# Bunny won't stop sneezing - it's not snuffles



## AmberWA

Hi
I bought my baby rabbit home a few weeks ago, as soon as I got her home she pretty much started sneezing straight away. She wasn't sneezing at the breeders, I had visited her at the breeders 3 times before I bought her home and did not once hear her sneeze or any of the other rabbits there sneeze.
I took the carefresh litter and hay out of her cage thinking she might be allergic, even though she had hay in her cage at the breeders. I took her to the vet, he put her on baytril, an anti biotic, and gave her an injection for allergies.
That didn't help - she kept sneezing, I'm talking attacks of sneezing where I have counted 619 sneezes in a row :frown:!
A week later I took her to another vet, a rabbit specialist this time, the vet flushed fluid through her tear ducts, which were fine. She put her on anti biotics - bactrum this time and prescribed an anti imflammatory liquid as well. She thoroughly checked her teeth and ears which were fine. There was nothing stuck up her nose.
Again - she keeps sneezing.
The vet says the next step is x-rays to check if the roots of her back teeth are protruding through to her sinuses - I've done some research on this and it only seems to happen to old rabbits - she's only 10 weeks old.
I would appreciate any suggestions or help, I want to help my baby bunny and stop her from sneezing.


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## emzybabe

I would say in a rabbit this young its got to be an environmental factor.

Is she indoors or out?

rabbits can be very sensitive to many things, 
have you changed her food?
is your hay dust free?
are you using wood shavings at all? was she previously on these?
do you wear perfume?
washing powders?
has the hutch been recently treated with a stain?
is it in a drafty spot?
have u shampooed her?
are there many flowers/lots of pollen in your garden?
are there any other pets she comes into contact with?


I would contact the breeder you got her from and ask for some advice. its also good to let them know especially if its genetic so they can discontinue that "line" 

poo little thing must be exhausted and think of the sore tummy muscles.


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## AmberWA

Thanks for your reply, I'm inclined to agree with you about it being environmental. She has an outdoor hutch but whenever I am home she has a playpen indoors. She sneezes in both areas. Her food was identical to what she got at the breeders. Hay is good quality, better hay than my horse gets! I'm not using any saw dust or wood shavings, but yes she was previously on wood shavings at the breeders. I don't wear perfume and yes, use a washing powder, but I didn't cuddle her at first when I got her, I just put her straight into her hutch so she could settle into her new environment and she started sneezing pretty much straight away.
The hutch is brand new, doesn't look like it has any stain on it.
She is on a ground floor balcony on the hutch, so protected from the balcony walls, no no it's not drafty. A little cold at the moment, maybe getting down to 5 degrees cel at night, but the hutch has an enclosed indoor area she can go into to.
I havn't shampooed her, only brushed her.
Only plants on my balcony is rosemary and geraniums. And she sneezes inside anyways.
No, she is my only pet at home.

I contacted the breeder, she is as puzzled as I am, as she had 6 brothers and sisters, who are still there, none of them are sneezing.


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## AmberWA

For anyone who comes across this post and is interested in the outcome, the xray today showed that my rabbit's back upper teeth roots are growing into her sinus cavity.


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## BattleKat

oh no 
In such a young bunny, too....

what's going to happen from here?


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## helebelina

Aw poor bun  I'm glad you've found the cause though. Will they be able to treat it? I guess she will have to have some teeth removed? I know it's different but if it's any consolation my Toby had to have his front teeth removed and manages fine  Eats as much as the next bun


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## emzybabe

what an awful outcome, I hope her brothers and sisters are ok tho. is she a pure breed?


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## AmberWA

Well, the vet said that teeth removal is a high risk surgery when trying to remove the roots, not just the crowns of the teeth, in a couple of years time we can see if the teeth loosen and it might be easier to remove them. But blood loss/infection etc is a problem. So will try and control sneezing through medication at this stage. Treating it like a bone infection, so anti biotics and anti inflammatories, they reduce the amount of sneezing a lot.
Tabitha is a pure bred dwarf lop, none of her siblings have her issues, but I am going to send a big email to the breeder tomorrow, because of Tabitha's age, the problem is genetic, not due to diet as it might be in some older rabbits. The medication is going to be a big expense for me, so the breeder should be aware of that too.


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## Charlotte123

Hi. I know this post was from a long time ago but did it ever get sorted? I have a baby rabbit that started sneezing about a week after I got her. It's now been about a month. She sneezes constantly. There's no discharge from her nose/eyes/ears. Her teeth look fine from the inside and out next step would be X-rays. If it is the same I just wanted to know how you had managed it?


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## Summersky

Charlotte123 said:


> Hi. I know this post was from a long time ago but did it ever get sorted? I have a baby rabbit that started sneezing about a week after I got her. It's now been about a month. She sneezes constantly. There's no discharge from her nose/eyes/ears. Her teeth look fine from the inside and out next step would be X-rays. If it is the same I just wanted to know how you had managed it?


Hi there.

I'm presuming she has been vet checked? It could be caused by a foreign object in the nose, an infection, a reaction to wood shavings, or unusually in a younger rabbit, tooth root problems.

Eliminate anything environmental.

Has the vet taken a swab? Is she snotty? Is her nose or front legs wet, or the fur matted? Has she had antibiotics?

Did she come from a reputable breeder? How old was she when you got her? what did the breeders say about her sneezing? any others in the litter having problems?


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## Charlotte123

Summersky said:


> Hi there.
> 
> I'm presuming she has been vet checked? It could be caused by a foreign object in the nose, an infection, a reaction to wood shavings, or unusually in a younger rabbit, tooth root problems.
> 
> Eliminate anything environmental.
> 
> Has the vet taken a swab? Is she snotty? Is her nose or front legs wet, or the fur matted? Has she had antibiotics?
> 
> Did she come from a reputable breeder? How old was she when you got her? what did the breeders say about her sneezing? any others in the litter having problems?


Yes she has been vet checked several times. She was 10 weeks when i got her and now she is 15 weeks. It started about a week after I got her so she wasn't doing it at the breeders. The breeder still has her 3 siblings and they are all fine still - she doesn't know why it has started. She is reputable, she breeds for shows and takes great care of them. She is still bedded on the same as she was brought up on with the breeder (wood shavings) but i swapped to shredded paper for a week to see if it was an allergy but there was no change.

She hasn't had any swabs taken as there is no discharge. She had baytril for a 5 days but it didn't seem to make any difference either.

Its really affecting her well being, she looks miserable. Doesn't play like my other rabbits, sits on the outskirts and doesn't join in. She is eating / drinking but doesn't get excited for her food like the others do and when she tries to eat if she starts a fit of sneezes she gives up trying to eat


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## Summersky

It sounds like you are doing all the right things, although I would keep her off shavngs (not suitable for any rabbits really), and if she is outside, I would consider bringing her in for the winter, as she is going to be very vulnerable.

It sounds like she needs more tests and x rays and a referral to a specialist; you will need to be sure that she has nothing contagious, as you don't want to put your others at risk.

There are other antibiotics, should it turn out to be an infection.

It's not good if her behaviour has changed. Has the vet tried painkillers (Metacam) whilst trying ot find the cause of the sneezing? Metacam is both a painkiller and anti inflammatory, which could help with swelling. sadly, she might have tooth root problems.


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