Bunny back from the vet.

[JennaLynn]

Well we just got back from the vets, and my poor little bun has pasteurella. I was just wondering if anyone has had experience with it? If caught early enough is there a good chance for recovery? What antibiotics have worked best for you? Is there anything else I can do to help her?

 

[Maureen Las]

What are the antibiotics?

 

[JennaLynn]

Enrofloxacin (baytril). She gets two doses per day.

 

[HEM]

We hope they help and your bun gets better!!

 

[LakeCondo]

Did the vet do a culture to make sure this is the problem? Are you keeping her apart from your other rabbits so they don't catch it?

:sickbunny:

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Yeahthat^^ did the vet do a C&S? If not, I'd do one to be sure it IS actually Pasturella. Also, I'd keep an eye on him-with Baytril, mine always tend to go off their food. -And, with our snuffles cases, Baytril didn't do alot. (That's just our experience with several rounds of it)

 

[Maureen Las]

Baytril may help alleviate some of the symptoms temporarily and is usually the most prescribed antibiotic medication for bunnies but due to the fact that it has been so widely overused most bacteria have developed a resistance to it.
You can give it a try and see what happens but usually a combo of stronger meds like injectable bicillin, oral zithromax , chloramphenical or Convenia are way more effective in trulyknocking the infection out .

 

[Elliot]

Where would she have gotten pastuerella? Do you keep cats? I hope your little one recovers quickly!:feelbetter:

 

[missyscove]

I'm actually working on a paper on pastuerellosis in rabbits for my immunology class. Most rabbits (and many other mammals and birds) carry latent, commensal pastuerella but it doesn't develop into clinical disease until the animal is stressed in some way(moving, pregnancy, illness, etc.). Baytril is not a bad place to start as it doesn't come with too many side effects, but many organisms have developed a resistance to it so there is a chance you may need to try one or more other antibiotics for treatment. Your vet should be able to culture her bacteria and test for resistance which may help you choose another antibiotic if Baytril doesn't do the job.

 

[JennaLynn]

She went to her first rabbit show on sunday that's probably where she got it. I just found out that when my mom took her to the vet, they never did a culture, they just looked at symptoms and decided it was pasteurella.

 

[missyscove]

That's not uncommon. As I said, most rabbits are latent carriers of pasturella so if you do a culture pasturella will show up even if another organism is causing the symptoms and if it is another bacterium (and it probably isn't viral), the treatment (antibiotics)would be the same anyway; it's when the initial antibiotics don't work that it becomes more important to narrow down the cause.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

ray:

 

[LakeCondo]

Maybe stress because of the show made it manifest itself, but I don't think you can "catch" it & have symptoms that quickly.

Anyway, I'd be using some probiotic now or start one soon.

 

[JennaLynn]

I've been mixing probiotics in her water everyday and i'm going to start giving her some yogurt soon.

 

[JimD]

JennaLynn wrote:

I've been mixing probiotics in her water everyday and i'm going to start giving her some yogurt soon.

I wouldn't recommend yogurt.
Buns can have a problem processing anything lactose-based, and it may cause GI issues.

Bene-bac would be a better choice.

ray:

 

[JennaLynn]

The yogurt I use is lactose free. I've never heard of bene-bac what is it exactly?

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

Benebac is a probiotic powder for bunnies. It has been a huge help to us~I'd highly recomend it over yogurt.

 

[JimD]

I use the gel form that comes in 1 gram tubes.
You can find it in the small animal, bird or reptile section of most pet stores.

 

[LakeCondo]

Is there a bene-bac that's really for rabbits? I thought it was made for cats, which is why Honey gets a different probiotic, one that works mainly after the stomach.

 

[majorv]

Benebac is for "dogs, cats and other small animals". It can be used on rabbits. You just need to be careful not to over do giving your rabbit probiotics/yogurt/whatever. It will just cause other problems.