monitor him basically and see if when the seasons change he improves..

In turns of boosting his immunity back up after the yeast issue, I was thinking about giving him some echinacea. Has anyone used this before? Does anyone know a good dosage to give a bunny? He weighs about 2 kilos....! :/

I also noticed his mouth was a bit wet earlier too... he also has a dirty chin by his glands, the vet cleaned it and said it all looks okay. Hmm....


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## littlepixiez (Aug 3, 2013)

Shiro all sleeepy....


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